AZURE RAY, TIM FITE, WHISPERTOWN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Azure Ray might be one of the rare "indefinite hiatus" bands to actually not break up, instead using their hiatus to cultivate a pair of solo careers for the whispering duo of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor. Seven years back, the pair was basking in the praise from their heartbreakingly sparse Hold on Love, plus riding the (fur-free) coattails of Moby as guest vocalists on his 18 LP. Sounding like they never left, Azure Ray return with the Eric Bachmann-produced Drawing Down the Moon, a moody recording of ghostly pop numbers soft on volume, but heavy on emotional impact. Don't call it a comeback because, well, it's not one. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE, THE DIG, SWIM SWAM SWUM
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Somewhere on the Golden Coast, the third album from the Henry Clay People, breaks one of the cardinal rules of rock and roll: It includes new versions of old songs, buried in with the rest of the new material. But one listen to Golden Coast and all is forgiven. "Working Part Time" is brasher and thicker and snottier, and "This Ain't a Scene" is tauter, more melancholy, more elegantly bruised than it was on 2008's For Cheap or for Free. Anyway, the two tracks just exemplify the number of excellent songs in the Henry Clay People's impressive back catalog, which escaped most people the first time around. Playing classic rock with boozy bonhomie, they're a little reminiscent of the Replacements, perhaps because the band's lineup also includes two brothers, Joey and Andy Siara. The Henry Clay People is a damn fine band, their shows are a damn good time, and their songs are damn well worth listening to, even if they've been recycled. NED LANNAMANN
AND AND AND, ARCHERS, THE WOOLEN MEN
(Lola's Room, 1332 W Burnside) Portland music, while you were sleeping Archers just might have become the best damn band in this town. You might have been unaware, but UK label Heavenly Records was not. The respected London imprint will be releasing the band's excellent self-titled 7-inch the world over. Side A track "Brussels Truffles" is a wide-eyed and urgent call-to-action of sheer unbridled enthusiasm. You'll get no rest when you flip the wax, as "Radical Opinion" flops around like a livewire, with an influential trail of crumbs that leads back to the Jam, Guided by Voices, and maybe just a wee bit of Exploding Hearts as well. Portland, this is your new obsession. EZRA ACE CARAEFF
Russian Circles, Broken Water, and Elf Power, as well as a link to the complete show listings, after the jump!