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Working my way through Modern Kin's self-titled debut, the word that kept swimming around in my head was "skeletal." Though the songs are adorned with expansive reverb, what you really pick out and identify are the three people behind the songs: Drew Grow, Kris Doty and Jeremiah Hayden. Even though
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If you could say one thing about Purr Gato, it's that they certainly aren't into half measures. Performing absurd, space-age get-ups and brightly colored wigs, Purr Gato embrace the spectacle of performance. Lead singer Kitty K rocks a honest-to-goodness keytar, if that gives you a good idea of what to
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The Spider Ferns are a duo that aim to hypnotize. Made up largely of just electric guitar and bass, with no drums, there is very little to prevent you from getting lulled into their bubbling tones. Without percussion, the sounds tend to just wash over you, lively though they may
Music
So much has been said about the classic Tacoma punk band Girl Trouble that very little more needs to be said. For anyone not in the know, this is the most badass band still working in Tacoma. KP Kendall still performs shirtless. The band still fights the good fight against
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The first words I saw describing Historian painted them as a mixture between Arcade Fire's Win Butler and (everyone's dreams') Nick Cave. Those are deeply enticing words, and so I was bound to listen. The truth is, those fantastic descriptors don't quite describe what Historian is all about. That dangerous
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When I wrote about Bacon Moon, back in 2010, I compared them to Guided By Voices. Much like Robert Pollard's drunken pop music wonder-band, Bacon Moon have a knack for finding indelible pop melodies in the middle of lo-fi rattling. Since that write-up, Bacon Moon have edged further into experimental
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So much has been said about the classic Tacoma punk band Girl Trouble that very little more needs to be said. For anyone not in the know, this is the most badass band still working in Tacoma. KP Kendall still performs shirtless. The band still fights the good fight against
Music
I don't think I'd be speaking out of school to say that the phenomenon known as "Black Friday" is easily the ugliest part of the holiday season. This is ground that has been exhaustively covered since long before Black Friday became the trample-athon that we know it to be today. The
Viva South Sound
Wednesdays, Rev. Colin hosts the best trivia in town at Meconi's Pub & Eatery. Best known as a legendary local karaoke host and curator for the Tacoma Cult Movie Club, Rev. Colin is a fount of knowledge, and his trivia nights are as challenging as they are wonderfully absurd. Even
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Beneath the beauty and pageantry of Seattle six-piece Day Laborers and Petty Intellectuals, there runs a streak of wryly winking satire. These are people who know what it looks like to be some folk-slinging hipsters in the Pacific Northwest, and they find humor in appearances. In this way, they're reminiscent
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In the spirit of making the best out of a bad situation, Zach Powers has organized a Black Friday "mini-concert series" to simultaneously take the sting out of the dubious holiday and to direct shoppers to local establishments. From 1 to 5:30 p.m., select downtown stores will be host to
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JLK is a band from Montreal. Babysitter is a band from Victoria, B.C. Together, they have joined forces to become: JLK & Babysitter. Well, OK, so their combined moniker may be somewhat lacking, but the sheer inventiveness of their music is liable to blindside you. Sounding at once timeless and
Music
Dear reader, would you indulge me in taking you behind the curtain for a brief moment? You see, I've been writing about bands for about four years now, and there are certain things that I've come to enjoy about the process, and certain things that I tend to avoid. Most
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Though they have a song that's explicitly called "Surf Rock Band," it would be a mistake to call them one. A Happy Death plant their feet firmly in the court of garage-pop madness, seemingly content to thrash away in blissfully psychedelic, noisy bliss, while never crossing the threshold into noise-rock
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To stand out as a man with an acoustic guitar takes some doing, as anyone who's been to a coffeehouse open mic can attest. Gabriel Wolfchild makes unapologetically somber music that somehow avoids the pitfall of maudlin naval-gazing. Gabriel Wolfchild's voice is clear and steady, devoid both of showboating and
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Mirrorgloss is a very new band, having only played a handful of shows thus far. Even still, their sound is so clearly drawn out and natural, so well-defined and -the best part- relatively novel for Tacoma. With the exception of a couple bands, like Death by Stars, there isn't much
