Northern California expatriate Kelly Blair Bauman gained notoriety as a seething and gifted songwriter in such varied groups as Deathstar (1996), the Arnica Sync (2000), and the North Magnetic (2001) before hoofing it up to the Pacific Northwest (2005). Whereas his output in his former bands relished in layering excitingly moody guitar swells with subtle vocals and raucous rhythmic undertones, his latest offering (new album Gomorrah on Jealous Butcher Records) floats on seas of dreamy, rustic Americana. Bauman's affinity for layering many melodies is still prevalent, but it's deepened by an impossible knack for timeless song craft and plaintive sonic experimentalism. There's a dash of Jackson Browne's elegant storytelling belied by brooding electric guitar, cello, and saloon-y piano inserts (as evidenced on "Elevator Up"), all hammered home with undulating vocal cadences. It's an understatement to say Bauman is one of—if not the—most underrated songwriters in Portland; visit his world of sound and see. RJP
TUESDAY 8/11/09: MARK TWAIN INDIANS, THE VALLEY ARENA, OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
“[SMART ROCK] Don’t let the riffage scare you. The Valley Arena’s new disc, We Died, finds the SoCal crew engaging in hard rock as smart as it is heavy: Tricky post-hardcore guitar licks are there to buoy cleverly jingoistic turns of phrase. Fans of bass-heavy ‘90s indie rock like Jawbox and Seaweed ought to dig the group’s smartly aggressive aesthetic, which grows in spurts with each release. And you thought nobody was making worthwhile rock ’n’ roll anymore. Psshh.” - CASEY JARMAN, The Willamette Week
heY Bauman!! Just thought about you today was wondering how the heck things were going?? Are you still in portland? Let me know how things are man! I still listen to Gomorrah all the time! Love it!
We have 2 great shows coming up. Hope you can make it out! ~~Thanks. C ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Friday, Feb. 6th - FREE! The Twilight Room - 5242 N. Lombard 3 Full sets of Pan-ian goodness! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Friday, Feb. 13th - FREE! The Kenton Club - 2025 N Kilpatrick St. with Lucky Tigers and Right On John ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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