The Decemberists - The King Is Dead (2011)

The Decemberists sound comfortable and loose on The King Is Dead in a way that reminds me of Wilco’s Blue Sky. Like Wilco, the Decemberists are highly ambitious and constantly reaching for something new and pushing their fanbase to follow. Granted, where Wilco experimented with distortion and found sounds, the Decemberist headed deep into the library with a hand on the Thesaurus. Here it sounds as if they’ve taken a deep breath, deciding to simply play together and write 10 good songs. Apparently, when they drop all pretension, they still write catchy indie rock, just with a little more country and roots flavor. And it works exceedingly well, especially on tracks like “Calamity Song” with its countrified New Order guitar riff and Irish folk leaning “Rox In The Box”. It may not be the type of album that sets the world on fire, but it makes for great repeat listening.

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 Builders & The Butchers @ Crystal Ballroom

I last saw the Builders and the Butchers perform at the intimate Mississippi Studios a month or so before Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well was released. While they put on a great show in front of a packed house that night, it's hard to believe that just a couple months later they played a sold out Crystal Ballroom. Granted Saturday's MFNW lineup was stacked, with Langhorne Slim before and Blind Pilot after, but there was no denying the crowd's love for these hometown heroes. And when Portland loves a band they love them hard and let them know. And the Builders and the Butchers responded by putting on an electric show. The new songs off of Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well sounded road tested and tight, filling the ballroom with thumping drums and frantic strumming. As good as ""Devil Town" and "Barcelona" sound on the album, they sound even better live, with the wringing mandolin and horn bursts accentuating the energy and drama of the dark lyrics. It's a show that shouldn't be missed.

fun. @ Hawthorne Theater

After a rousing set by Limbeck – which as a power trio infused their catchy pop songs with plenty of rootsy rock – Fun delivered the show their album promised. Although just two days after the official release of Aim And Ignite people were dancing, waving their arms, and singing along as if it had been out for months. Of course the biggest cheers erupted for their two singles: "All The Pretty Girls" and "At Least I Am Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)". Format fans were sated when the band took it back to 2003 with "The First Single", reminding me just how catchy the Format could be. Although as good as the Format was, Fun takes those same giant hooks and surrounds them with more creative and interesting music. Great show.

La Rocca - Ok Okay (2008)

I loved "Sketches (20 Something Life)" off of The Truth. I'm a sucker for a lively keyboard and a singable/shoutable chorus. In fact, the whole album was pretty good, catchy roots rock that had me looking forward to the follow up. Unfortunately, Ok Okay they seemed to have dropped most of the rock in favor of mid tempo Brit schlock. This album is seriously disappointing, not because it is particularly bad, more that it is just so average and well, boring. It seems like they tried to appeal to the Grey's Anatomy crowd, but end up just playing neutered rock. The three songs I'll salvage are the sweet "Senses", "Sing Her Song" with its soaring chorus, and "Ballad Of Arizona", which is by far the best song on the album, integrating harmonica and simple lyrics over a driving piano and drums.

The Builders And The Butchers - Salvation Is A Deep Dark...

The Builders and the Butchers are back with a fantastic new album that's even better than their last one. Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well still sounds like a bunch of guys drinking and playing music at the end of a dirt road, but the songs are tighter and more fully developed. They've also added more slightly variation between and within the songs this time. Over all, as fun as the last album was, this one is just more dynamic and exciting. The Spanish trumpet blasts on "Barcelona" sounded just as good as when I heard them live a couple weeks ago. From the opening "Golden And Green" it's apparent that the themes of doom, destruction, and the Devil still possess their thoughts, but again that only seems to fuel their frenzied Gothic roots rock. I particularly love the twisted imagery and stop-start beat of "Devil Town" and portentous sing-along of "In The Branches". But really, everything here is great.

Mad Buffalo @ Mississippi Studios

At first, Mad Buffalo seemed like a pretty typical roots rock band as they locked into a groove and rumbled their way through a set of what would have been fairly average rock songs if it weren't for some seriously killer guitar licks. While watching them I kept thinking that the guitarist was way too good for this band. As it turned out, I was right. James Burton, the guitarist, was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2001 for his work with Dale Hawkins, Ricky Nelson and Elvis, among many others. Oddly, there was no mention of this in the night's promotional write-up, which is probably why the club was practically empty. I just happened to stop by looking for a show. Now, if I go see Booker T on the 14th, I can see two inductees in just over a week.

Jack-O & The Tennessee Tearjerkers - The Disco Outlaw (2009)

I don't know why, but although I was a fan of the Oblivians, the Compulsive Gamblers and Reigning Sound, I never listened to Jack Oblivian's solo albums until recently, which is kind of a drag since The Flip Side Kid is awesome. Disco Outlaw, it's follow-up, is another solid slab of Memphis garage rock -- a nice mix of roots rock, country, and barroom rock and roll. I'm partial to the casual "Sweet Thang" with its Strokes-y riff and "Walk Of Shame", with its catchy sing-along chorus, but mainly I like how the album drifts between blues and rockabilly without ever really being either. The songs are loose, casual and sound timeless, yet fresh.

Fernando - True Instigator (2009)

If you are in the mood for a couple barn burning rockers, you should check out Portland local, Fernando. "True Instigator" and "Word from the Inside", off his new album True Instigator, are hard charging roots rock. And they're free on his website! The rest of the album is a bit mellower, but still mostly pulls from the alt. country, roots, and Americana genres. Of the more reflective and beautiful ballads, I like "It's A Shame" and "Remember Me" the best.

The Builders And The Butchers - The Builders And The Butchers

The Builders and the Butchers captures the loose feeling of a bunch of guys getting together on a porch to drink, carouse and otherwise have a good time while playing shambling and rootsy acoustic indie rock. However, as fun as that sounds, these songs are dark and forboding, with lyrics full of broken hearts, death and dying. Like the Boggs, the percussion propels the songs forward, this time onward towards destruction. "Bottom At The Lake" describes a theif's "new home among the fish and grass and stones". Other songs, such as "Find Me In The Air" are peppered with call and response, playing with overlap of gothic and gospel. "The Coal Mine Fall" and "Black Dresses" are also worth checking out.

The Dutchess And The Duke - She's The Dutchess, He's The Duke (2008)

While I am not usually a fan of folk music, the Dutchess and the Duke add a heavy dose of the Rolling Stones' version of the blues to theirs, incorporating a sinister and snaking guitar line straight out of "Paint It Black" into "The Prisoner". A lot of the songs actually sound like acoustic versions of garage rockers, capturing that same rock n' roll snarl. That's not to say they sound unfinished. The songs are consistently pretty cool and the guy/girl harmonies create a ramshackle intimacy. Plus, they sing about fucking in a phone booth in "Strangers". "Armageddon Song" reminds me of Brian Jonestown Massacre, back when they were good, circa Thank God For Mental Illness. "I Am Just A Ghost" is another standout track. I'm excited to see them open for the Fleet Foxes.

The Boggs - Forts (2007)

The best songs on Forts ("Arm And Arm", "Forts") add propulsive rhythms and beats to their roots-influenced indie rock. Overall, the percussion is often upfront and alternates between driving through and dancing around the songs. The lyrics are shouted, chanted and sung, creating a spirited, if chaotic, feeling. How did I miss these guys last year?