Our local music scene dropped a lot of good news on us recently—the Blues Festival daily lineup is in, and so is the schedule for Pickathon. Hear in Portland, we’re looking forward to three forthcoming locally-made albums, including one album release show and two new music videos.
MUST SEE:
Upcoming local event(s) featuring local artist(s).
Freddy Trujillo album release show
Portland's own Freddy Trujillo—bassist for the Delines and Richmond Fontaine—will soon celebrate the release of his fourth solo album, I Never Threw a Shadow at It. Continuing on themes explored in his 2022 release Sketch of a Man, a press release describes Trujillo new work as "a very personal record based around Chicano experiences." The title track details a specific encounter where Trujillo called the Los Angeles Police Department to report an attempted car theft, but found himself treated like a criminal by the police who showed up. "I was standing by my car trying to clean up some glass / Son, have you been drinking was the first thing that they asked," Trujillo sings. The release goes on to explain that pandemic restlessness and inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement caused Trujillo to ponder his own struggles. The final track "Many Years of Minding" is meant as a bookmark or review of his experiences in the US. "I am staying on theme with a lot of my past records, which is life as a Chicano," he writes. "‘I Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me’ is exactly that, a look at the fact that Mexican culture was in the Southwest before it was considered America.” (The Showdown, 1195 SE Powell, Fri May 24, 9 pm, $10, tickets here, 21+, w/ Ache Mono and Mike Coykendall)
MUST LISTEN:
New release(s) from a Portland-relevant artist.
“Gassed Up,” Jeffrey Silverstein
In the past, we’ve expressed big fan energy for the of vibey, psychedelia-driven folk rock songs like “Trip Sitter” from Portland-based folk musician Jeffrey Silverstein. On June 14, the musician will follow-up his sophomore full-length Western Sky Music with a new six-track EP called Roseway, released via Arrowhawk Records. But first, Silverstein has dropped a sun-drenched guitar-driven new single called “Gassed Up,” along with a corresponding music video. Shot by Roberto Johnson (with trippy editing cut by Austin Abbott), the video shows an outdoor concert featuring the recording band, which comprises Silverstein on guitar and vocals, drummer Dana Buoy, Connor Gallaher on pedal steel, and bassist Alex Chapman. Once you hear it, we know you'll place it prominently on your summer playlist.
ADDED TO THE QUEUE:
Some upcoming music buzz to add to your radar.
Maita Announces new album want + “girl at the bar”
Portland-based indie rock project Maita is led by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler, a fiercely private artist whom the Mercury interviewed a couple years ago to discuss the band’s excellent 2022 project I Just Want to Be Wild For You. Some great news: On July 26, the band will release want via Fluff & Gravy Records. According to the announcement, “this new album has some of Maria’s most personal and visceral songwriting, as she examines desire in the framework of a relationship in turmoil.” For now, while we wait for the project to drop, we can enjoy the band’s recently released new fever dream of a song, “girl at the bar,” which explores the all-too-common experience of losing yourself in the name of keeping the person you love. A couple weeks ago, the track got its own music video: a partly-animated visual that zeroes in on the perspective of front person Maita-Keppeler as she drives around, singing searing lyrics like “what do you crave?/ i can paint my skin if i try maybe/ i can shrink myself on a dime baby/ become a stranger… become a stranger / become a stranger/ oh will you want her?/ once she's a stranger?”
