White Orange – “…And This Is Why I Speak To You In Parables” (Made In China)
The look and sound of this new single by Portland’s stoner rock titans is appropriately epic. The weighty picture disc 12″ features two versions of the same song; one that stretches on for just over 13 minutes, the other clocking in at a tidy five minutes. If you haven’t already gotten yourself lost in the dense artwork that is laid on either side of this slab of wax, wander into the maze that is the long-form version. It weaves in samples, lost in space guitar wanderings, and droning before it gets weighted back to the planet by the band’s massive rhythm section. The short version wastes no time in getting you to the sludgy riffs and meaty singing, but your patience will be well rewarded if you take the scenic route.
Derby – Madeline EP (Timber Carnival/Green Submarine)
Derby is one of those bands that has been quietly chugging away in the background of the Portland music scene while their peers have moved on to higher levels of success and unbecoming attitudes. I have been happy to keep them as my little secret but with the release of this single, I’m ready to shout their name from the virtual rooftops of the blogosphere. The a-side, “Don’t Believe In You” is a crystalline example of pop songwriting at its very best. The guitar lines are clean and untroubled, the vocal melody is catchy without being cloying, and the whole thing moves and swells neatly in just over three minutes. As much as I champion acts that are breaking the molds of the music world, there is something to be said for those groups that no how to use the templates to their advantage. Derby is one of those groups. Derby is playing an in-store at Music Millennium on March 22nd at 6 p.m.
