Portland honky-tonk rascals Denver debuted with a self-titled LP of two-steppin’ accounts of mischief, breakups and the occasional apology, and in the lead single ”The Way It Is” they’ve obviously met their match and put her to music. The video for “The Way It Is” has it’s own account of roadhouse rowdiness and shows members of brother band Blitzen Trapper in some key roles on stage and off. (As we learned this last week, BT drummer Brian Koch is a dedicated thespian.)  Building with elements of traditional country and bluegrass without sounding Nashville, Denver fits right in with PDX twang-jammers Quite Life and Dolorean, and with banjo, harmonica and pedal-steel as full time participants I can’t help but think Portland may have a worthy answer to Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys.