Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs! Props to Portland’s own Coma Serfs for providing this lazy hack of a writer with a perfect introductory sentence to his article announcing the release of their all new EP, Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs.

And the utility of this EP’s title doesn’t end there; it also serves as a warning for those who are unprepared to hit the deck lest they receive one of these hot, fresh psychedelic chart-busters to the eye. That’s not where you want a song like “Lords Of Paradise” to get you, trust me. The spiraling, manic build at the beginning of the song may as well be Donkey Kong winding up for one of his patented Giant Punches--and anyone who’s ever played Smash Bros knows you better be ready when that shit drops. The song transitions into a wash of dizzying effects and chaotic intensity like a strung out surfer’s fever dream. Recurring accented hits punctuate the song and assault your ears like the beating in your temples of a gnarly hangover.

Preparing yourself for the Coma Serfs, however, isn’t always about being ready to defend yourself physically. For example, the song “Set Me Straight” beseeches more of a cerebral preparation in order to appreciate it to its full potential. The song’s chipper, upbeat energy captures that same carefree, kicking-a-pebble-down-the-sidewalk vitality of The Warlocks on their album Phoenix.

Come see them show off these shiny new songs plus more at Bunk Bar (1028 Southeast Water Avenue) 1/31 with Still Caves and Jackson Boone.

- Bryce Woodcock

This Saturday, Stellar Donkey boking brings a fantastic night of lo-fi garage psych jams to Portland’s noise-heads of the Northeast at the High Water Mark Lounge. Headlining the show, Brooklyn based glitch-psych super group, Ice Balloons (featuring members of TV On The Radio and Wild Yaks), are sure to blow your mind or leave you with temporary tinnitus. On tour with Ice Balloons are New Orleans rippers, Babes. Opening the night and representing Portland’s own noteworthy contributions to the current psych movement are some of my local favorites Still Caves and Grapefruit.

High Water Mark is located at 6800 NE MLK. Doors at 8pm, and there is a $7 cover.

- Travis Leipzig

Portland's infamous New Moss Records are rolling out a new compilation cassette series titled "HITS." Featuring songs the label's favorite bands from Portland and beyond, the first installment of the series, "HITS Volume 1," features thirteen tracks including six unreleased tracks by Grandparents, Wimps, Old Light, Spookies, Summer Cannibals and Natural Blonde. Also featured on the compilation are tracks by Charts, The We Shared Milk, XDS, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Still Caves, And And And, and Sad Horse. The cassettes are priced at $6, but only 300 copies will be made so don't be a slow-poke in picking one up. You can pre-order HITS Vol. 1 here, or, if you're the smart type you can go to one, two or all three of New Moss Records' masterfully curated compilation release parties this weekend to pick up a cassette in person. 

Release Parties:

Friday, May 9th at the Firkin Tavern (no cover): Summer Canniblas, Sad Horse, Charts

Saturday, May 10th at the Know ($5 cover): And And And, Old Light, XDS

Sunday, May 11th at Rontoms (no cover): Grandparents, Spookies

Official Todd Walberg photos from the release parties to come! 

- Travis Leipzig

Featuring mastered versions of their two Basement Hits released a year ago alongside three new tracks, Still Caves' first EP adds a cold, heavy, gritty touch to some of that lo-fi psychedelic stoner-garage-punk à la Black Lips. Most of the lyrics are blurred-out by the consistent heavy reverberation, ergo most of the songs are easily integrated: a simple melody, racing rhythm of a cavalcade, linear structure and some catchy vocal hooks.. some may be remembered as mere sequences of vowels, but hey, that's good enough to join in with live crowd chants if needed, it's even easier. Static Lips is already available to stream and download via Still Caves' bandcamp page, and will be released on cassette tape next Wednesday, August 1st after a show at Valentine's (7.31) with Orca Team (back from their summer US tour) and Surfs Drugs. Tracy Mamoun 

In a city full of avid garage heads, there are many who seek a lo-fi atmosphere, but few who maintain it on a stage. When a sonic aesthetic is more than a hashtag, it can be a special connection to an audience that connects us as musicians, more as a dig at nostalgia than a tribute to the past. Ever since the untimely departures of Eat Skull and Meth Teeth, there has been a glaring void for local psych rockers who pull off a grunge-indebted presence while creating a mountain of sound, but out this year's winter gloom comes Still Caves.

Lo-fi is seen by some listeners as sloppy, but the irony is that it to do it well requires a refined sense of when less is more. The simplicity of a few chords becomes a powerful statement when run through a maze of pedals. Still Caves accomplish this and more with four musicians and a wall of decibels. While shoegaze would be an obvious descriptor, the band’s rare attribute of having a drummer as a lead singer throws unique color into the haze of their drone. The drums are front and center as a driving force, acting as a glue for an atmosphere of dense reverb and heavy overdrive conjured by the two guitars and bass. With only two self-released songs available via Bandcamp as of this post, it's evident that Still Caves has the aforemention "refined sense" and intends to deliver something different to an oversaturated genre. With a proper release soon to come though, consider our psych scene primed to emerge from its recent hybernation.

-- Wyatt Schaffner