An Indie Rock Invasion

Put on your tight jeans and American Apparel sweatshirt, indie rock’s coming to Vancouver

By Paige Thomas

As we all know too well, Vancouver often plays second fiddle to all things Portland. All things, of course, including the almighty PDX music scene. Stumptown’s indie rock music scene is a powerhouse, and with so much to offer on any given night of the week, it can be difficult to get anyone to sample the goods up north. However, for one night in the wonderful month of Rocktober (10/17, to be exact), Vancouver offers up a great reason for Portland’s stubborn indie elite to make the trek past Jantzen Beach and into Washington.

In addition to two incredible touring bands (Texas’s By the End of Tonight and San Fran’s Tartufi), two Portland progressive rock bands are leaving the comfort of their hometown to play Moxie’s Soda Shop in Downtown Vancouver.

The first, We’re From Japan! is a quartet known for their long, epic soundscapes. Their crashing drums and dramatic guitars create an intense emotional musicality. The band describe the experience of listening to their music as “always the moment before release” and akin to “driving down an empty wooded road in the middle of the night with the headlights shining on the yellow stripes coming at you three at a time.” David Lynch’s Lost Highway springs to mind, and not surprisingly, since the drama and surreality of their music could easily lend itself to the isolated beauty of any of his films.

The emotion that pours forth from the songs—which are all purely instrumental, I should add—are reminiscent of what Sigur Ros might produce if he were weighted down in the post-rock tradition of the Pacific Northwest. With surprising flourishes of violin and piano, We’re From Japan! has an incredibly mature sound for their genre of music.

Another PDX band in the post-rock vein, The Jezebel Spirit, also plays sprawling musical compositions. Much like We’re From Japan!, the Jezebel Spirit offers up a similar musical sensitivity in their songs. The band have gone through a few different line-ups since 2003, but seems to have settled down and now comes out with their first recording, a four-song EP entitled “Turtles All the Way Down.”  Their latest dynamic—sans vocalist—allows the band to explore and integrate their progressive, math-y, and (as they put it) “jazzy” influences.

Fans of bands as God Speed You! Black Emperor and Explosions in the Sky, flock to Moxie’s on October 17 to catch this impressive lineup! You won’t be disappointed. While the music may not be for everyone, its fans are fierce and dedicated…maybe even dedicated enough to abandon Bridgetown and make their way over to the ‘Couve.

You can catch We’re From Japan! and the Jezebel Spirit along with headliner By the End of Tonight and Tartufi on Wednesday, October 17 starting at 6pm at Moxie’s Soda Shop, located at 1929 Main St., Downtown Vancouver, 360-750-1784.