Tender Age has a new music video out for their song “Don’t Mind.” The song, which is off their newly released album Becoming Real Forever, is buzzy, frothy shoegaze. Much like the song, the video is cleverly simple and lots of fun. It features the members nonchalantly spending a lazy afternoon by the dumpster, making music and just generally having a good time. The video looks and feels like a modern day Dazed and Confused. Towards the end of the video, the band begins engaging in passive destruction of the props around them as any good drone rock band would. It’s a great reflection of the band’s attitude and style. 

Specializing in the dark swells of rock music's subgenres, Past Haunts has given XRAY.fm listeners the best in everything from krautrock to coldwave every Monday for the last four years. They've hosted some pretty good live shows in their day and their first one of the year is another one to add to the list. Past Haunts is taking over Lovecraft on Friday by joining Portland's Tender Age with LA's Drab Majesty, and Soft Metals acting as the artist fulcrum between the two cities.

The slo-fi pop of Tender Age is the perfect sound to fully represent the drizzly minimalism of the Rose City. All three of their releases (comprised of two 7" and an EP) eptiomize noisy soundscapes that are more than easy to get immersed in and this show couldn't be a better way for them to ring in 2017 with.

Electronic duo Soft Metals have roots here in the Pacific Northwest and SoCal, with their synthesizer sounds indicative of our darkwave scene as well as what's going on in some of those LA clubs. Rumor has it they're working some new material, exciting Soft Metals fans who have been craving another release following 2013's Lenses. Rounded out by the not so drab coldwave of Drab Majesty and this turns into another delightfully dark night at the Lovecraft. 

Day 2 of PDX Pop Now actually starts at noon, with Friends of Noise and Music in the Schools act The Scribes. Mr. Bones will be repping an early but good spot for Good Cheer Records, and the Tamed West round out a nice early afternoon block of performances before the afternoon starts kicking in.

Andrew Endres Collective is bringing some jazzy vibes to the fest and Wave Action is filling in for Little Star just before 3:30. 

Old Grape God and Speaker Minds are the fest's hip hop flavor for the day leading into punk af Tiny Knives and Love Cop, who have got their self described "hood goth" on lock.

Experimental artist Antecessor will ring the night in with a bit of strangeness, followed by a block of r&b feels from Lola Buzzkill and Fur Coats. Older school Portlanders Wooden Indian Burial Ground are closing out the night on a garagey note.

With just today and tomorrow left, PDX Pop has been off to a great start!

(Technically we're not supposed to talk about bands that aren't local, but Courtaud and Bobtail were based in the OC for four years, and continually come down to perform — they're currently on tour, and have played with some of the finest folks in the underground scenes: Shojo Winter, Cruelty Code, Media Jeweler, Young Lovers, Deep Fields, CTHTR. So they're pretty tight in my book, and worthy of mention.)

Inspired by a mythical 15th century French wolfpack that killed 40 Parisians, the experimental outfit — Alana Cook, Emily Wasilewski, and Andrew Quinones — come up with some very unsettling and vesperous sounds. The accumulated recordings are placid, lo-fi scrawls of peaking feedback, acoustic hum, and calm verse that poeticize the dismal realities of life. Their newest LP "My Love Who Never Was Will Never Be" ventures into narratives of depression, ennui, trauma, and exploitation. It's heavy with poignant use of reverb and sparse, minimalist arrangements — sadder than Hollywood sadcore, but less boxed into ambient soundscapes as Mojave 3 and Mazzy Star.

Thursday night, Courtaud and Bobtail joins Young Lovers (post-rock from the valley) and Tender Age (C86/noisepop from Portland) at the Ham & Eggs Tavern, DJ set by the lovely Izzy Sophia. Come out: you might cry, you might dance, and you just might find love. Listen to "Hanging Wall" below. - Ryan Mo

Sometimes we are offered glimpses into what Portland, Oregon used to be. These fleeting moments are often brought back through people born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Jackson Boone fits all of the above and is ready to share his perception via his newest album, Starlit.