The Laura Gibson news ticker is spooling with news aplenty! Here are two events we wanted to ensure you know about.
1. We are thrilled to announce that NPRmusic will be featuring Beasts of Seasons streaming in its entirety all next week as a part of its Exclusive First Listen series! This relatively new feature of NPRmusic has formerly been reserved for legends like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Paul McCartney, as well as indie heavyweights M Ward and Andrew Bird. So it’s a high honor and we’re thankful to be selected. From NPR:
“Laura Gibson‘s new album, Beasts of Seasons, is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience. Broken into two parts, “Communion Songs” and “Funeral Songs,” the album opens with a foreboding burst of feedback and static. If it’s the sonic equivalent of darkness and what may be lurking there, then Gibson’s fragile voice and plaintively strummed guitar soon emerge as a flicker of light. It’s a mesmerizing contrast, as the curtain rises for Gibson’s beautifully gloomy and arresting meditations on life and death.”
Wow!
2. Next save the date: Thursday, April 2nd at the Old Church. From Laura:
“Portland folks please save this date. I will be joined by a special choir and the Portland Cello Project, and their will be a community potluck reception. It will be a beautiful night, and a fun time for all. I’ll send more details in coming days. “
Tickets will go on sale this week through Brown Paper Tickets. Remember: Early birds get the worm!
In addition Laura’s myspace page will be debuting one song per day from the album from Feb 6-16th, at which point there’s another very special event we’re excited to share with you.
Preorder the CD and get Laura’s autograph with it! Or, order the vinyl LP that comes with a coupon for mp3 downloads.
“A bucolic collection of ruminations on mortality, these numbers are largely austere and threadbare, tastefully accented by rippling minor key piano, sawing cello, and the foreboding pluck of a banjo. It’s Laura Gibson’s wispy, fragile vocals that give the morbid subject manner a disarmingly self-aware grounding, as when she drawls longingly, “Shall I call your name, or learn to be alone?” on the lithe, slow motion sway of “Sweet Deception.”- Under The Radar
“It’s folk music like it ought to be. Delicate, but brave. Held up by a “flickering wisp of a voice suffusing the space with a warm glow.” I’d recommend this to any folk music fan or previous subscriber to No Depression. If you’re a fan of Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, or Bright Eyes this record is for you.” – Muzzle of Bees
“Laura’s voice blends the line between child like innocence and that of a veteran chanteuse. She can captivate you with little more than a gentle picked riff and her voice, but her new record – Beast of Seasons – incorporates more textures and experimentation (including the swirling, fleshed out version of Where Have All Your Good Words Gone.” – Herohill
“Her vocals are incredibly clean and the songs are sweet but intelligent.” – Quiet Color
“There’s a sense of urgency to the record that is instantly appealing.” – Who Killed The Mixtape
“Spirited” is a pretty but multi-layered tune, and strikes me as a little more experimental than much of Gibson’s earlier output. Good stuff.” – Cable and Tweed
For a city that congratulates itself for being indie music Valhalla, and hyper-self-aware, it’s surprising that Peter Broderick has largely escaped attention in our local press. Perhaps because he’s spent more time in Denmark or on tour for the past couple of years, he’s not been visible on the scene. Nevertheless, his contribution to Portland music is practically peerless (excepting friend, and at various times bandmate, Dave Depper). I submit:
Exhibit A: Appearances and collaborations, Abridged to Portland Acts.
M. Ward – Hold Time (2009, Merge/4AD)
Horse Feathers – House With No Home (2008, Kill Rock Stars)
She & Him – Volume 1 (2008, Merge)
White Hinterland – Phylactery Factory (2008, Dead Oceans)
Loch Lomond – Paper the Walls (2007, Hush Records)
Dolorean – You Can’t Win (2007, Yep-Roc Records)
Loch Lomond – Lament for Children EP (2007, Hush Records)
Laura Gibson – If You Come to Greet Me (2006, Hush Records)
Norfolk & Western – The Unsung Colony (2006, Hush Records)
Horse Feathers – Words are Dead (2006, Lucky Madison Records)
Norfolk & Western – A Glided Age (2006, Hush Records)
That is a mad decent portfolio. And that would be enough. That would be hero criteria right there. But that’s just back story.” While in town recently, Peter played a handful of dates as a solo act, sampling from his three solo (!) album releases of the past 18 months (including Home, his vocal debut, on HUSH” Peter Broderick – Home sampler mix) while on a mini tour with friends, Austin’s Balmorhea.” The venues in town included the chapel at Reed College and the relatively humble Alberta Pub.” He played his strengths to both rooms like a seasoned stage veteran (which he is, owing to whirlwind world tour schedules with Danish sensation Efterklang and a diverse touring history with Horse Feathers, Loch Lomond, and Norfolk & Western) overcoming technical hiccups, the din of the bar, and playing Reed’s acoustic grand piano with his trademark mix of restraint and drama:
That’s not all.” I can’t think of better proof of living & breathing music, than this off-the-cuff video series dubbed “Songy” that Peter silently slipped on to YouTube a few weeks ago while spending some time at home with family (including wonder-twin extraordinaire Heather Woods Broderick) in Yamhill County and Portland.
I’m not sure this a wholly original concept, but what we have here are multi-tracked YouTube videos which appear to feature Peter fresh out of bed in his PJs knocking out a little song about travel and songwriting; a rough ode to the guitar he will have to abandon again, and a message to loved ones. And it’s likely largely unrehearsed (He’s been dubbed The Whipper Snapper, and The One Take Kid for his studio performance acumen.) For keywords Peter chose “peter broderick” and “bad”, with esoteric descriptions like “music is definitely weird” and “i don’t know”. We get that this is not his usual fare, nonetheless it’s surprisingly tender, candid, endearing, clever, and catchy. Have a look:
Exhibit C: “Songy” Series
And finally, I submit to you, both Portlanders and citizens of the world, Peter may already be nearing that tipping point where the sidestream meets slipstream.” Peter’s solo output may soon eclipse his performance contributions to bigger acts.” Across the pond, Home has received big print accolades, and Peter is charting a course for headlining tours of the UK and European continent later this year.” Before that though,” North Americans will have the rare treat of seeing Peter perform a solo set before joining Efterklang on stages from coast to coast this spring .” Don’t miss it (dates on sidebar)!
Exhibit D: The UK is about the size of Oregon on a map.” Will we let them take all the credit?
“No needless virtuosity; no clever sonic treatments; no unusual instruments.” We stumble on moments that recall the magnificence of Simon & Garfunkel at their peak, or David Pajo at his most ambient, and we don’t care how long the search takes. ” (5 out of 5 stars) – Sunday London Times
“On the second listen it sounds like a future classic. ” – Mojo
“The pinnacle is the tidal rhythms of ‘Sickness, Bury,’ but there’s plenty more here to admire and absorb.” – Uncut
“This is a work oft-enchanting and tenderly relayed: the sound of a first hand both confident and considered, whetting the appetite for more from this young American with a stately flourish. ” – Drowned In Sound
We’ve long admired Derek Hogue’s Gigpress wordpress plugin as a clean, robust solution for listing our artists tours and dates, but until today our page loading speed has suffered silently from a one letter typo in the source code which sometimes added an excruciating multiple-second delay to our homepage load in otherwise speedy surfing conditions. Now we feel like skipping! Thanks Derek!
