Lackthereof

Seattle has long flirted with producing some of the most influential bands in alternative music history. Just down the road, however, Portland has been catching up. We know because we checked and, um, there's a website called PortlandBands.com. Other Oregon natives include M. Ward, Pink Martini, and Chris Walla. Brightest among this group, however, is Portland-based emotronic folk band, Lackthereof, who are set to release their ninth album, Your Anchor, this summer. Lackthereof incorporates finely-tuned electro beats to boost lethargic vocals into harmonic climaxes. It's astonishing that lead singer Danny Seim waited nearly seven years to share his music with the world (or, Oregonians, Oregonites?). Seim, who is also the drummer of Menomena, began self-recording and distributing Lackthereof in 1997 but was too self-conscious as a singer-songwriter to let his music travel further than the hands of friends. In 2004, Seim paired with indie label FILMguerrero and released Christian the Christian. Your Anchor, out on Barsuk records, is most certainly worth a listen or 50.
Black Book