music
It’s All Natural
Other Side
of the North
Over the years I’ve heard music inspired by medicinal plants and herbs, presidents, the
50 states, even the art and culture of tea. But Portland’s Bark Horn and Hide were inspired
by something that I never considered as a muse — National Geographic magazine.
The story Bark Horn and Hide create on their fi rst full-length tells of Melville Bell
Grosvenor, editor of the venerable magazine from 1957 to 1967 and grandson of
Alexander Graham Bell. In the imagination of songwriter Andy Furgeson, Grosvenor
is a madman possessed by the spirit of his grandfather who “takes a mystical journey
through the perspectives of the silenced voices” in the magazine articles.
The subject matter on National Road is a zoological and anthropological collage
clipped from a closet full of well-read issues. “This Abdomen Has Flown” provides the
Bark Horn and Hide
point of view of a honey ant, fated to be gorged with sustenance for the queen and
workers, imprisoned by her swollen abdomen until a National Geographic explorer
inadvertently sets her free. “Treasure of the Everglades” describes the love interest of a tree snail. Another song is about Ham, the fi rst
chimp in outer space, and “Wetherill Mesa“ is about the Pueblo cliff dwellers.
But this isn’t mopey music for out-of-work naturalists. The foursome has achieved a lush sound by each playing as many instruments
as possible and switching off to keep things interesting. It’s lively, punctuated by horns, glockenspiel, theremin, fuzzy guitar and enough
layers of sound to populate a small rainforest. While it’s vaguely psychedelic at times, singer Furgeson croons with a slight twang during
the quieter moments and howls with the passion of a preacher when the song demands it. I hesitate to call it indie rock for science nerds,
but that wouldn’t be unfl attering, in my lab notebook. Bark Horn and Hide plays with Hillstomp at 9 pm Saturday, Aug. 23, at Sam Bond’s
Garage. 21+ show. $7. — Vanessa Salvia
Brittain Ashford
MTV Canada says The Coast is
Canada’s best kept secret. If you
hear “Canadian band” and think of
the bombast of Arcade Fire or the
precision pop of Stars, you’ll need
to change your frame of mind a
bit for this Toronto quartet, which
sometimes sounds like there must
be more than four guys making all
that ruckus. “Floodlights,” from the
band’s April album Expatriate, is
dense, busy guitar rock that suggests
a Cure infl uence in the guitar tones,
though not the mood. Expatriate
begins with a futuristic synth sound
that quickly gives way to buoyancy
and exuberance; the three-minute
“Tightrope,” which kicks off the
record, is a perfect example of their
overlapping vocals and tendency to
pile melodies on top of each other
until a song is fi t to burst. But they
shift gears quickly; “Nueva York”
starts with a simple but compelling
piano line that alternates, in the
chorus, with an almost ’80s dose of
fi zzy guitar. The Coast tends to the
kind of indie guitar rock that places a
lot of urgency in the drums and lets
the guitars offer echoey chords and
distinct snippets of melody — while
keeping one hand in the last few
years’ piano-rock trend. But then
there’s “Killing Off Our Friends,”
for which three of the fellows in the
band step back from the mics; one
unadorned vocal line takes center
stage for the verse; the guitar tones
are clearer; the drums still have a
party to get to, but the overall effect
is nostalgic rather than on the verge
of frenzy — at least to a point. Late
in the record, “Play Me the Apostle”
heads down an even quieter path.
But The Coast has too much energy
to stay restrained for long. The Coast
and The Raggedy Annes play at 10
pm Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Luckey’s.
21+ show. $5. — Molly Templeton
Zither Away
LAURENT ORSEAU
I wanted to say that the Autoharp is making a comeback, but then I came across no
less than fi ve annual Autoharp festivals, including the three-day Willamette Valley Autoharp
Gathering in Salem. I guess the Autoharp never went out of style in the fi rst place. The
instrument has just aged with its performers, and looking at the pictures of the Salem event
(on their unfortunately named website, wvag.com), the average Autoharp player is about 60
years old. Yep, the zither may never lose its association with the Mother Maybelle Carters
of the world, but at least a few whippersnappers have picked up the wooden box and worked
it into their musical repertoire. Take Brittain Ashford, for instance.
The Brooklynite makes the kind of navel-gazing, bedroom confessional folk that wouldn’t
differentiate her much from her young contemporaries were it not for the fact that she fl oats
her music along on a nostalgic-minded menagerie of old-timey instruments. On her self-
released full-length, There, But For You, Go I, the songbird warbles in an ethereal, lilting voice that’s similar to Sarah McLachlan,
if the Lillith Fair star surrounded herself with Autoharps, toy pianos, dulcimers and a Marxophone (a kind of fretless mandolin-
sounding zither). The Autoharp is Ashford’s secret weapon, though, and she injects a new spirit into the aging instrument in the
same way that Joanna Newsom made the harp hip again. Opening for Ashford are two Portland acts that incorporate strange
sounds and instruments just as well. Y La Bamba laces its Latin American folk with soft classical guitars and shadowy, stuttering
loops, while Meyercord works out his Bright Eyes-infl uenced compositions on cheap Casiotones and glockenspiels. It’s a veritable
thrift-store folk-rock jamboree, so brush up on your odd instrument trivia and try to guess what’s what. Brittain Ashford plays with
Y La Bamba and Meyercord at 7 pm Sunday, Aug. 24, at Cozmic Pizza. $5. — Jeremy Ohmes
e one for the
Though some questionable hip hop acts pass through Eugene, believe you me, this John Henry’s show will be
o won’t be at
ages because Brooklyn MC Louis Logic knows how to throw down. See, Louis Logic and partner J.J. Brown (who
own Under”
the Eugene show) recently made an EP, Sin-A-Matic: The 80’s Edition, that remixes old school jams like “Land Down
(you know, by Men At Work) and Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is,” among others. Not easy songs to turn into dance
hing to mull
jams, but Louis Logic did it, and he topped ‘em off with fat rhymes so the head-nodders in the back have something
Matic — only
over while everyone else in the room gets down. The album’s a nod to Louis Logic’s 2003 debut record, Sin-A-Matic
h gas prices
now, fi ve years later, Louis Logic’s putting his music out on established independent hip hop label Fat Beats. With
his dude on
the way they are, even successful East Coast artists are touring less (it’s been a sparse summer, folks), so catch this
his West Coast tour — it might be a while before you get another chance. And next time, I fully expect him to be performing
h contains
at the WOW Hall ... if not the McDonald. Oh, and Louis Logic plays with Seattle hip hip institution The Let Go (which
nd Animal
well-known Seattle MC Kublakai), so show up on time if you can. Louis Logic, The Let Go, The Wright Brothers and
Farm play at 9 pm Tuesday, Aug. 26, at John Henry’s. 21+ show. $7. — Sara Brickner
Louis Logic
JAMIE CAMPBELL
It’s Logical
The Coast
HORSEHEAD BAR & GRILL
FULL MENU TILL 2 AM
THURSDAY SPECIAL - CATFISH SANDWICH w/Habo Mayo $6.25
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OYSTER SHOOTERS $2
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*DAILY SPECIALS FOR DINE-IN ONLY!*
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34 AUGUST 21, 2008 EUGENE WEEKLY
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