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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2003)
January 17, 2003 J « f 1 |3 3 entingout ealingout ealingout ealingout __ ........................... reative afe REVIEWS T he N ew Y ear EP Dear Nora • Magic Marker f you expected Dear Nora’s follow-up to 200l ’s spectacular dehut We’ll Have a Time to he filled with the same whirlwind of yummy pop gixxiness that made the first record such a success, you’re in for a hit of a surprise. For one, The New Year EP is really more of a solo project by queer cutie Katy Davidson. The band’s front- woman, who, in the name of love, packed up and moved to San Francisco a couple of years hack, recorded the EP without fellow Portland bandmates Ryan Wise and Marianna Ritchey. The result is a quiet album, reminiscent of a gray and rainy Portland morning. Sometimes dreary, sometimes calming, reflective and gen erally moody. Perhaps characteristic of Davidson’s own style, the most noticeable change in sound is more instrumentals and experimentations Showing off her talent for the piano, she’s crafted three soft and dreamlike “codas,” or instrumental pieces, to go along with pre existing Dear Nora songs "The New Year,” “Deaming Out Loud" and “A Lullaby,” giving them a slower and more nostalgic feel. This isn’t to say, though, that Dear Nora doesn't deliver. Once again, Davidson offers up the same simple yet thoughtful lyrical bril liance that made the first album so charming. And while the stings may seem a little more melancholy as she contemplates both changes in seasons and changes in life, the harmonies are still catchy and poppy enough to find your self humping along to. If you’re a fan who was a-wish in’ and a-hopin’ for more of that first sound, you may he a little disappointed. But if you’re devoted enough to explore with them, Dear Nora may just win your heart one more time. — Courtney Perkins B etter D ays Ijjoi • Hamlet Recordings E rnest Lijoi takes full control on his third full- length album, Better Days. Having reworked the Sondheim-influenced, thematic production of tracks like the dusty disc opener “Holding On," he is poised for stardom. With a country-tinged immediacy and romanticism, the lyrics swirl through the psy che. Transplanting himself from New Eng land to New York City, the singer/songwriter has upgraded production values, gamering critical attention and moving his show "uptown." It’s obvious that touring his cabaret show Being Ernest has had purposeful impact on the overall picture here. There are several interesting inferences from diverse genres: swing, jazz and plain ol’ pop— a bit Counting Crows here, a tinge of Hedwig there. This clearly is heard in the upbeat “Dancing in the Rain” when Lijoi sings, “I stopped by for coffee, but she tt-o new y*** e P poured me some champagne, then she took me dancing in the rain.” Breakout track “Dance with the Devil” has matter-of- fact sexual innuen does encrusted throughout, “setting the floor on fire” and finding common ground with latter-day Brian Setzer’s neo- rockabilly. Better Days includes its fair share of ground ed, slower-moving tracks, but Lijoi is at his best when he belts and boogies. Certainly the (cocktail) club favorite here would be “The Only One,” a quirky parody professing undying love while seeking self-adulation. These are indeed better days for Lijoi, whose lyrical content is brilliantly marked by storytelling, as heard in the disc closer, “Alibi," where “I’ll be your diversion and you can be my alibi” has quite a real, honest ring to it. There is an importance in being Ernest. Join the club at www.lijoi.com. — TJ Norris Artful Specialties Apple Cinnamon French Toast Elvis Breakfast Sandwich 8 om to 3 pm everyday Breakfast anytime Turkey & H am Reuben Lunch from 10am 503-236-9486 1728 SE 7th Ave. 2 blocks south of Hawthorne UITR CRFE RUEN THAI RESTAURANT 4 Serving fresh panini sandwiches. + Fresh Traditional Thai Food in an Intimate Romantic Setting Dine-ln, Carry Out. Delivery 1411 NE Broadway 503-287-1014 fx: 503-287-1094 M-Th 11-9:30 Fr-St 11-10 Sn 11-9:30 A tmosphere The Quails • Inconvenient Recordings Gay Owned & Operated ▼ + Delicious homemade soups & bold salads. + + Local hormone free beef burgers + Many specialty & breakfast items too! + a wo girls, one guy. Part pop, part politics. Saturated and overdriven fuzzy guitars. Screeching vocals reminiscent of Sleater- Kinney. Righteous, purposeful lyrics. It’s the raging San Francisco trio The Quails—hold onto your hats. If you’ve ever heard the soundtrack to the documentary Athens. Ga: Inside/Out, you might recall the lo-fi art-rock sound that was pouring out of that sleepy Southern town in the early to mid-1980s. Listening to The Quails makes you feel as if you’re back in time, lurking in Clympia or Athens, obsessively collecting every Pylon single or every title from the Kill Rock Stars label. But no, it’s 2003—and The Quails are on a mission, trends be damned. Their second release, Atmosphere, is a raw explosion— 13 tracks expressed sparingly and with little deviation. Yeah, their sonic palette is bland; most tracks are more alike than diver gent. There are a few exceptions: Track 8 resembles Throwing Muses circa Real Ramona, and Track 9 throws in some atonal keyboard weirdness to shake things up. The beauty of this trio is that they choose minimalism and sing their guts out. And for the most part it works. In our crazed world of overconsumption, where the virus of gluttony and excess makes no exception for art + music, The Quails’ gloriously simple approach is subversive. Your best bet? Take these guys at face value. They’re blasting a message of empowerment and justice with a punk-rock megaphone. Now all we have to do is open our minds, stand up and heed the call. — Con Tarcuoot in T + Using local & organic ingrediants. + Satw + Local organic beer, wine, & fresh juices. + + Spacious booths for groups and always quick service. + Efta/ra/i fflA/ro + Yummy kids menu! + New Fall/Winter M enu 4 + Expanded breakfast menu + 3024 NE Alberta ♦ 503-335-8233 Hours: Lunch - M-F 11-5 Supper - Tue-Sat 5-2 Sun & Mon 5-10 Breakfast - Sat & Sun 8-3 , //i/io a u /t f e cQ ÿ flo w e // ó Now Open 10-5 Weekdays & 8-5 Sat. - Sun. + O X - 2 ¿ 1 6 - 6 M '6 (0 (0 (0 . A‘( (/((/)(( iff Ht. c o o t FOR A GREAT STEAK, LOOK FOR THE REVOLVING STEAK SIGN ... ... ’ "r— M ^ t s * ' V EXCEPT IN BEAVERTON. WHERE THE CITY ___ WOULDN’T LET US ■K HAVE ONE V S í ‘ t * Nr ’ kind* n ,n g 7 * °ffanuiie, s/nCe !946 .. SdA fU ftA Our revolving steak sign has become a landmark in Portland. A sign o f quality. Where you know you can get a great steak dinner at a fair price. Unfortunately, we couldn 7 get that same sign in Beaverton. But honestly, we 're not that hard to find mr OLD CÛUMTR7 QTCHEI home o f the 72 oz steak I05th & SE Stark • 503-252-417! - Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy at Griffith Dr - 503-644-1492
