Music Blog
Local baroque pop favorites Loch Lomond stopped by this week to record a few songs and talk about the new EP Night Bats. Marking the second time the band has recorded with us, they tucked themselves this time into the back of our television studios with the cameras rolling, and serenaded us with a small set of both new and old tunes with their captivating sound.
Set for a November 10th release on Hush Records, the new EP Night Bats exhibits lead singer Ritchie Young's songwriting at his most potent and showcases the band expanding upon their sound with pop precision. The first single off of Night Bats, "Wax & Wire," perfectly accompanies Young's vividly poetic lyrics of love and loss with a delicately crafted palate of strings, pianos and bells proving why Loch Lomond is such a unique part of Portland's music scene.
The newest music venue in Portland, The Woods will be hosting the release show of Night Bats on November 10th and will feature fellow local portlander Tu Fawning as the evening's opening act. The show also marks the the kick off of a small west coast tour for Loch Lomond that will include two dates with Portland folk, four-piece Horse Feathers in San Diego and Los Angeles. Look for their session here next week, beginning Thursday online and also Saturday on In House (8p., OPB radio and our 24-hour stream).
MP3- "Wax & Wire" from Night Bats EP
Stream- Loch Lomond's first opbmusic session, recorded in January of 2008
Tagged: mp3
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Archived Comments
gunky / November 1, 2009
Glad to hear LL's new CD is about out. I've been looking forward to it. But alas, I'll miss the Nov 10. show at The Woods.
Hella Guru / November 1, 2009
I absolutely cannot stand this radio show. Where are the black and brown people? This show is devoid of funk.
Monteverdi / November 5, 2009
Oh brother. Baroque pop? I listened to most of this group's offerings on the site and couldn't find anything with even a hint of baroque music characteristics. Was the word "baroque" chosen because somebody just liked the sound of the word? If people insist on breaking pop music down into tiny categorical labels, they should at least know the meaning of the words they select. And what about "Loch Lomond" (mispronounced in the interview)? Is there a Scottish connection? There doesn't appear to be one in the music.
Saxon Baird / November 5, 2009
Hella Guru -- Personally, I feel that reducing music to terms that are exclusively racial is somewhat flippant. That being said, a closer listen to In-House will reveal that the show is actually rather diverse in terms of style, sound and culture. Just last Sunday, In-House played music from such ethnically variegated artist as Anti-Pop Consortium. Me'Shell Ndegeocello. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. I encourage you to present me a non-college, radio forum for music that is more diverse than OPB. Last time I checked, I didn't hear The Decemberists being played on the local hip-hop station. Or Lil Wayne being played on the local rock station. Monteverdi -- I apologize for supposed misuse of the word "baroque." However, a quick Google search will reveal that I am not the first to apply this descriptive term to this band. That being said, I think we can both safely assume that the word "baroque" has taken on new connotations in regards to modern music just like terms "indie", "pop" or even "folk" are now applied in ways that vary from their original usage. The same could be said for words such as "surfing", "stream" or "troll" which are now used to describe various aspects of the Internet and vary greatly from their original meanings. As for the supposed mispronunciation of "Loch Lomond," I dutifully refer you to the 1937 George and Ira Gershwin song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" which first appeared in the celebrated Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers film, "Shall We Dance?"
gunky / November 7, 2009
Actually, Monteverdi, if memory serves me, and it's probably in an archived show somewhere on this site, Loch Lomond is indeed named for the actual Loch Lomond in Scotland. I believe the story goes that the group all met there as part of an exchange program or equivalent, and found that they could sing pretty well together. Maybe not as intrinsic a name as you might want, but heck, names of bands are pretty random anyway these days. You could waste a lot of breath criticizing band names anymore, and you might even be right but it would be moot. At least this has a kernel of a real origin.