AgesandAges - Alright You Restless (2011)

Like neo-hippies, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, AgesandAges sound like an idealized front porch family sing-along. Just about every song off Alright You Restless exudes a friendly communal feeling, to the point where the band must regularly discuss whether they are or are not a cult. I first discovered AgesandAges, along with Boy Eats Drum Machine and Light For Fire, on last summer’s PDX Pop! Now compilation. “No Nostalgia” stood out with its wonderful rolling rhythm, buoyed by spirited group harmonies, and a catchy call and response. The rest of album roughly follows that basic formula, with a guitarist and percussionist anchoring the songs, while the rest of the seven member band fills out the sound and shares the lead and backing vocal duties. The rustic nature and appearing simplicity of the songs belie the many tempo changes, vocal arrangements, and intricate musicianship. For example, when male vocals lash through the choral pop towards the end of "When I Was Idle." I love the entire album, but the galloping “So So Freely” (mp3) and ringing “Souvenir” are two of the other standouts.


AgesandAges "Navy Parade (escape from the Black River bluffs)" HD from Alicia J. Rose on Vimeo.

The Weepies - Be My Thrill (2010)

One of my resolutions next year will be to actually write a damn review once in a while, especially for albums that seriously knock my socks off. Then I realized that Quickcrit's year end list would be a great place to start. Normally, I'd be inclined to post a spoiler alert about the following review, but it's no secret that I love The Weepies. That's right, they're my number one this year. I loved this album so much that it was almost a lie to single out only one song as my favorite.

Be My Thrill is a lot more upbeat than their last album and in my opinion, is their best to date. It's unapologetically filled with infectious sunshine and love in "I Was Made for Sunny Days" and "Add My Effort" -- no doubt influenced by parenthood and their two sons. Their optimism, however, is balanced with a little reality in "Please Speak Well of Me" and "You're So Hard to Please". I can't help but wonder if "Be My Thrill" was written in the throes of infant or toddler-hood:

Be my thrill / My little white pill / My unpaid bill / The one who will
Be my love / My little gray dove / My push and my shove / My heaven above
And we tumble down like Jack & Jill
And I miss all of the joy you kill
But I love you still
Be my thrill

I laughed aloud the first time I really listened to the lyrics with a cranky, but fantastic three-month-old wiggling in my lap. I'm bummed that we missed The Weepies when they came to Portland in October, but Awmercy and I were quite occupied with our own little thrill. Let's hope baby Miles likes indie pop as much as his mama, because The Weepies will be a staple in our living room, his nursery, and the car.

Don Of Division Street - Animals In Love (2009)

It's kind of amazing that Don of Division Street's mostly known for being one of Portland's in demand drummers. Maybe that will change with Animals In Love, an album full of engaging Americana songwriting. It ebbs and flows from mid tempo alt. country pop to slower folk to plugged in roots rock, like on "You're Gone". Regardless of the style, Matt Cadenelli's voice rich vocals that adds depth to the songs. The two standouts are the beautiful and rolling "Mina Bird" and "I Never Crawled", which, with its Memphis-style horns and backup singers, reminds me a little of Tift Merritt's forays into blue-eyed soul on Tambourine. While the album lags a bit in the middle with three back to back slower tracks, most of the songs pleasantly accessible, like the warm and yearning "When I Release Me" or the loping "Mourning Light".

The Weepies - Hideaway (2008)

Over the past 4 months, Hideawy has quickly become one of my favorites. Not just a favorite, but a go-to set of songs for when I'm happy, or sleepy, or cranky, or just need to let my brain relax. Suffice to say, if Hideaway were a cassette tape, it would be popping and clicking on its way to a quick death. I love it that much.

I guess I'd categorize The Weepies as folk-pop with songs that catch you like a 3-foot meat hook. At first, you hear the sweet vocals and harmonies of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen that make you feel like a cute little square-headed sperm whale swimming under the stars (seriously, they're that good). Only after really listening to the album a few times did the melancholy lyrics break through, revealing a matter-of-fact undercurrent of life lessons - sometimes things suck, but you gotta put your best foot forward.

Among my favories, "Old Coyote," "Hideaway," and "Orbiting," and "All This Beauty."