This post originally appeared on Quartertonality.com

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This album is old news by now. It's been out for several months and every music blog on the internet has already reviewed it. But I've been away for a while and this album is deserving of all the praise that can be heaped onto it.

Yes, we all know that the San Francisco music scene (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, White Fence) tends to churn out several albums a year each, sometimes even collaborating on albums like Ty and White Fence's "Hair," a record that I…

Originally posted to Quartertonality.com

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Sharon Van Etten recently played the final show of her tour here in Oregon. The Pickathon is a yearly music festival that happens outside of Portland. This year the festival was on August 4th and we have a really good recording of the entire set. Even more exciting is that this recording provides some really high quality versions of a few new songs that Sharon played that afternoon.

The first song, on my recording simply labeled "New Song" as she opens the set with it and doesn't introduce it, but I think a fair bet…

Originally posted to Quartertonality.com

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It's always exciting (at least to me) whenever of Montreal releases an album. They have entered the ranks of "band that can do no wrong" in my mind. I have nothing but love for their entire recorded output. So, naturally, as soon as I saw that this album was up for pre-order I jumped on it.

Though, I will have to admit, after reading about the new direction that Kevin Barnes took when recording this album (one would usually do that prior to throwing down cash for the album, but I knew that I was…

(Originally posted to Quartertonality.com

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Like I said two days ago, that the next day I was going to write about the other band that was formed after the dissolution of Women, well that was before I found out that Lightning Bolt had released a new track. I'm always one for keeping things as current as possible, so I allowed myself to get a little off track.

Well since Viet Cong formed with Mike Wallace and Matt Flegel (among others, of course) we should now talk about Pat Flegel's new project, Cindy Lee.

First off this is far more…

(Originally posted to Quartertonality.com)

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Just when I thought I was going to have to search for things to write about one of my favorite bands, Lightning Bolt, shows up with a new track. I'm hoping for a new album soon now that it looks like Chippendale is done touring as Black Pus.

So we have this track, "Barbarian Boy," and the most surprising element to me is that the vocals are more intelligible than anything else I've ever heard from the band. The drumming is also quite a bit more subdued than any other LB…

(Originally posted on Quartertonality.com)

If there is one thing that people that know me are aware of, or that readers of this blog are aware of, it's of my love for the band Women from Calgary. We are also all aware that the possibility of new music from them is absolutely out of the question.

But what we do have to look forward to are two new bands that have formed from Women's former members. Today's track comes from the band Viet Cong that includes Matt Flegel, former bassist for Women and Mike Wallace, their drummer. The lineup also includes…

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Originally posted to http://quartertonality.com/new-album-twin-peaks-sunken

Please somebody, tell me what they are putting in the water supply in Chicago. I have always been a fan of the Chicago rock scene since I was in high school and loved Hum and The Smashing Pumpkins like it was my job, but now - between Smith Westerns and Twin Peaks - there is a whole generation of bands that grew up after those bands were out of commission (I know, I know. Hum still plays semi-regularly, or at least sometimes and don't even get me started on the Pumpkins. The pumpkins died after…

Portland duo Quasi has announced a follow up to 2010's fantastic "American Gong." The new 24 track double-LP called "Mole City" on Kill Rock Stars is currently available for pre-order in a variety of formats from standard CD and vinyl to packages that include t-shirt, zine, Quasi recording an outgoing voicemail message for you and other goodies. Also included with pre-order is a bonus CD-R "Covers" EP featuring Quasi versions of "Dont' Stop Me Now" (Queen), "Let's Get It On" (Marvin Gaye), and "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love & Understanding…

(Check this post out on my blog: http://wp.me/pjWoO-ik )

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Chad VanGaalen’s Diaper Island instantly earned a place on my list of favorite releases of 2011. Prior to that I was a fan of his work as producer/engineer of Flemish Eye labelmates Women. His brand of rambling, echoed, jangly folk/rock is unique and infectious and perhaps somewhat of an acquired taste. His voice trembles and his guitar playing has all the sloppiness of punk rock, but, for me at least, it’s that fiercely unique sound-representative, no doubt, of his equally fierce independence – that draws me in closer.…

(Originally posted to my blog at: http://wp.me/pjWoO-ie )
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As you may or may not know, Lightning Bolt is one of my all time favorite bands. It's the reason why they are affixed to the banner atop my blog (I took that picture the first time I saw them, in Buffalo, NY) I have spent many days listening to their entire output in one sitting, and I've been fortunate enough to see them live twice. If they ever came to Portland or Eugene, I would definitely drop everything and see them, and I would highly encourage you to do the…