THE RAINY STATES, RADIANT SILVERGUN, SEA CAVES, GNOMENCLATURE (Berbati's Pan, 10 SW 3rd) Somewhere in between an EP and a full-length album, the nine-song Slow Wave from Sea Caves showcases the Portland band's water-polished songs and precise musicianship. Sea Caves are effective at building a mood, and don't shy away from grandiosity, giving their elaborate songs a stately and austere quality that still conveys plenty of emotion, particularly on the epic "Shades of Grey." Radiant Silvergun, meanwhile, makes brief pop snippets à la Guided by Voices, highlighted by the Roland Gift-esque vocals of Charles Westmoreland, former frontman of gone-but-not-forgotten the Kingdom. His new endeavor already has some marvelous songs, including "Building Monuments" and "These Shapes Could Be Anything"—simple pop chunklets that, even after a single listen, get stuck in your head for days on end. NL&
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
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