Blame PDX Pop, but there's a great local release this weekend that we didn't have room for in the paper. Hovercraft is releasing the first of their Old Standard Session series, a split 7-inch between Boom! and White Fang. The four tunes on Old Standard Sessions #1 were recorded in a single day by Justin Higgins at Old Standard Sound. From Hovercraft's Tim and Mark Janchar:
These are recordings we did in the spirit and in honor of John Peel. The idea for the Old Standard Sessions came while we were listening to the Hunches. Side B of the album Home Alone 5 are the recordings they did for the Peel Sessions in September 2004. It reminded us of when we were kids trying to track down the elusive recordings of our favorite bands who were fortunate enough to be taped for the Peel show. Sessions were normally four tracks mixed and recorded in a single day giving them a rough and ready demo-like feel somewhere between a live performance and a finished recording. John Peel would then play the recordings on his radio show that evening on the BBC. Peel died in 2004 shortly after the Hunches recording. We wanted to do something similar with Justin Higgins running the show. Higgins owns/runs/IS Old Standard Sound. His studio in Portland, Oregon has consistently been recording and mixing some of the most innovative and mind blowing music around. The idea for the sessions involves two bands coming into the studio together for one day of recording and mixing with Justin to produce a split seven inch record.Of course, none of this would matter if the record wasn't great, which it is, perfectly split between Boom!'s cheerfully bruising party-punk, and White Fang's slower, druggier rawk. In fact, the only think I don't like about the record is the insert picture: It features a penis. But the dude's wearing clothes. But I can clearly see the penis. As a result, I spent much longer studying the picture of the potential penis than I normally would have liked. Which made me feel funny.
Never mind. The music's great, especially White Fang's "Rubbing Elmos" a dopey ode to drugs that gets a little more undeniable with each listen. Check out a couple tracks below.
LISTEN:
Boom! - "Double Killer"
LISTEN:
White Fang - "Rubbing Elmos"
Boom! and White Fang play the release show tomorrow w/Cafeteria Dance Fever; Sat July 31 at Backspace, 115 NW 5th, 9 pm, $5, all ages