Since I’ve struggled a bit lately to stay on top of new bands, I enlisted the help of music blogger and all-around good guy Andy Fenstermaker of Fensepost to direct me to a handful of up-and-coming Pacific Northwest artists. Challenging the Ball of Wax principle of focusing on super underground artists rather than those with higher profiles, Andy’s list included a couple of bands that have already received a fair amount of press and have releases on notable labels.
Take Orcas, an ambient pop collaboration between Portland-based Benoît Pioulard and Seattle-based Rafael Anton Irisarri. They have an album coming out this month on celebrated German label Morr Music, have been profiled by both the Stranger and Mercury and even got a great review (7.7) on Pitchfork. So what do they sound like?
“Carrion” is certainly minimalist and restrained. It’s neat and well-executed, managing to layer in a number of midi and live instruments while still feeling coldly sparse and cerebral. The slow burns and emotive swelling might remind younger listeners of Grizzly Bear, but I immediately hear two musical touchpoints: Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock and David Sylvian’s Secrets of the Beehive. “Carrion” obviously makes use of more sophisticated electronic details (a sampled vinyl crackle texture low in the mix, for example) than two albums from over twenty years ago, but the artistic heart seems to be in the same place.
I’m not sure what it says about me that my first thoughts about Orcas was pinning down their influences (I’m old? A dick?), but check out Orcas on Facebook and look for their self-titled debut soon.