The Portland music scene is rife with desperados, cheats, and thieves. Okay, probably not, but Border Radio has to keep repeating that lie on a daily basis, lest we pack up and relocate, lured away by the fact that practically every other noteworthy CD which lands in our mailbox lately seems to bear a Rose City postmark.
Actually, we're not 100-percent sold on the notion that country singer Anna Coogan—who recently issued her debut, Glory—hails from PDX. Based on her powerful pipes and the catch in her throat, she could just as easily pass for a native of Nashville... circa the late-'60s heyday of Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. Like those First Ladies, Coogan isn't afraid to stretch her wings stylistically, too; the title track of Glory boasts a reassuring gospel quality, and elements of blues and rock also underpin much of her rootsy material. Catch Anna with her band, north19 (featuring bassist Kevin Burkett and banjo maestro Travis Beard), at the Conor Byrne this Friday, July 15.
At the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, yet still hailing from the 503, comes Loch Lomond, a side project of art-rock quintet the Standard. Their latest, When We Were Mountains, mixes oddball contemporary production with a penchant for three-quarter time signatures, and antiquated-sounding instrumentation: "He's Never Seen the Queen" showcases xylophone and some kooky variety of organ, and violin player Kate O'Brien lays down haunting strings throughout the 10-track set. Imagine what a trio of time-traveling Renaissance troubadours might concoct after listening to early Devo and Brian Eno's Music for Films. Or, easier still, drop by the Sunset on Friday, July 15, or Hattie's Hat on Saturday, July 16, and hear them for yourself.
Closer to home, Olympia has spawned one of the hardest working acts Border Radio has ever encountered: Head for the Hills Bluegrass Band is playing every dang weekend (and quite a few Mondays and Thursdays, too), all over the Pacific Northwest, from now until Labor Day, including this Saturday, July 16, at the Nine Pound Hammer, and next Thursday, July 21, at Smokin' Pete's BBQ in Ballard. Honest to God, Mme. Emily Salisbury Keene sets some kind of land-speed record with her mandolin-pickin' on their rendition of "Shady Grove," and with their light and lively vocal harmonies, HFTH also lay down our fave version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" since Diamanda Galas's.
Thankfully, Seattle's finest have not been sitting idly by while our nearby neighbors are churning out swell new sounds. The man-who-would-be-king to Neko Case's queen at the Border Radio dream prom—Eddie Spaghetti—has completed work on his second solo album. Old No. 2 finds the Supersuckers singer/bassist (and guests including Jordan Shapiro on dobro and pedal steel) interpreting tunes by Nick Lowe, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Willie Nelson, along with some originals. The disc doesn't drop until October, but knowing the crafty bastards at www.supersuckers.com, we suspect teasers will be on the internet long before then. ■
