Music
deep sea diver
The third full-length from Deep Sea Diver, Impossible Weight is a work of sublime highs and mesmerizing lows, its restless intensity both unsettling and transcendent. For bandleader Jessica Dobson, the album’s sonic and emotional expanse stems from a period of sometimes-brutal self-examination—a process that began not long after the Seattle-based four-piece finished touring for their acclaimed sophomore effort Secrets.
“We went into the studio pretty quickly after the tour ended, and I sort of hit a wall where I was feeling very detached from making music, and unable to find joy in it,” says the vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, whose bandmates include her husband Peter Mansen (drums), Garrett Gue (bass), and Elliot Jackson (guitar, synth). “I realized I had to try to rediscover my voice as a songwriter, and figure out the vocabulary for what I needed to say on this album.”
With the release of Impossible Weight, Dobson hopes that others might reclaim a similar sense of freedom in their emotional lives. “Especially right now when the world is in disarray and there’s so much fear, I want this record to give people room to feel whatever they need to feel,” she says. “I hope it helps them recognize that it’s okay to fall apart, and that they’re meant to let others in instead of trying to work through everything on their own. Because the point is that the impossible weight isn’t yours to carry alone—that’s why it’s impossible.”
broken social scene
Once a two-person basement recording project, Broken Social Scene came to life onstage as a shadowy improvisational entity with a revolving-door roster, each concert a wholly unique experience dependent on the room, the weather, what they ate for dinner that night, and who was dropping in to play. Where the band’s 2001 debut album, Feel Good Lost, presented BSS as an anonymous ambient project that reflected its humble, homespun origins, their electrifying live performances from that era rallied an extended family of performers with roots in post-rock (Justin Peroff, Do Make Say Think’s Charles Spearin), Latin jazz (Andrew Whiteman), art-folk (Feist), synth-pop (Amy Millan and Evan Cranley, also of Stars), dance-punk (Metric’s Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw), and country rock (Jason Collett).
But by pursuing improvisational freedom over commercial considerations, Broken Social Scene set a new gold standard for indie rock in the 21st century with 2002’s You Forgot It In People, an album that pushed the genre far beyond its noisy ’90s slacker roots toward a more sonically expansive, emotionally expressive vision. And with follow-up releases like the blissfully chaotic Broken Social Scene (2005), the rapturous Forgiveness Rock Record (2010), and the intricate, insidiously melodic Hug of Thunder (2017), Broken Social Scene have amassed a thrillingly amorphous, unpredictable body of work.
ural thomas & the pain
Universally recognized as one of the most exciting singers remaining from the original soul era, 82 year-old Ural Thomas and his band The Pain just released their third LP “Dancing Dimensions.” Thomas initially made his name in the 1960s with stone cold soul classic releases like “Pain Is The Name of Your Game,” “Can You Dig It,” “Deep Soul,” and his 1964 recording debut with The Monterays “Push – Em Up.” After a musical journey that commenced in his native Portland, Oregon, and led to Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and New York, sharing stages with everyone from James Brown to Stevie Wonder to Otis Redding to Etta James, Thomas became disillusioned with the music business and returned home to the city of roses at the end of the decade – where he continues to reign as Portland’s uncontested Soul Brother Number One. In 2014 Ural met drummer/bandleader Scott Magee at a Sunday jam session he’d been hosting for decades and Ural Thomas and The Pain was born. The full showband set to work, prolifically gigging, touring the world, and releasing four critically acclaimed records (two LPs and two singles) between 2015 and 2018. Despite the usual COVID-19 obstacles, The Pain finally completed their much-anticipated third album in 2021.
marmalade
Marmalade is a collective of integrated stylings of funk, soul, hiphop, afrobeat…. bringing groove! The hallmark of Marmalade’s sound lies in their ability to seamlessly blend a variety of musical styles and influences. From the deep, resonant grooves of classic funk to the heart-stirring rhythms of soul, along with elements of hip-hop, jazz, and rock, their music is a testament to the rich tapestry of American musical traditions. This sonic diversity is matched by their live performances, which are known for their spontaneity and energy. Marmalade’s shows are more than just concerts; they are communal experiences where the barrier between the performers and the audience dissolves, giving way to a shared celebration of rhythm and movement.
amelia day
Amelia Day is a queer folk powerhouse entering the conversation with mainstays like Brandi Carlile, the Indigo Girls, and Tracy Chapman. Underscoring her carefree melodies with gritty, confessional lyricism and raw, heartfelt delivery, she performs with an intimacy that makes even new listeners feel familiar. Amelia mixes elements of her adolescent South Sound mixtapes of folk, rock, and jazz, creating music that plays freely with genre, but is still undeniably “Amelia Day.” Without a label, Amelia has independently sold out venues like Seattle’s iconic The Triple Door, been played on popular stations like KEXP, opened for pop crooner Stephen Sanchez, and amassed over 2M streams and 85K monthly listeners on Spotify. Amelia released her sophomore EP “Little One” last November, which was met with rave reviews from publications like Outwrite and The UW Daily.
johnny bregar
Johnny Bregar is a seasoned family music performer. He is known for his engaging live concerts that delight kids and parents alike. His original songs and arrangements of familiar children’s songs have a rootsy, jazzy, bluesy, poppy sound. He has produced, engineered, mixed and released six full length kids/family albums and appears on four Putumayo compilations.
Johnny’s songs are about everyday life as a child. He reaches across cultural and geographic boundaries with tunes that spark children’s imaginations and are comfortable and familiar. Johnny strives to make his music educational as well as fun. Very few of his songs are written simply to be silly –- he aims to strike a chord with kids by providing vignettes that echo the way they think about the world around them, while at the same time remaining fun and accessible.
