Pseudosix Friday, Aug. 10

[August 8th, 2007]

[FOLK POP] Meeting up with local folk-pop group Pseudosix last week at Beulahland, I couldn't help but feel like the struggling young music journalist in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. I had intended to discuss the band's upcoming sophomore album, what it's been up to since the release of its '04 debut, Days of Delay, and how it feels to nab a spot opening for bigshots like Viva Voce and 31Knots. But our conversation took a few detours along the way.

I urged the band to discuss its unique brand of melodious indie pop, but the majority of our two-hour meeting was spent talking NBA, thanks to bassist and sports junkie Brandon Barnhill (who works at Nike's Beaverton location). Unlike Almost Famous' self-absorbed musician characters, though, Pseudosix's reluctance came out of humbleness. Leadman and core member Tim Perry tried his best to focus on questions about his songwriting, but any complimentary mention of the band's beautiful, melancholy pop or his considered lyrics made him sheepish. He eventually admitted to getting bad writer's block and claimed that a major label would never want to pick up the band.

He did add, however, that Pseudosix—which recently signed with Seattle's Sonic Boom records—would never want to be on a major label. Perry says he's excited to be working with a label that has as much of an emotional investment in the project as he does. "It was so cool for them to take the project under their wings and treat it like it's their baby," he explained, giving recognition to engineer Jay Pellicci (of 31Knots), as well, for helping him achieve the '70s rock sound he strove for on the band's forthcoming, self-titled release (out Aug. 28).

Although the band cited Fleetwood Mac, Graham Nash and even the Grateful Dead as influences ("I mostly listen to the old stuff," Perry claimed), Pseudosix's sound is far more reminiscent of contemporaries like Wilco or Turin Brakes. Perry describes the new record's lyrics as a collection of paranoid thoughts, and a plea for someone to understand his perspective. Guitarist Dan Wilson (also of the Joggers) jokes that the album's about global warming—but there are political undertones. On "Apathy and Excess," Perry airily sings, "You know you're only using progress/ To validate your careless/ Approach to living life in excess/ Ignoring any trace that counters your objectives."

Despite efforts to be subtle, Perry's outlook shines through in a big and beautiful way on Pseudosix, much as the group's humble demeanor does not disguise its massive talent—regardless of how much the members wanna talk b-ball. .