Arts: Page 283

Punk’s Light and Dark

The Ghost Ease The

Music
The Ghost Ease The

Pacific Northwest post-punk trio The Ghost Ease rides a fine line between raw, quiet-loud-quiet indie rock and brooding darkwave.  “I find dark-edged music to be emotionally charged, alive and very real to the human experience,” says Jem Marie, vocalist, guitarist and bandleader.  Marie’s voice is gentle, and her sound hints of the Deal sisters’ crisp and brittle guitar work and percussion that is equal parts restrained and electric. Continue reading →

The Restless and the Young

Film

If 2013’s Frances Ha seemed a little nicer than writer-director Noah Baumbach’s usual fare — fewer pointed observations, more gentleness toward his characters, no matter how self-deluded — While We’re Young is a trip back to slightly rougher territory (though not quite as rough as Greenberg). Sly and self-aware, Baumbach is a deeply fair storyteller, giving his characters room to hang themselves and room to get their shit together all at once.  Continue reading →

Sapient Being

The biggest rapper you’ve never heard of

Music
Sapient

Sapient might just be the biggest rapper you’ve never heard of, which is a sad fact considering the Portland-based artist grew up here in Eugene. As one half of hip-hop duo Debaser, as well as a member of Sandpeople, he’s rubbed elbows with members of Hieroglyphics, Living Legends and Grayskul.  Sapient has also produced infectious beats for Inspectah Deck (of Wu Tang Clan), Slug (of Atmosphere) and Aesop Rock, adding to the pile of reasons to know his work. The emcee-producer is poised and waiting patiently for his moment in the sun. Continue reading →

Emo at Heart

Heartless Breakers

Music
Heartless Breakers

Salt Lake City’s Heartless Breakers play a brand of bombastic, overwrought rock ‘n’ roll popularized at the turn of the millennium — a style known as emo.  Vocalist Chase Griffis’ expressive voice sits alongside post-hardcore screaming vocals. Beneath it all, aggressive guitars and a clamorous rhythm section intertwine, creating an auditory manifestation of adolescent tension and release. But Heartless Breakers also blend elements of hard and abrasive music with a pop sheen, a defining characteristic of emo. Continue reading →

An Indie-Classical Explosion

New classical ensemble Sound of Late debuts, Cherry Blossom Musical Arts hosts a showcase and more

Music

Like the blossoms that have been emerging this spring, Oregon classical music is entering a period of renewal. Earlier this month, we told you about the young musicians who’ve just started the new Delgani String Quartet, devoted to both classics and contemporary sounds. At 8 pm Friday, April 24, Eugene sees the debut of another exciting young ensemble at the Broadway House concert series (911 W. Broadway, 686-9270). Continue reading →

Destabilizing Agents

Film

In his groundbreaking 1978 book Orientalism, the late critic Edward Said went after the West’s misconceptions about the exotic and inscrutable otherness of Asian cultures, often so lavishly and fantastically portrayed in colonial writing. “From the beginning of Western speculation about the Orient,” Said wrote, “the one thing the Orient could not do was represent itself.” Continue reading →