Pitstop: Sunbathe

photo by Todd Walberg

No disrespect meant to her longtime bandmate/songwriting partner Stephen Leisy but Genders' Maggie Morris distinct vocals have been one of my favorite elements of the band's continuous evolution. From the gauzy beach pop of Youth to their more psychedelic efforts as Genders and even their more shoegaze-oriented turn, Morris' emotive vocals have provided an excellent buoy in Genders' instrumental deluge. Much like fellow Portland friends Typhoon led to my discovery of Youth/Genders, it was only through them that I even knew Morris had begun her solo project Sunbathe. Enlisting Typhoon's Pieter Hilton on drums, Shannon Rose Steele on violin, and Devin Gallagher on tambourine, Morris' efforts as Sunbathe highlight just how masterful Morris' ability to pair heavy rock riffs with emotion-stirring vocals and memorable melodies. Though the lead track "Can't Find It" off her recently released debut reminded me of an alternate edit of "Never Belonged To You", much of Sunbathe exists in its own realm of similar but not congruent rock pop.

"With A Little Help" is a high point of the album featuring Morris at her brightest, most vibrant and taking what could be a radio-friendly pop effort and elongating its moments of small-scale magnificence. Though Morris has demonstrate a diverse range of songwriting subjects in the past/across other efforts, as Sunbathe, she sticks to basics: Sunbathe is an album filled with songs of love and heartbreak and where Morris really shines is in her ability to conflate the two. Morris' strengths have always lay in her pursuit of real, sincere emotions and real, earnest reactions and Sunbathe makes the most of that while also featuring incredible moments of tonal place-setting. Sunbathe is like a progression through the stages of grief, starting off breezy and sun-kissed and eventually ending up fully entrenched in darker textures and blistering riffs.




Sunbathe, the debut album from Maggie Morris' new solo effort Sunbathe is out now and available on digital, vinyl, or cassette.

All Around Sound Is Turning Seven! - Day 1: Genders

This year this blog All Around Sound will enter it's seventh year of operation. I say this every year but looking back I never would've anticipated the blog running this long at it's inception. It's insane to think that we're still here in our little corner of the internet especially when so many of the other blogs we've featured here in the past have gone by the wayside. Nevertheless we're still trucking and we will be for quite sometime. We're offering up another year of our birthday mixtape spectacular. 

Every music writer longs for that one band that they knew before anyone else. One of my absolute favorite bands that I essentially got to see form before my very eyes (albeit from across the country) is Portland's Genders. Stumbling upon their previous band Youth with it's heavy beach rock vibes and watching the transformation into psychedelic experimental rock that's pretty definitive of their current sound has been a treat. Genders have grown into a fairly mighty band so it only made sense to reach out to them to help us celebrate another year of being around especially since we've written many a love letter to their continued growth. 

Genders' Stephen Leisy is up with the first mix of week inspired by the band's touring:

Hey Dante,
Here's a mix. Not too much theme or backstory, but all the songs remind me in some way of time spent on the road or just hanging with my bandmates. Most of all the bands on this list (with two exceptions) are bands we've played with, been inspired by, and sung along in the van to. Happy Birthday All Around Sound! 

Thanks to Stephen and Genders for contributing and being in an awesome band worth covering. Stick around for other contributions throughout the week. 

Listen: Genders - "Never Belonged To You"

As Portland indie rock quartet Genders continue to unveil bits and pieces of their upcoming Phone Home EP one thing is becoming abundantly clear: unlike their debut full length Get Lost which was a culmination of years of playing and writing songs together, Phone Home appears to have a more definite theme. Not that Get Lost lacked the cohesion of a good album - it's songs all fit together if not lyrically than definitely in style but the time in between records has given the band a much more focused narrative.

"Never Belonged To You" essentially picks off right where first single "Life Is But A Dream" left off. However where "Life Is But A Dream" dipped into dream pop, "Never Belonged To You" is a much clear cut rock jam.  Where "Life Is But A Dream" relied on synths for textural padding, "Never Belonged To You" features Maggie Morris and Stephen Leisy's interlocking guitars. There's a push and pull both narratively and compositionally. Morris' lyrics turn from vague introspection to a downright warning: "Setting you up/gonna knock you down" before launching into the chorus and the guitars rise up like walls around her heart. "But I never belonged to you/I never belonged to anyone" Maggie coos and the lack of bite makes it a much effective siren call. Narratively Morris leaves you wanting more, never quite explaining why you're not good enough or even attempting a cathartic capitulation. Instead the band take up the task of crafting a satisfying conclusion as they embark on instrumental break that teases and expands the tracks main riff.



Genders' Phone Home EP will be out later this year.

Listen: Genders: "Life Is But A Dream"

Following Maggie Morris and Stephen Leisy since their days as members of Portland foursome Youth has been a wonderful journey of sorts. Though Youth was shortlived, their output - a double A side and their June EP was enough to make enough of an impression that listening to their new band Genders was a given. While it was a bit of a wait after the announcement of the band until those not able to catch them around Portland could see them, Morris and Leisy have made the wait worth it - releasing a series of  placeholders before finally releasing their debut full length Something To Get You By at the tail end of 2013.

"Life Is But A Dream", the first single from Genders' upcoming Phone Home EP shows that they're not that kind of band that's content to stay in place. Whereas Something To Get You By reveled in a sort of garage psych hinterland, "Life Is But A Dream" pulls from the band's dreamier, more atmospheric moments and chases that lead to a refreshing new sound. Morris and Leisy pair their guitar with omnichord and synths, respectively while Katherine Paul's insistent drumming translates rather well outside of the fuzz of their previous efforts. Considering the more laidback surfer rock vibe of Youth and Something To Get You By's "Golden State", Morris and Leisy are no strangers to a less hectic vocal delivery but "Life Is But A Dream" pairs the casual delivery with the blistering, intricate guitar work of their debut. It's a noteworthy blend, one that highlights the band's versatility as well as their ability to take what worked previously show that it works surprisingly well in new context. The result is a slice of dreampop that's not entirely content to go down smooth; As Morris and Leisy's guitar work occasionally providing jagged edges that elevate the track above mere delicate pop confection.



Genders' new single "Life Is But A Dream" is out and available for download this Friday with their Phone Home EP out later this year.

Genders - Get Lost (2013)

Portland indie rock quartet Genders' journey began long before their first demos emerged back in April of 2012. Back when half of its members were in the tragically short-lived Youth and its summery jangle rock. In fact, several of Genders first tracks recalled those beach rock jams in "Show Me" and even EP/Get Lost track "Golden State". However, as the foursome offered up more and more tunes saw the light of day, it was clear there was more to the band than sunny surf-friendly melodies and as the band incorportated darker textures and developed the art of the longform jam, the development of a full length of unique and worthwhile tracks became not only an inevitability but also cause of anticipation. 

On "Something to Get You By", their full length's heavy album opener, Genders pull absolutely no punches. Sure to be most people's introduction to Genders, it starts right out the gate featuring the full band in a display of shoegaze-y fuzz before the portentous stormclouds disperse to reveal Maggie Morris as the guide for the tumultuous journey. Her vocals are light but seem incapable of drowning in the sea of haze as the band weave a complex web of intense jams around her. 

While not everyone is likely to have followed Genders from the start (both its own and its past-life as Youth), it is precisely this that enables the band to function so effectively. Their guitarists' (Stephen Leisy and Maggie Morris) familiarity aids in the intricacy of their impressive clustered jangle. Most of Get Lost's tracks feature the band's instrumental prowess and for a band that was less tight-knit, less precise, less practiced, and less engaged it would be sure to be their downfall - creating an album that not only seemed overly long but dragging and painfully so. This isn't the case with Genders on Get Lost - who even revisit previously released tracks to give them whole new context. "Twin Peaks" is a whole new beast, less oppressive but with a far more ethereal edge as Morris' vocals are given a ghoulish glow due to its altered production. Her shouts of "don't want to see, don't want to hear, you love me" ring out like warnings with higher stakes than discomfort. They're even able to fit a purely instrumental track on the album in "How Long Can I Wait?" that's interesting in its own right and not just as a bridge between the brighter and darker-tinged album cuts. 

A vocal supporter of Genders from the start, it's amazing to see the band's transformation. Get Lost plays like an true rock album from a group of talented performers. Ones that don't need a crazy amount of studio time to get it right. Get Lost's greatest achievement is in it's duality - part shredfest with an emotional resonant core. Its tracks are definitely jams but mindfully so - the band's talents are fully on display without the need for any excessive spotlighting and the cohesiveness not only of the tracks themselves but the album itself is an impressive feat. It's a worthwhile placeholder for what's sure to be an utterly incredible live experience. Here's hoping it's not too long before Genders get to make tours a regular part of their lives. It's certainly a must for a band this good at what they do. 

You can stream/download Genders' full length debut Get Lost:

Listen: Genders - "Something To Get You By"

Here's a bit of good news: Portland rock quartet Genders have emerged triumphant from a bit of studio action with Cheshire grins happy to announce the completion of their debut full length Get Lost. They're about to run off on a North American tour with Built to Spill but not before they dropped the first single for the upcoming full length, the appropriately titled "Something To Get You By".

If there was any doubt in your mind that Genders wasn't a rock band through and through, "Something To Get You By" is your answer. Swimming in a sea of shoegaze-y fuzz, looming dark textures that'll drain the summer tan right off of you; replacing it with an autumnal chill. While it remains to be seen if the other tracks Gender released either from the EP or this year's tour 7" will make it's way onto Get Lost, "Something To Get You By" is the dark cousin of many of those cuts - forsaking sunny summery jangle for a staggering intensity in a similar vein to "Oakland" and "Twin Peaks" but with a far more oppressive loom.



Genders' debut full length album Get Lost is out December 8th.

Listen: Genders - "Show Me"/"Oakland"

                                                     (photo by Shannon Wolf)
                   
It's a rather exciting time for Portland foursome Genders. Since its three core members departed former band Youth last year, they've had a delightfully surprising amount of forward momentum; releasing an EP a few months ago, playing Treefort Music Festival, and following that shortly after with a two song 7". Yes, it's a pretty good time to be Genders.

On "Show Me", the first of the foursome's new tunes, the bright summery bounce of both "Golden State" and "Sugarcoat" as well as their Youth days (the June EP in particular) returns. It's a pretty sweet poppy confection that floats along on beach rock waves and traverses toned down psychedelic paths. Maggie Morris' vocals are cool and calm as she continues to come into her own as a consummate frontwoman; all charm and pleasant coo. Unlike the sunkissed beach pop of "Show Me", its b-side "Oakland" dwells in those more darkly textured and darker themed lands of "Twin Peaks". It doesn't contain the same level of intensity or urgency as "Twin Peaks" but "Oakland" carries a similar mysterious air, a polar opposite to the a-side but a rather excellent pairing.

Genders - EP (2012)

When the news broke that Portland quartet Youth were breaking up, my heart was broken. They had just released a pretty great EP and had already released one of my favorite songs ("Want You to Know") and suddenly that would be no more. However there was a bit of good news with the band, instead of one band Youth would be splitting into two: Maggie Morris, Stephen Leisy went on to form Genders drafting Katherine Paul and Matthew Hall  into the fold and Elec Morin would be setting out solo.

Considering the rather slow pacing of Youth's releases, I'm pretty impressed with the fact that Genders managed to put out an EP this year. The band formed in April and in this short 3 song EP have already managed to completely eclipse the potential and promise of their former band. Maggie's taken the helm and proves to be an excellent frontwoman. The EP may only be a small taste of the band at play (unless you're lucky enough to live on the northwest coast where you can catch the occasional live set) but it shows a versatility untapped in their previous incarnation. Sure there's the summer beach-rock that colored Youth's best songs and made June so fun but there's more than that at work here. From the very Givers-eque introduction of "Golden State" to the dark electro-pop lean of "Twin Peaks" (which sounds astonishingly similar to The Pass' "Without Warning")

The EP are three very different on Genders' psychedelic beachy pop rock an yet none of them seem at all out of place. Showing off varying skills without displacing any of the established others. Each are jams in their own way, from sort of back-beat heavy pop influence to straight-forward Bay area rock, each is handled in just the right way to make you love it. Who would've thought that a change in artistic direction was all Genders needed to kick it into high gear. While the lazy day summer rock of Youth was certainly pleasant and full of charm, the blistering tempi and tight-knit precision  are definite winners. On their EP, Genders show us all why they're worthy of sticking around. Capitalizing on their likes and what they learned in Youth and expanding it to reach a level of musicianship I was wholly unexpecting. Here's hoping there's more to come from Genders because anything else would be an utter crime.

Get a listen to their three-song EP and fall in love with Genders.