October Aural Fix - ELEVEN PDX

PURE BATHING CULTURE

Duo Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman are Pure Bathing Culture, the time-traveling indie rock band currently residing in Portland, Oregon. Their 1980s aesthetic is so genuine that shifting time and space explains not only the big hair and fog machines used in glorious excess in the music video for “All Night,” but also the dreamy tone of their synth and electric guitar. They are captivating to modern music audiences, having toured by request with Death Cab for Cutie, Lucius and The Shins. This is not some throwback band; yes, their sound is nostalgic, but by wholeheartedly embracing their choices, they are creating modern classics from another era, hence: time-travellers. As they might put it, they having been honing a sonic virtue.

The present isn’t always easy for time-travellers. In the last several years, they were not only dropped by their label, Partisan Records, but also parted ways with their management team. They are resilient though, as demonstrated in the lyrics to “Thin Growing Things”: “Lift for love and live for something/ Lift for love and live through something/ Lift for love and live through

something else.” Together with local legend, Tucker Martine (R.E.M., Modest Mouse, The Decemberists), they crafted their latest album Night Pass (Infinite Companion) with meticulous care to serve as a time-machine, so that any listener can go back to a time of easy listening radio hits with sad lyrics that make you feel good.

If you’d like to join them in person, don’t miss them at Mississippi Studios October 23. Whether you get drawn in by Sarah’s dramatic performance or Daniel’s easeful mastery of his instrument, there is something enthralling about being there with them as they co-create their very personal, very beautiful music together. In such an intimate space, with such great sound, it truly will be a journey. » – Matthew Weatherman

2 HELLO YELLO

Surrounded by Oakland’s hip hop charged music scene, Hello Yello, made up of brothers Dylan and Jaden Wiggins, along with their friend Martin Rodrigues, has taken a more alt rock music route. The trio’s punk and garage sounds come from

growing up listening to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Linkin Park and Soundgarden. Despite being nudged toward R&B, especially with their father, D’Wayne Wiggins, who was part of the ’90s R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, Hello Yello followed what comes naturally to them as musicians, an electrifying, renewed grunge rock sound.

Hello Yello is pretty fresh on the scene and has been putting out music as a band for about a year now. Making music was no accident for Rodrigues and the Wiggins brothers, who all attended the Oakland School for the Arts. There, they brushed shoulders with many big name actors and artists who were in their early beginnings, such as H.E.R. and Zendaya. It was while they were in school that Dylan and Jaden began making music with a pre-fame Kehlani. The Wiggins brother had originally joined forces with Kehlani and Zendaya to form the group Poplyfe, which went on to finish in fourth place on NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent,” in 2011.

It wasn’t until forming SMSHNG HRTS that the trio started playing together as a band, performing pop and R&B tunes. After some naming rights issues with the Smashing Pumpkins, Hello Yello came to fruition, leaving traces of R&B throughout their debut EP Love Wins— especially the feel good track, “Feel That Again.”

Amidst a music renaissance, merging emo and punk with hip hop and R&B, Hello Yello is taking their music to a whole new level. It’s not often lo-fi guitars, screamo vocals, funky bass lines and soulful drums collide together perfectly capturing the angst and energy of being young in such a rare way. »

3 BLACK PUMAS

Austin-based duo, Black Pumas, is the collaboration of Grammy-winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada and undeniably talented 27-year-old songwriter, Eric Burton—who has seemed to revivify the sound of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, added in a splash of a contemporary twist of their own. Quesada and Burton were introduced through a mutual friend. It only took a few minutes on the phone to decide Burton’s vocals were exactly what Quesada needed to near to know they were on the same wavelength.

Black Pumas is a name reminiscent of African-American activist group, the Black Panthers. It’s no coincidence that the self-titled debut album hearkens back to the same period, even calling upon it in many tracks. One of the first singles released from the album, “Black Moon Rising”, pulls from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising,” calling on the nostalgia of the era, while adding a sinister slice of R&B magic, the soul of the early ‘70s and the electric piano keys with an instantaneous and easily digestible vocal performance.

In a brooding and cinematic effort, “OCT 33” is delivered as a buttery smooth conversation between different generations. On this track, Burton’s intoxicating voice almost stands out alone as it is the song’s main event. One of the LP’s stand-out tracks is, “Know You Better”, where listeners get to experience Burton’s falsetto in raw form.

To end the album with “Sweet Conversations” was a bold choice, but they pulled it off with the utmost confidence and class. The lyrics are incredibly endearing and bold, and the melody promotes ease and class right from the get-go—something that few artists can pull off so easily.

With a debut album so hard to resist to play from start to finish, don’t miss out on this live performance coming to Portland this month! Black Pumas will be playing Doug Fir Lounge on Saturday, October 19th. » – Mandi Dudek

CRUMB

Fusing elements of Brazilian psych-pop, free jazz andshoegaze, the Brooklyn quartet Crumb make blissfully languidbedroom orchestras for the introspectively inclined. But while itwould be tempting to peg Crumb’s brand of aural psychotropicssimply as “chill,” lyrically the band’s songs convey contemplativeand complex narratives.

Consisting of singer and guitarist Lila Ramani, bassist JesseBrotter, keyboardist and saxophonist Brian Aronow, and drummerJonathan Gilad, the foursome met in 2016 while studying at TuftsUniversity in Boston where they each were members of a small,cross-pollinating campus music scene. Ramani had been writinga collection of songs since high school, opening the floor for herfuture bandmates to freely explore and expand upon them. Thisexperimental process eventually led to the formation of Crumb.

The band released two well-received EP’s: 2016’s Crumband 2017’s Locket. Recalling the coasting, gossamer vibes of

Broadcast, Parsley Sound, Stereolab, and a dearth of ‘60s-eraBrazilian pop records, Crumb’s two extended players (and severalyears of constant touring) quickly solidified the bands luxuriouslyhypnotic, yet complexly time-shifting sound.

Crumb tapped Fleet Foxes and Soccer Mommy producerGabe Wax to helm their first LP. They released the ethereal andhypnotic Jinx earlier this year as they had with their previousrecordings: independently on their own record label, sansmanagement and booking agents. Ramani’s ethereal vocals glideover luminous guitar and floating bass lines, amplify the album’sdreamy mood. “Last night I laid my head down and felt the demonsagain” she echoes over the mid-album spellbinder “The Letter.”Beyond their relaxed, heady vibes, Crumb’s songs possess anintense and alluring gravity that lulls the listener into deeper,more contemplative realms. » – Anthony King