CITY guide
PORTLAND
OREGON
Though Portland is ranked as the number one most depressed city in the
United States, don’t let that bum you out. Pain is often what fuels great
art, and in that regard Portland is no exception. Starting in the ‘90s as
a place of musical revolution, an alarming amount of great bands — and
hilarious TV, ahem, Portlandia — still emerge from Oregon’s biggest
city. It is a cultured part of the country to say the least, with its liberal
attitudes, progressive political stances, and perhaps most definitively of
all, pervasive coffee culture. It may be the birthplace of ultimate hipsterdom, but that only proves hipsters aren’t so bad after all.
The Decemberists
It is safe to say at this point that The
Decemberists have achieved the status
of indie rock legends. Since 2002 this
five-piece band has been putting out albums
every one to three years, steadily building
a fanbase dedicated to their original sound
and sly lyrical musings. They released an
album in January titled What a Terrible
World, What a Beautiful World, which they
are currently touring on.
View from Portland City Grill / Jonathan Marcos
Mimicking Birds
What originally started as founder Nate
Lacy’s solo project, Mimicking Birds
gradually expanded into a five-piece band
after being signed in 2008 to Modest Mouse
frontman Isaac Brock’s label, Glacial Pace
Recordings. They subsequently released two
albums, the most recent being Eons, which
was released in 2014.
Pink Feathers
Liz Anjos, better known by her stage name,
Pink Feathers, blends her unique melodic
sensibilities with her soulfully dulcet voice
to create a genre self-described as Eccentric
Oregon Pop. Though Pink Feathers is only
about a year in the making, but her Invisible
Lines EP will have us dancing into summer.
Priory
A duo consisting of Brandon Rush and Kyle
Sears, Priory fuses live instrumentation with
electronic elements to make catchy, handraising anthems. You may know them from
their successful debut single “Weekend”
released in June 2014. Their debut album is
slated to be released in November.
Clinton Street Records / courtesy of Blouse
Blouse
Formed in 2010, Blouse is a band that
spans many genres. With hard-smacking,
meaty drum tones, and the frequent use of
synthesizers and electronics, their songs
have a decidedly ‘80s feel at times. The
ethereal voice of female singer Charlie
Hilton only adds to the eclecticism of
their sound and can come off as almost
anachronistic in comparison to the
music. Their eponymously titled debut
album was released in 2011, and was
followed shortly thereafter in 2013 by
Imperium.
Best place to still buy records
Blouse: There are tons. Clinton Street
Records is my favorite.
The Decemberists (Chris Funk): Vinyl
Resting Place in Sellwood. Clinton Street
Records. Mississippi Records.
Mimicking Birds (Nick Lacy): Vinyl Resting
Place (St. Johns)
Pink Feathers: Music Millennium
Priory (Brandon): Music Millennium. I’ve
been buying records from this store since I
was 13. It is very much a part of Portland’s
culture.
Clinton Street Records: 2510 Southeast Clinton Street;
Vinyl Resting Place: 8332 North Lombard Street; Music
Millennium: 3158 East Burnside Street
28 . TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE
St. Johns Bridge / Jonathan Marcos