The Memories - "Higher"

Discovering Erik Gage's spectacular DIY tape label Gnar Tapes and his shred-happy band White Fang was a serious highlight from my time in Portland. These days though, you don't need to live in Oregon to take in hits of Gage's enthusiastically lo-fi bong-soaked pop music. His newest project, The Memories—comprised of fellow White Fanger Kyle Handley and members of Portland's Boom!—just put out its self-titled debut bicoastally with vinyl from Underwater Peoples and its tape counterpart on Burger Records. Like a copy of a copy of an old beaten up cassette that you have to wind back to life with a pencil, The Memories' music has a real warm, inviting, and lived in quality to it. And don't let the feedback or rawness of the recordings fool you—that's just a little bit of dress-up and misdirection—these guys write simple pop music with the instincts of true pop classicists (see "Silly Little Picture"). Only two songs on the LP break the two-minute mark, so don't be surprised if you find yourself playing honey-sweet gems like "Higher" over and over again.

Nab the vinyl or the tape.

The Memories - "Higher" (from The Memories)


Previously:
Erik Gage - "Little Brother" (from Inner Cosmic)
White Fang - "Not Listening" (from Grateful To Shred)

White Fang - "Not Listening"

Perhaps the only band as simultaneously unserious and talented as Nashville's Natural Child is Portland's White Fang, a band that enjoys purposely making their records sound like old stepped on and beaten up cassette tapes (they run their own cassete-only label, Gnar Tapes). The band's newest record, Grateful To Shred, is due out on April 20th (that's for 4/20 for you non-stoners, the same date Natural Child's 1971 is out). But as much as White Fang like to mess around (see: "Can't Find our Weed") and live up to their punk rock reputation (see: "Fuck Up A Fascist [I'm Down]"), they also know how to write a damn fine rock and roll song: hooks, attitude, and all. Peep the album's short but catchy as hell straight-out-of-the-garage "Not Listening" and singer Erik Gage's excellent "oohs" laden vocals.

White Fang - "Not Listening" (from Grateful To Shred)

Erik Gage - "Little Brother"

Erik Gage, a member of the rabid Portland band White Fang as well as the curator of Gnar Tapes, releases solo music a few times a year via cassette tape. "Little Brother," taken from last year's Inner Cosmic, is a rough gem and a must listen—a bong-filled basement recording full of whistles, acoustic guitar and emotive loosely layered vocals. If you're a fan, make sure to look out for Memories—Gage's forthcoming project with fellow White Fanger Kyle Handley. And if you're a Portlander looking for new music, Gage's Gnar Tapes and local label Marriage Records are wonderful places to start.

Erik Gage - "Little Brother" (from Inner Cosmic)
White Fang - "Tall Shadow" (from Pure Evil)