Music

Cage | Depart From Me

Def Jux (2009)
Despite abandoning his former vagrant persona, shedding about 100 pounds, ascending to a realm of alt-culture status in which he can screw hundreds of tatted Lower East Side crotch rockets, and becoming the subject of a movie developed by Shia LaBeouf, Cage remains a seriously afflicted sick fuck.

By CHRIS FARAONE | July 28, 2009

Elvis Presley | From Elvis in Memphis

RCA/Legacy
Elvis Presley temporarily avoided the obvious (and, one could argue, tragic) destiny of a washed-up parody with The '68 Comeback Special , a TV show that lifted the retaining wall of nodding yes men and lucrative movie contracts to reveal a mythic force continuing to pulse.

By ZETH LUNDY | July 28, 2009

Various Artists | Comfusões

Out/Here (2009)
The Portuguese pun on this compilation's title suggests both "confusions" and "with fusions."

By GUSTAVO TURNER | July 29, 2009

Father Murphy | ... And He Told Us To Turn to the Sun

Aagoo (2009)
Harking back to an America where one's own lonely voice was the only radio and a BBQ meant a spit in the middle of the desert, Torino's Father Murphy hide detuned industrial textures within stripped-down, spacy folk instrumentation, like a man in a black hat picking up a bullet-riddled guitar with which to serenade his captives.

By DEVIN KING | July 29, 2009

Jeremy Udden | Plainville

Fresh Sound New Talent (2009)
Saxophonist and composer Udden (formerly of NEC and the Either/Orchestra) here dives deeper into the jazz-pop connections he began to explore in his 2006 debut as a leader, Torchsongs .

By JON GARELICK | July 29, 2009

Yacht | See Mystery Lights

DFA (2009)
One reason DFA is the label of records people want at their party is because the folks there have a sense of humor — be it James Murphy's prolonged deadpan hipster-papa martyrdom, the Juan Maclean's unconcealed boner for shitty piano pre-sets, or the smile-while-you-dance extravagance of Hercules and Love Affair.

By MICHAEL BRODEUR | July 29, 2009

Regardless of the cost

Tony McNaboe testifies on sophomore release
If you were concerned that the return of Rustic Overtones would mean the ends of their various side projects, it’s clear now that was a fruitless worry.

By SAM PFEIFLE | July 22, 2009

Shoot the piano player

Robert Stillman returns with Master Box
Robert Stillman's music is like an anachronistic, sepia-toned spin on the fanciful film scores of Jon Brion (Punch-Drunk Love, I Heart Huckabees). Both make fleet-footed, extremely visual piano songs with trotting melodies, a natural fit for an old silent short.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 22, 2009

Free to be

Hutch Heelan goes solo
Because of Hutch Heelan, I've now heard of EFT, which stands for emotional freedom techniques, and, as far as I can tell, involves tapping on different parts of your body to relieve pain, anxiety, and other bad feelings.

By SAM PFEIFLE | July 22, 2009

Music seen: Wilco

Live at the Maine State Pier, July 18, 2009
My first car was a big green Buick LeSabre, and my only options then for music were Extendo-Ride, who were awesome, and a mix tape my older sister had made, full of Wilco songs off Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

By CHAD CHAMBERLAIN | July 22, 2009

Rotors to Rust, WePushButtons, Gypsy Tailwind

Sibilance
• The ROTORS TO RUST show last weekend wasn't a one-off. The band have plans to release a new disc at the end of summer on MARK CURDO 's LABOR DAY RECORDS . Bassist JASON GROSSO says the new material is more loose and creative than you've heard from the three-piece before.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | July 24, 2009

The Dead Weather | Horehound

Third Man (2009)
It's no coincidence that four of the 11 songs on the Dead Weather's debut — "I Cut like a Buffalo," "3 Birds," "Rocking Horse," and a cover of Bob Dylan's "New Pony" — make reference to the animal kingdom.

By MIKAEL WOOD | July 22, 2009

Trife Diesel | Better Late Than Never

Trife da Label (2009)
For anyone who best understands things in white suburban terms, hip-hop is similar to lacrosse.

By CHRIS FARAONE | July 22, 2009

La Roux | La Roux

Polydor (2009)
Polydor (2009)

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | July 22, 2009

Magnolia Electric Co. | Josephine

Secretly Canadian (2009)
Even though it arose in part from tragedy, Josephine , the latest from Jason Molina and his band Magnolia Electric Co., may be one of Molina's lightest releases.

By RYAN STEWART | July 22, 2009

Sax Ruins | Yawiquo

Ipecac (2009)
After a quarter-century of punishing, hyper-rhythmic acrobatics, drummer Tatsuya Yoshida has taken a sharp detour.

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | July 22, 2009

George Thorogood | The Dirty Dozen

Capitol (2009)
Before you press PLAY, you know what you're going to get on The Dirty Dozen : music to drink lots of beer by.

By JEFF TAMARKIN | July 22, 2009

Tower of Song Festival, Eric Bettencourt, and the Outsiders

Sibilance
This is shaping up to be one of the best summers in a long time when it comes to outdoor and festival-type shows.

By PORTLAND PHOENIX STAFF | July 15, 2009

Born to rock

Deer Tick take it to the roadhouse
The last time Deer Tick were in Portland, at SPACE Gallery in November 2007, then-21-year-old frontman John McCauley decided to sing the national anthem. He sprung offstage and hit the floor belting the Tony Bennett standard "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in a nasal voice soaked in equal parts whiskey, battery acid, and gravel.

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 15, 2009

Music Seen: Femi Kuti, the Loblolly Boy

And Luke Kalloch
On record, Femi Kuti can't help but come off as a slightly vanilla version of his mad genius father Fela (popularizer of Afrobeat music, also known for having 12 wives at once, among other things).

By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | July 15, 2009