Like vines slowly overtaking an old house, Beast—the feature debut of writer/director Michael Pearce—mines horror from the feeling of wildness encroaching on civilization. It’s set on the island of Jersey, a land of lush pastures surrounded by an aquamarine sea, and where authorities are searching for the culprit behind the brutal murders of several young […]
CK Dolan
Formerly a senior editor and the music editor at the Mercury, CK Dolan writes about music, movies, TV, the death industry, and pickles.
Posted inMusic
Dear Nora Returns with the Gently Powerful Skulls Example
Last year, Portland singer/songwriter Katy Davidson revived their beloved indie folk project Dear Nora to reissue their 2004 record Mountain Rock. Riding the high from that triumphant return, this week Davidson will release Skulls Example, their first new album in a decade. Unsurprisingly, every song on the record is great. Most of the 14 tracks […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Beast Review: A Vortex of Desire and Denial
A Glimpse Into the Wildness Within
A glimpse into the wildness within.
Posted inRecord Reviews
Record Review: Dear Nora, Skulls Example
The Beloved Indie Folk Project Hasn’t Lost Its Gentle Power
The beloved indie folk project hasn’t lost its gentle power.
Posted inMusic
Pickathon Starlight Series, Episode 8: Ron Artis II
James Glover Behold, a brand-new video from our ongoing presentation of the Pickathon Starlight Series, spotlighting performances at the Portland-area music festival’s nocturnal stage where bands play into the wee hours. This season’s latest episode features Hawaii-based singer/songwriter Ron Artis II performing “Getting Older,” a track from his 2015 album What Music Means to Me. […]
Posted inMusic
Alela Diane on Giving Life and Nearly Losing Her Own
JACLYN CAMPANARO Alela Diane’s new album Cusp is, first and foremost, about her experience becoming a mother, and perhaps more indirectly about the way that identity has intersected with her preexisting identity as a musician. Since her 2006 debut, The Pirate’s Gospel, the Portland singer/songwriter’s records have cataloged different chapters of life, with incisive lyrics […]
Posted inMusic
Alela Diane’s Cusp Is a Radical Portrait of Motherhood
The Portland Singer/Songwriter on Giving Life and Nearly Losing Her Own
The Portland singer/songwriter on giving life and nearly losing her own.
Posted inMusic
Performers Are Canceling Shows at Analog Café Following Sexual Harassment Accusations Against the Owner
The Analog Café and Theater Erik Henriksen Last week, a Facebook post began circulating that contained anonymous sexual harassment accusations against Donnie Rife, the owner of the Analog Café on Southeast Hawthorne (he also fronts local band Smoochknob and runs DRD Records). The now-deleted post included quotes from Rife’s alleged victims that described instances of […]
Posted inMusic
Recently Announced Concerts in Portland: Angel Olsen, Father John Misty, Janelle Monáe
ANGEL OLSEN Wed 9/12 & Thurs 9/13 Newmark Theater Taylor Boylston JANELLE MONÁE w/Saint BeautySat June 13 at Edgefield, $43-46 (tickets on sale now)Janelle Monáe is kind of a badass. Last month she released a rose-hued music video for her single “Pynk,” in which she wears an iconic pair of vagina pants that she now […]
Posted inMusic
Here Are 31 Songs to Listen to This May
Behold the Mercury‘s May playlist, a selection of songs from Portland artists releasing new albums and touring acts passing through town this month. From Paul Simon’s “Homeward Bound” farewell tour stop to the annual St. Johns Bizarre (with its jam-packed bill of local favorites, including Wild Ones and Fritzwa) to the Portland debut of the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Endless Proves That All Movies Are Improved by Adding UFO Death Cults
In The Endless, filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead play two brothers—also named Justin and Aaron—who were raised by a UFO death cult. So growing up wasn’t particularly pleasant, as the cult believes in mass suicide and an impending rapture by an extraterrestrial force. While Justin and Aaron have since escaped and been deprogrammed, […]
Posted inBooks
The Arrest of the Golden State Killer Suspect and How Michelle McNamara Turned Personal Trauma into a Political Issue
Michelle McNamara Photo by John Shearer / Getty Images After more than four decades spent searching for the serial rapist and murderer known as the Golden State Killer, at a press conference this morning, authorities in Sacramento announced that they’d (finally) arrested a suspect: Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, an ex-cop who is believed to have […]