Nick Jaina is yet another artist from one of the best cities in the world: Portland. Maybe it’s just me, but I really get the feel of the city on his new album The 7 Stations, released this week from Bangback Records. Portland has a feel, you ask. Well, sure. Imagine the alt-country/folk feel of any number of late 90s bands, emphasize a diverse range of instruments (banjos, clarinets, trumpets, an accordion or two, and many more), and give the whole thing a strong indie-rock vibe. You’ve got the singer-songwriter thing going on, but there’s quite a bit of kick to it as well (see “Maybe Cocaine” for an example).
In short, this is folk/country for folks whose main interaction with the “country” is a trip to Multnomah Falls or reading a Faulkner book while sitting at Powell’s. And I don’t mean that disparagingly. Just because a city doesn’t have tumbleweeds and Southern attitude doesn’t mean the emotions are any less real or meaningful.
And Nick Jaina demonstrates that. This is smart, sensitive music that delves into all the positives and the negatives of these cities of America in which we live. So it’s not about Portland, except insofar as it’s about many different cities, of which Portland just happens to be one of the nicest.
Two songs that demonstrate some of the different vibes on the album:
Maybe CocaineSeems to Calm the Baby
The first is mentioned above, as an example of the kick he can put together. The second is closer to the traditional singer-songwriter fare, introduced by a lightly touched piano and his rich voice reminiscing.
If I’ve obsessed a little bit about the Portland connection, please forgive – I’ve just been feeling a little lonesome for the Northwest lately. But I do mark it a strength that this record so well evokes what I love about the area that I can’t help but discuss it.
In other news, there’s a great review of the new Hold Steady and Killers albums (tied together by their Springsteen connections) from the Harvard Independent.
Also, Scarlett Johansson is apparently recording an album of Tom Waits covers. Which is weird but potentially awesome.