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!

We're fans of Mr. Bones at the Deli. Who wouldn't be? We covered their debut cassette back in February of last year and the first single they shared from their upcoming sophomore effort, due one year after their debut at the end of February. Bites is dropping on the 26th on Good Cheer Records, with the first track off it, "12," premiering on Paste a few days ago. "12" is reminiscent of alternative indie rock from the late 90's mixed with their already addictive lo-fi fuzz pop. It's either a song about love or a song about confusion, but either way, it's a song to be enjoyed. Listen below.

-Cervante Pope

Mr. Bones has been the lo-fi, garagey, pop punky delight that we've all needed to get us a little rowdy here in Portland. The Deli mentioned them back in February, when their self titled debut tape came out off Good Cheer Records. We're bringing the boys of Mr. Bones today to debut the new single of their upcoming album, Bites, due out some time early next year. "Do You Wanna Feel Alright" is a minute and 45 seconds worth of refreshingly pleasant garage pop that is damn near impossible not to get into. 

"Do You Wanna Feel Alright" premiered on THRDCOAST and can be listened to here.

The Mr. Bones dudes will be playing at the Analog Cafe and Theater December 13, so give the track a listen and come ready to have a good time.

-Cervante Pope

PDX garage pop outfit, Mr. Bones, release their self-titled cassette via Good Cheer Records. 

The debut full-length opens up with “Lurch,” a track that runs just under a minute. The minimalistic intro starts with just vocals and guitar, then adds a lo-fi sample pad beat. It almost sounds like it could be a track from fellow PDX songsters The Morals.

As the album moves forward, things get louder and gnarlier, sonically and lyrically. Tracks like “Glaring at U” and the single, “You Don’t Have a Skull of Your Own” blast through your speakers, and straight into your heart. Straight until the end, Mr. Bones pair noise with catchy melodies, straddling the line between destruction and summer-pop.

Many of the lyrics, like the songs themselves, are stream-of-thought, and span subject matter such as looking at strangers on the internet (“Another Fucking Summer”), generic people, love, and loneliness.

The album feels like they recorded everything live in someone’s basement, which suits the rawness and excitement of the band. This grungy, DIY vibe gives each song an added sense of urgency and earnesty -- a rare change of pace from the often-overproduced pop (etc) album. Seems like a perfect touch to release it on a cassette tape. They even have hand-written lyrics on the inside of the liner!

Guitarist and singer Leland Brehl comes from the punk side of the Portland music scene, which might help explain the emphasis on energy, over clarity. Expect driving guitars and crashing drums, with vocals JUST outside of the focal point throughout the album.  

Overall it’s a pretty smash-and-grab album, with short, hard-hitting songs (and a few mellow ones interspersed) -- the longest track on the album is just over three minutes, so things move quickly throughout, often ending abruptly and moving immediately to the next song/feeling. So if grunge-pop via punk is your jam, Mr Bones’ self-titled tape is definitely worth checking out. Also, an entire listen only takes about twenty five minutes -- I bet you have that kind of time if you’re reading this.

Good Cheer Records is a new label from Blake Hickman (of KPSU) and Morgan Troper, and so far hosts only Mr. Bones and Teenspot in their lineup.  

From the label: “The cassette is being released on February 10th, The band is playing an in store at Music Millenium at 6 PM that evening to celebrate the release. More info about our label can be found at www.goodcheerrecords.com”

Written by Chandler Strutz

Photo of Mr. Bones by Yousef Hatlani