Eugene Weekly

Once upon a time there was fuzz, and it was accidental. Then there came distortion. Then there came cleanliness, godliness and indie-pop. And then, quite inexplicably, there was fuzz again. We’re talking about production value here, and if there’s one band since indie-infamous Sleigh Bells that know how to do lo-fi right, it’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Take Ty Segall’s garage, Starfucker’s pop-chops, Wavves’ “I just don’t give a fuck” attitude, and the beauteous magic of a child’s imagination. Mix them all together. Gargle. Continue reading →

Banjos and beaches, mandolins and margaritas, fiddles and fish fries: some unlikely pairings in a paradise that is more Jimmy Buffet than Bill Monroe. But Mountain Song at Sea’s maiden cruise in February left the typically landlocked bluegrass stomping grounds far behind to bring together acts from across the nation like the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers and local favorites Betty and the Boy, who will be reunited again April 7 at WOW Hall. Continue reading →

Christopher Owens’ former group Girls set the indie world on fire with their 2009 underground hit Album. Owens’ singing voice drew comparisons to Elvis Costello; the songs evoked ’60s power-pop, ’70s punk and contemporary indie rock. Continue reading →

In five years, when zombies overrun us, Alfred Darlington is going to look back on these days as the golden age of electronic music. Darlington, better known by the production moniker Daedelus (pictured), tells EW that he would prefer the zombies to be of the slow, mindless variety.  Continue reading →

Blissful blues. Sounds like an oxymoron, but that phrase hits at the essence of The California Honeydrops, who take the catharsis of singing the blues to a devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky level. The New Orleans-inspired stylings of the five-piece band from Oakland overflow with unabashed, easygoing joy, or in the spirit of The Big Easy: Laisser les bon temps rouler! Continue reading →

Musical institutions too often destroy the very music they prize by refusing to look forward, relying instead on constant rehashing of the greatest hits of earlier decades and centuries. This month brings to town some progressive musicians who are keeping their traditions alive and growing. For example, Brothers Colin and Eric Jacobsen are proving that classical music is no musty museum but rather a living tradition. Continue reading →

When EW caught up with The Horde & the Harem (THATH)’s Ryan Barber, he was in heaven. Well, at least music heaven for the hip-and-up-and-coming as well as the hip-established: South by Southwest. Continue reading →

LA-based Foxygen takes your dad’s classic rock LP collection, consumes it and filters it through their ADHD brains, regurgitating 2012’s Take the Kids Off Broadway or 2013’s We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic — big, sloppy, messy records referencing everything from the Rolling Stones to the Kinks to the Mysterions, but with a certain post-vinyl-revival sense of irony; like Brooklyn’s MGMT, they don’t limit their frame of reference to punchy classic rock. Continue reading →

There’s a sweetness inherent in the name Bent Knee … a marriage proposal on bent knee, an apology on bent knee, Prince Charming holding the glass slipper on bent knee. But all that sweetness goes out the window when Courtney Swain starts singing “I Don’t Love You Anymore.” Continue reading →

If you want to get creative, sometimes you have to isolate yourself. At least that’s what the Seattle-based indie rock band Ivan & Alyosha did when creating their full-length debut, All the Times We Had.  “We demoed these songs in a cabin an hour north of Seattle where we could get away and have really bad phone service,” bassist Pete Wilson says with a laugh. “Once it stops being annoying that you can’t check Facebook, the isolation becomes nice. We need to detox every once in a while from all that.” Continue reading →