Music Blog

Oy, it's one those weeks again, and I'll just start by saying that we can't possibly give ink (virtual though it may be) to everything that deserves it. That said, there's plenty we can highlight in the busy week to come, including the first album in three years from erstwhile locals The Dandy Warhols. Earth to the Dandy Warhols is the perhaps appropriately-titled release out Tuesday from the band (on CD after being available digitally for a while now) and their sixth full-length overall. Included are the familiar rave-ups, send-ups and odes to The Beatles and Rolling Stones alike, as well as the somewhat unlikely presence of both Mark Knopfler and Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell. The Dandys head out on tour soon, returning home for a show at The Roseland on October 5th, but not before making an appearance at this Saturday night's 50th live taping of LiveWire! radio at The Armory (word is they'll be doing a couple of collaborations with the Portland Cello Project).

MP3: Dandy Warhols, from Earth to the Dandy Warhols-
"The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers..."

Another CD release this week of an album that's been virtual for a while is The Walkmen's You & Me, the West Side New Yorkers' fifth full-length following up their note for note re-creation of Nilsson's Pussy Cats a couple of years back. As always with The Walkmen, things start with the engagingly damaged vocals of Hamilton Leithauser, who once again manages to sound exasperated, joyous, and off the cuff all at once. The album arrives on the band's new label, Gigantic, a little more than a week ahead of their Portland date on the 27th at the Doug Fir with opener Richard Swift.

MP3: The Walkmen, from You & Me- "In the New Year"

Also out this week is the eleventh studio album from Stereolab, who have rather quietly been churning out albums this decade at the rate of one every two years after blazing ground throughout the 90's with their mix of Kraut-inspired loops and laid back beats as the background for Laetitia Sadier's cooly cooed vocals. Chemical Chords doesn't necessarily break new ground for the band, but it does offer more of what we've always loved them for, namely: alternately sunny and cool melodies paired with Sadier's siren call. The one noticeable change this go around is the willingness of the band to cut themselves short, turning in a collection of pop songs that maintain a sweetness in three minute settings that might grow old at five minutes. Stereolab plays the Wonder Ballroom on October 18th (also with opener Richard Swift, as chance would have it).

MP3: Stereolab, from Chemical Chords- "Three Women"

Plenty of live highlights this week, too, including two dates featuring the musically shape-shifting Karl Blau. The former D+ and sometime Saltbreakers (Laura Veirs' band) member released a second version of his A.M. this year after last year's excellent Dance Positive, and has a new release, Nature's Got Away, out September 23rd on K Records. He also recently collaborated with Mount Analog, lending vocals to a wonderfully odd version of Tom T. Hall's "That's How I Got to Memphis." Blau plays on bills Wednesday at The Artistery and Thursday at Towne Lounge.

Elsewhere, The Octopus Project plays at Satyricon (Monday); Doubledutch releases their new gungle dugn on a bill at Holocene (Thursday); San Francisco's Crooked Jades are joined by locals Celilo at the Mission Theater (Thursday); Super XX Man and Jared Mees & the Grown Children play at Laurel Thirst (Friday); Rogue Wave plays the Doug Fir Lounge (Saturday); and several acts play as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival at East End, including Blue Skies for Black Hearts, Silverhawk, Little Beirut, True West, Nice Boys, The Village Green and more (Wed-Sat). This marks the first time the festival has come to Portland after several years running in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and San Francisco.

Of course, the big shows end the week in Bend at the Les Schwab Amphitheater as Wilco and white-hot openers Fleet Foxes play Saturday, followed by Beck and openers The Cold War Kids on Sunday. If you can't make it out that way, you can always make due with the Avett Brothers at the Oregon Zoo or Neil Halstead at the Doug Fir, both Sunday.

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