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Writing a song is no easy feat. Is the hook intoxicating enough? Does the chorus soar? The pressure can be overwhelming, maybe even a bit of a buzzkill. But this year’s batch of Best New Bands seems to bypass that mess. These artists are tapping into something deeper, more instinctual or just plain fun, and letting the songs grow from there.
Take Ogre, this year’s No. 1 band—the sound, cacophonous and loud, is less about creating clear-cut melodies and more of an expression of the trio’s minds, part of their overall performance and antics. For dadweed, their bluegrass sweetness comes from its beginnings, the way a particular jam sesh unfolded beneath a willow tree. Rachel Wong ditched singer-songwriter sounds to make R&B that lyrically takes on mental health, while Machine Country bandmates traded in their respective indie-rock bands to group up and make noise violence. No, really—the genre is called noise violence. It’s loud.
These are the sounds of Portland right now, and they weren’t picked out of thin air. For this year’s annual poll, we reached out to roughly 600 local music lovers—audio engineers, venue staff, regional publicists, bookers and, of course, musicians themselves—to determine our list. Not everyone responded, but those who did cast a wide, disparate array of votes for versatile local artists. The ties were multiple, the competition stiff, so much so we felt inclined to add an extra page of all the runners-up for the top 10 because they deserve your ears too.
Break away from the algorithms feeding you the same ol’ batch of songs based on your mood, trapping you in your own head—hear what these new artists are doing, step into their worlds. See how they make you feel. —Robin Bacior, Arts & Culture Editor
