Even the EPs here, often thought of as just bite-sized morsels to be quickly consumed, have a sheen of permanence, from Holy Boys Danger Club's big-voiced energy, enough to power a small city, to the narrative creativity of Dead Man's Clothes, who really ought to be in pictures. Hell, Headstart! seem like five different bands on the second installment of their alphabet series, with five different albums in the queue.
Maybe eventually, as some music-industry observers have predicted, the album will disappear, replaced by the kind of weekly music releases that have come from the likes of Kanye and Spose this year, but there certainly aren't any signs of that in Portland.
If anything, the album releases here are stronger and more cohesive than ever. Have a listen for yourself.
Albums
1)Confidence, Spouse
2)Mercury: Closest to the Sun, Theodore Treehouse
3) Self-Titled, Grand Hotel
4)We Are a Lightning Bolt, Roy Davis
5)Portland Steel, Covered in Bees
6)Cement Postcard with Owl Colours, Phantom Buffalo
7)La Perla, Olas
8)No Tomorrow Tonight, Colepitz
9)Narrow Gauge Quad Trains, Wesley Allen Hartley and the Traveling Trees
10) Thinning the Herd, Moshe
EPs
1) The Boo Box, Holy Boys Danger Club
2) Ice Is War, Dead Man's Clothes
3) Trust, Marie Stella
4) Honey, Amy Allen
5) B, Headstart!
