Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Often the hardest things for me to write about are the things I love the most. No one wants to be the blogger who cried “best band ever” over and over again, and there’s more self-imposed pressure to find the perfect description for what you find to be most compelling. That’s why there’s been nary a mention of what was quite possibly my favorite show and live discovery of 2010 thus far: Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives.

Hailing from Portland, Drew Grow plays with the riveting passion of a revival tent preacher, full of captivating apocalyptic bombast. And just like that revival preacher, Drew Grow controls the audience. When I saw him at The Comet in January you could’ve heard a pin drop by the end of his set. An unassuming man and band takes the stage, and with no antics, just a pure and righteous emotional force, a prophet steps off, inevitably amidst a sea of stunned converts. Grow’s songs are his visions and parables, and with crash and crescendo they stir the soul.

Vocally and in terms of the emotional wallop per note, Drew Grow most reminds me of a Grace-era Jeff Buckley. There is a broken but beautiful timbre to Drew Grow’s voice, just as there was to Buckley’s, that seems to tug directly at the heart strings. I should have known when a music teacher told me she’d never had a “more moving experience with music than at a Drew Grow show” that he was the Truth, but it’s the kind of performance you have to witness for yourself to actually believe. If you haven’t seen Drew Grow or discovered his soaring spirituals yet, I sincerely can’t recommend that you check them out enough.

Seattle will have to wait about a month for their chance to see Drew Grow again, as he’s playing the Tractor Tavern on April 28th with another Sound on the Sound favorite Ravenna Woods, for what I assure you is the makings of an unmissable show. Portland, you lucky bastards, don’t have to wait that long for Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives since the band will be celebrating the release of two new songs “Do You Feel It” and “Bon Voyage Hymn” this Friday at The Woods. This show will sell out, so be sure to get your tickets in advance lest you miss out.

Us, well we’ll be anticipating Drew Grow shows throughout the summer: the band will also be performing on June 26th with Grand Hallway during the Grand Opening celebrations of the Columbia City Theater and making a return trip to the Doe Bay Festival this August. Two events, I assure you, you want to put on your calendar now. Keep reading Sound on the Sound for more exciting announcements about both Columbia City Theater and Doe Bay.

Here’s some video proof of Drew Grow’s powerful live performance and the band’s effect on a crowd. This video was  shot at a sold out show in Tacoma (r.i.p Warehouse) and the crowd is so quiet you can hear Drew breathing between notes.

Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives - I Want You to Come Home Now from Jake Rohr on Vimeo.

Song Release Show & West Coast Tour Dates:
March 19th - Portland, OR - The Woods
April 28th - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern (w/ Ravenna Woods)
May 23rd - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah
May 24th - Sacramento, CA - Old Ironsides
May 26th - San Diego, CA - Bar Pink
May 27th - Davis, CA - Aramdillo Records
May 27th - Davis, CA - Sophias Thai Kitchen
May 28th - Chico, CA - Cafe Coda
May 28th - Eugene, OR - Sam Bonds Garage
June 26th - Seattle, WA - Columia City Theater (Grand Opening w/ Grand Hallway)
Aug 14th - Olga, Orcas Island, WA - Doe Bay Festival

I don’t do a lot of drugs anymore.  The occasional puff, a stray thought about things harder.  I imagine though, if high as a seagull on some purified strain of narcotic, and in a haze of concentric color circles, voices melting in to babble, I floated in to a room where Spectre Folk was leaking from the speaker boxes, well, I’d be content.

I’d melt in to the floor as this droning, softly-spoken bit of psych-rock spun in to the atoms that bobbed and weaved, quite visibly, in front of my eyes.  Feel the softly shaking drums and the wavering vocals of Magik Marker’s drummer Pete Nolan crawl in to the wide open pores of my skin.

In the morning there’d be a puddle of flesh and bone and organs, my clothes piled neatly on top.

Spectre Folk’s new album Compass, Blanket, Lantern, Mojo is out now on Arbitrary Signs.

Spectre Folk - Sat Around For Peace (This Time)

I don’t get many, okay, any press releases that make me actually yelp “YES!” uncontrollably. But the news that one of my favorite local labels, Hardly Art have joined forces with one of my favorite dearly departed Seattle bands, Carissa’s Wierd did exactly that. And yes, my co-workers at the day job are looking at me like I’m nuts, rightly so.

Hardly Art will be releasing a “Best Of” album (entitled:  They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003) from the bands’ heart-breaking catalog. There’s  also talk of Carissa’s Wierd reissues in the future of all the albums that made the band one of the most beloved and buzzed about in Seattle. This, is a blessing, believe me, as someone who just tried to find a copy of Ugly But Honest.

And if that’s not enough, Carissa’s Wierd will be reuniting for at least one Seattle area show to celebrate the July 13th release of the Best Of compilation. Those words are actually hard to type because they are so exciting to me. (I missed Carissa’s Wierd live the first go-round because I wasn’t 21 and I thought I’d never get the chance to see them.)

Here’s the track list of the best of, with the promise of much more news to come soon from Hardly Art and Carissa’s Wierd.

Carissa’s Wierd - They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003
Release: July 13, 2010

01. Low Budget Slow Motion Soundtrack Song For the Leaving Scene
02. Die
03. The Color That Your Eyes Changed With the Color of Your Hair
04. One Night Stand
05. You Should Be Hated Here
06. Drunk w/ the Only Saints I Know
07. Phantom Fireworks
08. So You Wanna Be A Superhero
09. Brooke Daniels’ Tiny Broken Fingers
10. Ignorant Piece of Shit
11. Blessed Arms That Hold You Tight, Freezing Cold and Alone
12. Blue Champagne Glass
13. September Come Take This Heart Away
14. All Apologies and Smiles, Yours Truely, Ugly Valentine
15. Sympathy Bush
16. They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave

Sunset at Doe Bay Festival 2009 ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

It may be five months away, but I’m already ready for Doe Bay Fest 2010. I was ready for it a day after I left Orcas last August, after being treated to one of the most enjoyable and intimate musical experiences of my life. Last year, I called the Doe Bay Fest the local line-up of the summer and by the looks of just this initial announcement, which we’re excited to bring you first, 2010 is going to be just as good.

From now ’til August, Sound on the Sound will be your official source for all things Doe Bay Festival. You’ll hear everything here first: from line-ups to ticket information to interviews and introductions to the artists and just why Doe Bay is such a wonderful place for a festival. Just call us the Official Blog of Doe Bay. We’ll be letting you know soon all the exciting ways Sound on the Sound is going to be involved with our favorite little local festival.

But first things first…we’ve got an initial line-up to announce! This may just the beginning of the Doe Bay line-up, but man, what a beginning it is.

Fruit Bats
Hey Marseilles
Grand Hallway
THEESatisfaction
Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives
The Portland Cello Project
Shenandoah Davis

Those names alone should be enough to have you blocking out the weekend of August 13th and 14th, and I can promise you it’s only going to get better.

Thank you Aquarium Drunkard.

My Friday is filled with laughter.

NOISE POP you unruly beast, I will fight you, and I will win!

When?: Saturday, February 27th

Where?: Again, again, again, it’s Cafe Du Nord!

What?: P.E.E., True Widow, Ovens, and Grass Widow.  Barely know a lick of music from any of these bands, but I know this, Grass Widow brings a torrent of grimy rock ‘n’ fucking roll that regardless of the suck-stick of the other bands on hand will sate you for the rest of the goddamn festival.

Why?: This is sort of the grab-bag show, the collection of bands I’ve heard almost nothing about, that I’m attending because a local favorite is kicking it all off.  And you know what?  That’s just how I like it.  I love Grass Widow’s ascending star of churning girl-grunge, and though I couldn’t tell you a single song but a single other act on this bill, I’m curious.  You start your show with that kind of raucous noise and you’ve got me signed on for the whole rest of the fucking ticket.

What Else?: This is a great day for Noise Pop (probably the best honestly).  Thao and Mirah and Swedish American Hall, check.  We Were Promised Jetpacks at Slims, check.  Imaad Wasif, Mark Kozalek, Maus Haus, Tempo no Tempo, oh my God the list just goes on and on.

—

Listen Up!

Grass Widow - To Where

Seattle: True Widow plays The Funhouse on 3/2

Sasquatch Fun Havers with Capes ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

LineOut has spread a rumor and confirmed it as fact that Sasquatch 2010 is selling fast. So don’t dawdle Pavement fans.

Seriously.

Bradford Cox of Atlas Sound gettin’ amped ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The NOISE POP 2010 avalanche continues to pour down the mountain.

We try to stay to afloat.

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When?: Thursday, February 26th

Where?: The best damn venue in the city, The Great American Music Hall.

What?: Atlas Sound, Geographer, Magic Wands, Nice Nice - a pretty eclectic line-up of electro-psych and genre-blending.

Why?: I’ve been obsessing over the Virtual 7″ series Atlas Sound has been sporadically releasing for, well, a while now.  I’d caught Bradford Cox and Company at a SXSW day party in some enormous park, and amongst the sunshine and the heat, it just, well, fell flat.  But after burning an enormous hole through my digital copy of Atlas Sound’s cover of The Five Discs’ “Doctor”, I’m literally quivering a bit with excitement.

What Else?: If you’re not in for a not of throbbing noise, I’d suggest the freak-pop of Nurses at the Swedish American Music Hall or dueling duo The Ferocious Few at Cafe Du Nord.

—

Listen Up!

Atlas Sound - Doctor (The Five Discs’ Cover)

Check out the full NOISE POP 2010 Line-up.

The Lonely Forest ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

The good news came in twos with the word breaking that Anacortes’-finest, The Lonely Forest had been signed to Trans, a new imprint of Atlantic Records headed by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla.

The good news really is two-fold for local music. Not only are The Lonely Forest a great deserving local band, who we’ve been saying for a good year were primed for success far outside Seattle, Chris Walla also has an amazing ear and keen interest in local music. Take his work as Producer with Telekinesis, which elevated a couple of Michael Lerner’s catchy tunes to refined pop masterpieces.  I can’t wait to see what he does with The Lonely Forest’s anthem-on-the-edge “We Sing in Time,” which is not meant to neglect the rest of their catchy catalog and the new songs the band has been writing. I’m excited about all of it. Immensely. And I think this is only the start of good things both for The Lonely Forest and for Trans, with which I hope Walla continues to keep a watchful eye and interested ear in what’s happening around Seattle.

Here’s what I said about The Lonely Forest’ in our review of the Top 25 Northwest Album’s of 2009.

“Most likely to break out of the Seattle scene and be playing arenas in the next few years? That would be The Lonely Forest, who wrote the anthem-on-the-edge-of-discovery “We Sing In Time” and an altogether heart-tugging debut album that explores addiction and the awkward stumble into adulthood with disarming earnestness and intensity. The Lonely Forest have the chops for success, lyrically as well as live performers, and I suspect both will be tested thoroughly in 2010. I can’t wait to watch them succeed.”

You can celebrate with The Lonely Forest when they play Neumos on March 2nd. It’s an all-ages show, which brings out the very best performance from the band and their rabid teenage fans are a sight to be seen. It’s impossible to not watch the rapture of their fans and not think to yourself, “These guys are going to be huge.” With the help of Trans and Chris Walla, hopefully they will be.  It’s a success story I look forward to continue following here on Sound on the Sound.

Nurses ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Fresh off Facebook comes word of a Nurses bedroom show this Tuesday at 7pm, with lots of computers on chatroulette. There’s promise of possibly naked people on the pervy chatroulette and with Nurses playing a set, there’s a guarantee of some of the finest (and most curious) pop songs around. If you haven’t warmed to Nurses and their one-of-a-kind sound, well you probably hate us, but we promise this is a great introduction to the band. The band will be posting a ustream link to find them and we’ll be sure to share it with you here.

You’re going to want to familiarize yourself with Nurses, not just for the betterment of your audio existence, but to prepare for what we think is an unmissable Sasquatch set. The band is playing the festival on Saturday May 29th. (Day-by-Day Sasquatch Schedule here.)

* If you don’t want to wade through the weiners on ChatRoulette, you can tune in to the Nurses show on UStream HERE *