Seattle Music 2014: Psychedelic Bands
From the Rose Windows to The Comettes, these local bands are far out
By Brangien Davis & Jake Uitti August 13, 2014
This article originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
What’s your favorite current Seattle band? If you have trouble answering (or if you draw a blank after Macklemore), we’re not going to judge. But we are going to suggest it’s time to check in with the city’s thriving indie music scene. New local bands are exploring sounds, blurring genre boundaries (though we’ve wrestled them into categories here) and playing vibrant live shows all over town (see our Live Music Venue guide). Even with this sampler of 50 bands, we haven’t scratched the surface of Seattle music. Listen right here—where you can stream songs from all 50 bands—and also try tuning in to KEXP (the city’s unsurpassed discovery engine for local music) for a whole week. Soon enough, you’ll have an answer to the above question—and you might just go on and on. Peruse the local bands featured in the other genres here.
Shabazz Palaces
Gateway Bands: Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest
Ishmael Butler (aka Palaceer Lazaro, formerly of Digable Planets) and Tendai “Baba” Maraire comprise this experimental trip-hop duo—whose entrancing beatscapes earned them a Sub Pop contract—and whose 2011 album, Black Up, was incredibly well-received. Spin magazine calls them “psych-rap mystics,” and that sounds about right—as long as you add “from outer space.” With the July release, Lese Majesty, these hyperintelligent aliens are coming to take us away on a metaphysical head trip, with a soundtrack of heavy beats, burbling synth and hypnotic rap. subpop.com/artists/shabazz_palaces
Sample Song:
Video:
The Comettes
Gateway Band: The Doors
Singer Timmy Sunshine has a bit of an Oasis sound in his vocals, and there is a similar, charmingly aloof quality to how he comports himself on stage, too. The Comettes, who call “Earth” their hometown, feel a bit pleasingly out there. Full of moxie and celebratory spirit, their sound evokes The Walkmen and Cold War Kids—ambient yet incisive all at once. In addition, they hold the distinction of recently opening for Grammy-nominated group The Lumineers. The 2014 EP Sun Came Up shows them polishing their sound to a fine burnish. thecomettes.bandcamp.com
Sample Song:
Video:
Rose Windows
Gateway Bands: Jefferson Airplane, Cream
This Sub Pop band displays the best of psychedelic rock without overdosing on the dreary. The male/female harmonies will open your eyes and ears like a hit of wasabi, and the group isn’t afraid to add a flute to the mix of giant rock drums and distorted keys. Their music may make you feel like you’re chasing Alice down the rabbit hole, but at the end of the trip is a whole universe of music. Explore it on the acclaimed 2013 release, The Sun Dogs. soundcloud.com/rose-windows
Sample Song:
Video:
Follow Us
Ferry Tales: Eight Indie Bookstores Worth the Ride
Plan a summer day around these bookshops in Seattle, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Poulsbo.
Independent bookstores tend to be cornerstones of the communities in which they reside, and Seattle is no exception. In addition to helping customers discover their next read, these neighborhood hubs host weekly gatherings and events, like publication release parties, author talks, and book clubs. Many of them have cafés and reading tables that encourage lingering…
Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
SEATTLE ART FAIR RETURNS The buzziest event of the summer (well, aside from the World Cup), is returning next week. Now in its 10th edition, the Seattle Art Fair will once again take over the Lumen Field Event Center, packing it to the gills with art from 101 local, national, and international galleries. This year,…
Studio Sessions: Jennifer Leigh Harrison
Seattle artist Jennifer Leigh Harrison uses layers of paint and abstraction to explore what we carry beneath the surface.
Jennifer Leigh Harrison’s paintings are dense with movement. Color and texture gather into mosaic-like fields, as if they have been fractured and reformed. There are places in the work where a frenetic buzz seems trapped between the canvas and the first layer of paint. That energy runs through Patterns of Belonging, her current exhibition at…
ENHYPEN’s Jay Has K-Pop Stardom and a Seattle Heart
The Federal Way-raised singer talks hometown memories, Ivar’s clam chowder, and how it feels to perform in the place he grew up.
Long before he was performing in sold-out arenas around the world and representing brands like Prada, ENHYPEN’s Jay called the Puget Sound region home. Born Jay Park (not to be confused with the other famous K-pop star of the same name, who is also from Seattle) in Seattle and raised in nearby Federal Way before…