In as musically fertile place as Portland, you’d be hard pressed to find a unanimous decision for any singular “best band in town”. However, when it comes to the technical chops of the Rose City’s Bearcubbin’!, you’ve certainly got a solid start. Over the past several years, accomplished PDX bands from a range of genres have each shared with me their respect for Bearcubbin’!. You’ll likely hear about Billy Corgan handpicking Bearcubbin’! drummer Mike Byrne to play in the Smashing Pumpkins. But anyone who has spent time with the band’s albums or seen them live knows the whole of Mike, Chris Scott, and Patrick Dougherty’s project is greater than the sum of its parts.
To peg Bearcubbin’! as “math rock” or “post-rock” wouldn’t entirely do the band justice. Bands like Pelican, Russian Circles, Battles or Maserati serve as accurate reference points. But you’ll just need to pop on 2014’s Girls with Fun Haircuts or see Bearcubbin’! live to get the full treatment of their precision and nuances. Catch them at our Treefort Fest showcase Saturday March 28 at 6pm at Woodland Empire. Scope their performance last year as well.
Photo by: Simon Boas Julianne Rose Tunnelle