photo by Brittney Bollay This week starts off with a bang with a show by the hugely popular Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men , at Showbox Sodo. If you're a KEXP listener you know just how much we love this great Icelandic band. This is a can't miss! Speaking of can't misses, on Tuesday, THEESatisfaction is giving a free performance at the Queen Anne Easy Street Records, Point Juncture WA is at the Comet Tavern, and Poor Moon is at the Tractor with Lost In The Trees and [...]
Psych-rock specialists The Purrs will be headlining the Sunset Tavern on September 15th. The Purrs, fronted by bassist Jima and celebrating their tenth year as a band, model their sound fairly closely to everything Dean Wareham's been a part of, specifically Luna- which means high register vocals constantly threatening to be off key, cozy oohs and aahhs, and astral guitar riffs that seem to, in almost everyone composition, ascend into ethereal realms of reverb. Basically, I think they're awesome. Sharing the bill with the Purrs will be Useless Keys and [...]
I've not been shy about heaping praise upon the Purrs , one of Seattle's best and longest-running psych-pop bands. Their last full-length, Amused, Confused & More Bad News , still gets regular listens from me and my stereo given its all-around atmospheric attractiveness. I must say, though, it's a tough thing to be an active fan of a band that seems to never catch the ear of the greater public. It's not like there hasn't been plenty of digital ink spilled recognizing their feats, as evidenced [...]
The Purrs kick off their latest EP with a Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Cover. Only Dreaming which comes from the Lorry's album Nothing Wrong was kind of a plodding dirge from the UK quasi goths. The Purrs on the other hand make the song soar. Guitars come diving in from multiple directions and Jima out disaffects the Lorry's Chris Reed with his dead-pan vocal. The Purrs vastly improve on the Lorry's source code, altering it to the point of making it their own. Tearing Down Paisley Garden seems to be a kind of [...]
At $6.99 for a CD Baby digital download , "Tearing Down Paisley Garden," the sixth album from long-standing Seattle's The Purrs is quite a bargain. The band's sound mines a rich and fertile area between dreampop and an edgier early 1970s sound. Like the heroin-rock of Velvet Underground, bass player and lead singer Jima has a talking/singing style, which is accented by Dr. Robert and Jason Milne (the two guitarists) who play off each other with slightly fuzzy, whammy chords. There's no real hooks here-just a lot of grooving atmosphere. I mean, there are definitely hooks in [...]
Something that has never happened in my life happened this year. I have never lived anywhere where I can honestly say that my top three favorite records of the year came out of the city in which I reside. It's been an honor, and a delight to live in Seattle this year because I have had the opportunity to see the Intelligence, BOAT and Erik Blood more times than I can count. Usually, if you're lucky you might get one chance to see your favorite band come through your town for a gig. I have had [...]
People of New York City! Bookending this years CMJ music festival are two showcases featuring the talent of the bands and local labels of the Pacific Northwest that are very worthy of your time. The Maldives who tour minimally are coming special for the Mt. Fuji showcase, so don't miss your chance. And I think [...]
The Purrs play the part of the persistent underdog well. The band is one that you've probably heard of. You've likely read a positive review about them in your favorite online music reading place ( guilty ). They're probably a band that you've inadvertently stumbled upon in some Ballard venue on some rainy weeknight. Yet they're likely not the first band that comes to mind when somebody posits the question, "What's your favorite guitar pop band in Seattle?" Well, the dudes aren't ready to give in; not to fickle audiences, not to unappreciative labels, and surely not [...]
Welcome to another weekly installment of the Friday Mixtape. I really can't think of anything to say about this week's mix- just let it stand on its own. So, download it, listen to it, and leave some comments about it- if you like. Tracklisting: Felt - Protagonists Kate Earl - Melody Kings Of Convenience - Mrs Cold Other [...]
Last week while I was listening to Kevin Cole on KEXP he played a song from Purrs ' new album followed by the Dream Syndicate 's Tell Me When It's Over which reminded me of a couple things. One, how much I love Kevin Cole's kid in a candy store approach to his daily show (you never know what he might grab off the shelf) and two: how much the Purrs seem to be influenced by the Paisley Underground. About a year ago when I saw them across the street from the Green [...]
Redd Kross' Jeff McDonald once asked,"Why does a missile look like a cock?" in their song "Crazy World"...I'm not sure the cover of the new album from The Purrs would provide any answers to that question, but the reference immediately came to mind when I saw it. While this site is about the music, I think you've all figured out by now that I'm a fan of graphic design and photograpy and the Amused, Confused & More Bad News packaging is something I'm pleased to have in my hands. So pleased that I feel the need [...]
At one point, they pulled out a sitar. A SITAR. Who has one of those, much less knows how to play it?? read more
After my, ahem, madcap evening on Friday , a group of us headed out for a more subdued experience watching the Pica Beats at the Comet Tavern. I was the DD even though we didn't drive. You can see a few pics of it here . As I've said before, I'm currently quite addicted to Beating Back the Claws of the Cold , equally wrapped up in its stirring spectral songs, cryptic prose and poetry, overt oboe, and one very impressive [...]
So, if you're a fan of the Stooges, or the Gits, or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or even the Black Keys, you're probably a fan of the Ettes . Or, at least you probably should be. The L.A. garage-punk trio walloped the Sunset Tavern this past Saturday night (1/24) with a gritty set of urgent rock reminiscent of those bands (a.k.a. some of my favorites). I'm new to the Ettes, so I wasn't extremely familiar with their music aside from the pre-show internet sleuthing I'd done over the past few weeks. That, along with the [...]
I haven't been talking much about Tim Young's Contrast Podcast . I participate almost every week and it's a great musical treat whether I'm there or not. If I don't participate, it's not because I can't think of a song that fits the theme; it's usually because I think of too many songs and can't make up my mind! Indecisive = me. The theme this week, Contrast Podcast #121, submitted by another blog friend, Marcy of Lost In Your Inbox , is Days of the Week , which gives us an opportunity for [...]
Seattle, WA "She's Got Chemicals" The Purrs on MySpace The Purrs on The Hype Machine
Songs That Might Otherwise Pass You By Cass McCombs, "That's That" Never has anyone confessed in such a charming and smooth manner to having a job cleaning toilets. The soothing salve of his voice makes it sound mysterious and adventurous. Like a 007 theme song written for the average young American male. It very much reminds me of the way I felt when I heard the song "Might as Well" by
Have you ever noticed that at some point in an artist's career they start to lose touch with reality a little? They start believing the hype that swirls around them and their "Mr. Brownstone" corrodes a bit and becomes "November Rain". Luckily, Seattle's The Purrs haven't reached this point...nor do I have any concerns they ever will. The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together. is the title of their self-released second album. It doesn't stray all that far from the recipe that made their epic debut The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of [...]
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