Local Sisters favorite, the JZ Band’s new album dropped earlier this month with a CD release party at The Capitol on March 12. Few know the rhythm of life as intimately as musicians, and the lyrics of this album are by turns serious and funny, light-hearted and wise. Whether playing at The Belfry in Sisters […]
Album Review
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Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled Unmastered”
Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled Unmastered” is the polar opposite of Kanye’s new album, “The Life of Pablo.” Where “The Life of Pablo” is an unfocused and experimental joyride through Kanye West’s superego, “Untitled Unmastered” is a powerful statement of intent on the part of Lamar, another Grammy-winning rapper. Lamar grew up in Compton, the birthplace of […]
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Album Review: “Birth of Bravey”
Bravey Don
There is a local folk epidemic in Bend, as lead member of Bravey Don, David Gillespie, points out. “We want to rid this town of their incessant banjo addiction. It’s time to embrace rock and roll.” Is Bend ready for something like this? Could it be that although our beloved harmonica-enhanced folk is what is […]
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Come “Back to Oregon”
An auditory obsession has been released
Trailer 31’s debut album, “Back to Oregon,” is the most basic definition of what makes music so great. Many people get stuck in a music rut, too stubborn to expand their horizons, while others thrive off of the newest sounds from the newest bands in the smallest towns. Whichever preference or position taken, “Back to […]
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Pure Country
Second Son Changed My Mind
Leave it to Micah Peterson and his band, Second Son, to make me care about country music again. I was raised on horse and cattle ranches, force fed George Straight, Travis Tritt, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw while pounding t-posts into the earth. Once I left the ranch and headed to college I discovered hip-hop […]
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Album Review: “Tension” by Corner Gospel Explosion
Corner Gospel Explosion shall not be pigeonholed. The debut album, “Tension,” bounces between styles that most bands need years to gain the confidence to pull off. From the dance rock album opener, “Sky is Falling (Na Na Na),” to the epic, seven-and-a-half minute closer, “Through the Fence and Out,” Corner Gospel Explosion is ready to […]
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Follow Us Overboard
The Quick and Easy Boys Independent Record Release
When Sean Badders—vocalist and bassist for Portland’s The Quick and Easy Boys—says that he and his band mates said: “F*** it, let’s just make the best album we can regardless of what the songs are or how it might be perceived,” before recording their latest record Follow Us Overboard, he provides all the insight needed […]
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So Long, See You Tomorrow
Bombay Bicycle Club, Universal Island Records/Vagrant Records
Like a magic trick transforming a bouquet of flowers into a bird, the mutation of British foursome Bombay Bicycle Club from an indie rock band into an outright synth pop group might seem just as abrupt. Listen to any track from 2011’s A Different Kind of Fix and then hop over to a song from […]