Rustic Overtones, Light at the End

Best ALBUM in PORTLAND

 

Sitting next to Tony McNaboe, nursing PBRs at a sparsely attended open-mic night at Shay’s Bar and Grill, roughly this time last year, it seemed like maybe this thing could work. Drummer McNaboe, who was the first to leave Rustic Overtones in 2001, wanted to get the band back together, I could tell, but he wouldn’t say the words. Maybe he didn’t want to hope it could happen. And suddenly it was July and Rustic were playing some of the greatest live shows this town has ever seen, jamming the Asylum with fans old enough to remember when they were too young to get into the clubs Rustic were playing and fans young enough they couldn’t know about all that old Arista baggage the band still carry around every once in a while. Dave Gutter wading out into the crowd to sing his anti-war ode, “Dear Mr. President;” Spencer Albee chiming in with corny jokes; a three-piece string section; Jay Ward, Ryan Zoidis, and Dave Noyes deciding their three horns weren’t enough; Jon Roods looking like he’d just found a $20 bill in the street. Those shows just felt so fucking good.

Giving the lie to the band’s insistence that this was just a temporary thing, they’ve made Light at the End into their latest label play, giving Velour a chance to help them promote their latest incarnation. With big throwbacks like “Hardest Way Possible” and “Rock Like War” and new wrinkles like “Troublesome” and a title track that has grown their legend, the disc is the eight-man rumble we’ve come to love and the nuanced construction this group of vets has come to appreciate. Some of you had mourned their loss and moved on — some of you thought you were finally rid of them — but none of us knows what comes next. I’m looking forward to finding out.

— Sam Pfeifle

Album
1. Portland Death Punk 2: Louder than Fire, Covered in Bees
2. Steel Yourself, Sontiago
3. Tusks and a Moustache, Cosades