Pacific Northwest Writing & Photography

… songs such as “Secret Handshake” and “Sweet Tooth” showcase the band’s guitar-driven roots, but then they can totally change it up and (surprise!) even get kind of twangy for songs like “Carolina Throwaway.”

Hey Marseilles have come a long way since I first saw them play a breezy 2 o’clock opening set for Capitol Hill Block Party.

On a soggy Thursday evening, my partner-in-crime and I made our way into Ballard’s Tractor Tavern for the perfect cure for our mildew blues: Julia Massey and the Five Finger Discounts, The Hoot Hoots, and the Great Um.

Five Letters From Far Away, the new album from Julia Massey and the Five Finger Discount, is a cosmic pop journey, space exploration through a dance-party sector of the universe.

Stripped of loud guitars and surface fluff, he maneuvered into the subtle rather than the over-stated.

Thee Satisfaction @ Nectar Lounge, Seattle, Washington, United States

Feeling like you’re in a funk? The Rubbish Zoo can take care of that.

It’s this honesty that shines through the entire album. Liz Rognes is a woman who is not afraid of her own self, her strengths and her flaws, and she sings her truth in a voice of redemption …

Opening with a spirited La Gallina, off of Don’t Mess with the Dragon, from 2007, Ozomatli made it perfectly clear that they were taking no prisoners.

Sara spent a full seven months in the recording studio, and you can hear in the results the time and effort involved to fully process her music …