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Formerly a senior editor and the music editor at the Mercury, CK Dolan writes about music, movies, TV, the death industry, and pickles.
Cool your jets, David. Showtime Last night I dreamt that David Lynch and I lived in the same apartment building. Dream Lynch was an unpleasant neighbor—he repainted his unit a different color every single day, and the fumes were unbearable. Then this morning I awoke to learn that the real Lynch just implied he’s open […]
HAVANIA WHAAL The band that wears eyeliner together stays together. ANTONIA BASLER “Brood-gaze” is exactly what it sounds like: moody shoegaze informed by a constellation of legendary bands like Cocteau Twins, Joy Division, and X. Havania Whaal is the self-described “brood-gaze” project of three busy Portland musicians: drummer Noelle Magia (Plastic Weather, Smoke Rings), guitarist […]
Havania Whaal’s new record Elaborate Minor Crisis is a brood-gaze masterpiece.
DANIEL NORGREN Sat 9/23 Revolution Hall Petra Wester Norgren Swedish folksinger Daniel Norgren made his US debut at Pickathon 2016, where he hypnotized audiences with his bluesy guitar riffs, earnest lyrics, and weathered vocals. His music will give you goosebumps—it’s both rootsy and otherworldly, familiar and mysterious. Norgren’s returning to Portland this month, and the […]
Human Leather is a great band name. Just hearing those two words together makes my skin crawl, which is probably the point—my skin does not want to become human leather. Salt Lake City musicians Adam Klopp and Chaz Costello make dark electro-pop under the Human Leather moniker. In May the duo released their debut LP, […]
Mr. Wrong’s debut LP, Babes in Boyland, starts throwing flames within the first few seconds. A combination of both new and reworked material, the album’s nine tracks showcase the Portland three-piece’s raw talent and combustible energy. Moffett (guitar/vocals) and Ursula (drums/vocals) released their Distraction demo in 2016, a collection of short lo-fi punk cuts that […]
BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT Unearthing and externalizing grief. Jeremy Hernandez Black Belt Eagle Scout is the musical alias of multi-instrumentalist/producer Katherine Paul. She’s a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and grew up on a small reservation outside of Anacortes, Washington, where she returned last winter to record a solo debut at the Unknown […]
Black Belt Eagle Scout’s Mother of My Children externalizes loss with electrifying post-rock.
Mr. Wrong’s debut LP infiltrates the boys club.
HAIM Tues 9/5 Roseland LAURA JANE COULSON It’s amazing to me when siblings A) share the same talents and B) can tolerate each other long enough to make art. In that sense, the sisters Haim are a true miracle of nature. Este, Alana, and Danielle made an excellent first impression with the 2012 EP Forever, […]
I get a lot of press releases, but it’s been a minute since I’ve heard anything this good from a new artist. This morning I received an email about a song that I can honestly say I’m playing on repeat: “Days” by Portland rapper A Mitch (AKA Adrian Mitchell). It’s from his album Pro Bono, […]
Paul Thomas Anderson is at it again. After directing three videos for Radiohead’s 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool—one of which, “Daydreaming,” played in 35mm at the Hollywood Theatre last spring—Anderson’s releasing a new rockumentary, Valentine, which follows the making of Haim’s gorgeous new album, Something to Tell You, at Valentine Recording Studios in Los […]
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