Feast of Music: Three New Albums From Seattle Bands
... And how to work them into your Thanksgiving festivities
By Seattle Mag November 6, 2014
This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
Jen Wood: Wilderness
With her first album since 2010, Jen Wood reveals a bolder, more layered sensibility. Her pretty voice shines over poppy piano riffs, anthemic guitars and smashing cymbals graced with electronica elements. The result feels like rushing forward into hope.
Best played: During last-minute food prep, final table decorations, general pre-dinner optimism
CD release party 11/15 at Barboza on Capitol Hill.
Photo credit: January Fredericks
Smokey Brights: Taste for Blood
This debut full-length album resonates with a warm, vintage rock feel that blends flickers of Pink Floyd and Death Cab for Cutie for an entirely contemporary indie sound. The overall vibe is mellow and inviting, suggesting you sit down and sink into it.
Best played: During the meal, when the strummy guitars pair perfectly with a pleasant food buzz
Photo credit: Andrew J.S.; layout by Josh Froscheiser
Perfume Genius:Too Bright
The third album from avant-garde musician Mike Hadreas has garnered praise in The New Yorker and on NPR as much for his intense, Radiohead-Portishead-PJ Harvey–ish sound as for his confidently raw lyrics. Hadreas doesn’t shy from dark, personal places—and he’s so intriguing you can’t help but follow him.
Best played: During the post-meal coma, when bellies are distended and family tensions have broken through the holiday veneer. As Hadreas sings, “I wear my body like a rotted peach/You can have it if you can handle the stink,” you will think: “Exactly.”
matadorrecords.com/perfume_genius
Photo credit: courtesy of Matador Records
Follow Us
Getting Ghosted
Kim Fu’s latest novel turns a rain-soaked Pacific Northwest winter into the backdrop for a story about grief and loneliness.
In their latest novel, Seattle-based author Kim Fu gets one thing right about the Pacific Northwest: the rain. Set during a particularly bleak winter, The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts tells the story of Eleanor Fan, an online therapist grappling with the recent loss of her mother, Lele. After Lele’s passing, Eleanor inherits money to put…
Go See Diné Artist Eric-Paul Riege’s Largest Show to Date at the Henry Art Gallery
With a mix of mediums, ojo|-|ólǫ́ examines questions surrounding the authenticity and ownership of Indigenous work.
It’s a phrase that’s been drilled into most of us since we were young children: When you’re visiting a gallery, please, do not touch the art. In many cases, it’s with good reason: the pieces on display are fragile, one-of-a-kind, or historic works that cannot be reproduced. It’s such an ingrained approach to the museum-going…
Rearview Mirror: Ballet’s Saddest Story, New Art in the Sculpture Park, and a Home-Grown Wine Label Promoting Social Justice
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
Circular Thinking I am very lucky to live just a 12-minute walk away from Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. It’s a regular destination for my weekly walks and, aside from the world-class art, has one of the city’s best views of Puget Sound. Earlier this week, I went on a wet, windy walk and discovered…
Studio Sessions: Gabriel Stromberg
For his current show at studio e gallery, Gabriel Stromberg explores the challenges of working with clay.
Gabriel Stromberg has been a name about town for nearly two decades. As one of the cofounders of design firm Civilization (where he was the creative director and lead designer from 2008 to 2022), Stromberg worked on many award-winning projects, helped produce the wildly popular and always packed Design Lecture Series, and co-created and moderated…