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The Delines
Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom (El Cortez)
Portland’s supergroup The Delines returned this month with another modern classic. The lived-in music feels unrooted from time as the songs bring a ’70s soul mood to the ’50s honky-tonk, complete with luscious horn parts by multi-instrumentalist Cory Gray and saxophonist Noah Bernstein—and apply some ’80s sheen to ’90s alt-country grooves. All of it is a firm foundation for songwriter Willy Vlautin’s lyrical tales of lost souls in desperate situations brought to dusty, scrabbling life by the band’s secret weapon, vocalist Amy Boone.
Marshall Allen
New Dawn (Week-end)
I firmly believe that jazz is a source of eternal youth. For proof of this, look no further than the career of Marshall Allen. The leader of avant-jazz nonpareils Sun Ra’s Arkestra, the saxophonist just released his debut solo album…at age 100. And while his physical movements may be a little slower than most, his mind and hands remain active as ever. The seven tracks on New Dawn are playful and spry, with Allen’s signature sax skronk and the disruptive burps of his trust EWI cutting through each spiritual jazz anthem.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Perfect Right Now (Slumberland)
With the jangle pop band back in action this year to celebrate 15 years since the release of their debut album, TPOPAH gift fans with a long overdue collection of tracks from out-of-print singles, and the material from 2009 EP Higher Than the Stars. The whole thing is a glorious shot of nostalgia right to the coccyx with former Portlander Kip Berman fighting comfortably to have his unmistakable croon heard over the hyperspeed guitars of “Come Saturday” and the shoegaze-adjacent sonic gush of “Ramona.”