Originally from Hawaii, The Fourth Wall is a Portland based indie quartet with a sound swimming in post rock and psychedelic influences. Their melancholic melodies and soaring songs are a little reminiscent of a less orchestral version of late Mercury Rev. The band recently announced they will release their new LP, 'Lovely Violence,' on July 31st via Bug Hunt Records. You can catch them live at Mississippi Studios on August 2nd.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best songs by emerging Portland artists - check it out!

The Naked Wild is a folk/indie rock band out of Toronto. I think it's also the website I was watching late last night...but that's a different story. Their tunes are pretty chilled out but they can fire it up when they have to. They have a bunch of live tunes available for stream on their soundcloud. The first tune I listened to was "Neighbour". The acoustic rhythm guitar gets you in a very campfire like setting. The lead licks over top bring you to the point when your buzz kicks in and you're ready to drift away. The walking bassline keeps the party going and the drums are thumpin away giving you reason to stomp. So that pretty much sums up most camping trips...in the wild....naked. Canadian folk rock for sure. I'm interested in hearing what they come up with in the studio. The Naked Wild play the Rivoli on July 16th.-Kris "Big City" Gies

Friends Records is all about sharing, and have just released a split single from Baltimore bands Sherman Whips (photographed above) and Little Leaguers. Sherman Whips' sound is brighter and campier than Little Leaguer's, especially their play with pacing in the featured single, "Baby Go Home," going back and forth between speedy psych-rock and calmer surf music. On the other hand, Little Leaguer's single, "7", is more of a catchy, punk spirited noise-rock tune, beginning with a whisper and ending in a scream. The split single is available for streaming below.

We’ve learned that the Bay Area has the unique opportunity to hear composer, Bryce Dessner (of the Brookyln based indie rock band, The National) perform his orchestral composition, St. Carolyn by the Sea (for orchestra and two electric guitars) at Pier 27 on the Embarcadero from 12-2 pm.

The event is hosted by the San Francisco Symphony and it’s going to be cool to see the city get a little bit of postmodern classical music whiffing and whirling through the air! Not a lot of people know that Bryce Dessner is a classically-trained musician and he’s written a lot of orchestral/classical pieces. 

You can take your friends and family to this event...and this is probably the best cheap date opportunity of the year!

Music like the music that Ezra Bell makes is living proof that not all musicians need to hide behind heavy effects: fuzz, distortion, reverb, and even auto-tune to make music that people really enjoy listening to, and that was very apparent at their EP release last Wednesday. They played alongside the Bevelers and Fanno Creek, gracing Mississippi Studios with some deeply beautiful, danceable and heartfelt tunes.

The Bevelers played first as the crowd filtered in, and although the two-piece group has a soft demeanor, it was impossible not to pay attention. The foundation of their whole set is their two beautiful voices creating harmonies so sad and lovely at the same time that you want to get lost in the world that their voices create.

Ezra Bell played second in the evening when attendance was at its peak, kicking off their set with a few familiar songs. Ezra Bell is such a complex machinery of humans and instruments and it seems like having 7 people on stage, something shouldn’t work about their set-up. But everything works. Their music is complicated yet not cacophonous, focusing more on interesting sound pairings than everyone fighting for focus. Even the bass and drums took turns being the lead rhythmic force of a song, which felt uncommon, but was just one of many facets of their music that sets them apart from other folk-pop bands around Portland and beyond.

The audience at Mississippi Studios was stoked to see them, cheering loudly between songs and singing along with their older music, which sounds every bit as tight as their recordings. It’s rare that a local band can get an entire audience to dance along rather than stand stoically, arms crossed, but it’s really hard not to dance when you listen to them.

Fanno Creek ended the night with a surfier, and less folk influenced set by comparison. Ezra Bell was the ideal middle point between Fanno Creek and the Bevelers because unlike the previous bands, Fanno Creek is heavier and more bluesy. They were the perfect choice to end the night though, because, despite a big chunk of the audience leaving, those who stayed were ready to dance and Fanno Creek is dance-y as hell.

Together, all three bands were a match made in lineup heaven, giving the crowd a solid range of folk and pop music to groove along to all night long. You can check out Ezra Bell’s new EP, We Came by Canoe here:

- Photos and story by Sarah Eaton