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Album Review
Posted inAlbum Review

Album Review: Patricia Wolf Scores the Documentary Hrafnamynd

Playful sonics swirl with the landscapes of Iceland and director Edward Pack Davee’s narration. 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

There is a sacred captivation present in the Pacific Northwest felt by many of those who call this corner of the world home: The powerful vastness of landscape, the diversity of the region’s flora and fauna, and the evergreen presence of water. It’s the birds of the Pacific Northwest that have captured the heart and […]

Posted inAlbum Review

Album Review: Swinging’s Debut Album Is a Drift Worth Following

My Bed Is A Boat is a lush, emotionally exacting release from the Portland band.
Avatar photo Lindsay Costello

As part of a design contest for students who attend the local after-school music program School of Rock, nine-year-old Jeju painted a field of blue. In the center, a yellow rectangle swims, along with the title of Swinging’s new release, My Bed Is A Boat, in capital letters. The winning cover feels conversant with the […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2025

Battle of the Hexes

Post-punk weirdos Casual Hex hold a black mirror to society on Zig Zag Lady Illusion II.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Now split between Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, Casual Hex return with new album Zig Zag Lady Illusion II—the politically charged sonic continuation of their first full-length. The new LP dropped June 13 via Seattle’s Youth Riot Records. The band has been quiet since the release of their weirdo post-punk monolith Zig Zag Lady Illusion in 2018, and—despite being […]

Posted inAlbum Review

Album Review: The Post-Punk Paradise of La Isla Electronica

Portland needs more Spanish-language punk, here it is! 
Avatar photo Cameron Crowell

La Isla Electronica (L.I.E.) begins their self-titled EP by munching on some chips and declaring “Vale vamos,” (ok, let’s go), before every instrument in this Portland four piece enters at once on “No Digas Nunca” (Don’t Say Never). It’s as if your friends loaded a 24-pack into the basket on the back of your bike […]

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