The Castaway Kids, Amber Moon, Pedestrian Death Gang
Recommended
Portland is a great incubator for teen indie rock projects, and the Castaway Kids are the next in a long line of young dudes making inoffensive indie pop that’s laced with opportunity. TCK is a group of high school boys, and their songs are indicative of that: long intros of goofy conversation, lyrics about how great the beach is, a confusing mix of sincerity and not giving a fuck that’s standard 17-year-old fare. But their first EP shows immense promise: Every song is crazy catchy, and lead singer Tristan Jackson’s bellows and groans are in a register too low and pained for such poppy melodies, adding layers to the otherwise stock surf rock tunes. While the Castaway Kids could either clean up or fuzz up their sound and find a more comfortable and fruitful home on the surf rock spectrum, unfortunately Saturday’s show at Analog will be their last before disbanding. MORGAN TROPER