Have you ever listened to a gentle bruise on a crisp apple? You're about to! Mookie and Hannah from Portland dream-pop maximalists Laska join the party this week! Fresh on the heels of recording a new batch of songs and a summer of shows, they chop it about the particular alchemy of growing up in the Midwest, their embrace of randomness and fun in the songwriting process, electric fences, the spiritual significance of dice, the existential melancholy of jellyfish, and the relative aesthetic value of echidna genitals.

Music this week:

• “Daisies” by Laska (25:51)
• “Hear No” by Nappy Nina (38:20)
• “Ten and Two” by Laska (53:07)
• “Loss” by Unseen Object (1:12:45)
• “Intruder” by Cherry Cheeks (1:34:12)

I'm sure most of you have written a few rock musicals in your day, but WE HAVEN'T! That's why we were so excited to speak with Portland multi-instrumentalist and composer Justin Radford. He takes us deep into the strange, joyous, and ambitious world of In Odin's Name, his Norse mythology-inspired rock musical that has been 15 years in the making. We learn the origins of the work that connected Justin with a far-off French lyricist; we chat about the valid and proper disdain of rock operas, the lost art of the Mexican pizza, the Short Kings of the monster truck world, and navigating the song-to-sex pipeline. Plus rock effing musical, bro!!!

Music this week:

• “Dance of Swords” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (21:42)
• “Such Great Reward” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (42:15)
• “Angel” by HYD (1:14:20)
• “By the Blood in My Veins” by Justin Radford / In Odin’s Name (1:30:24)

Portland’s Jesse Valencia is many things: musician, activist, filmmaker, author, raconteur. But this week, he adds perhaps his most prestigious appellation: Haute Garbage podcast guest. Jesse’s seminal Arizona (now PDX) band Gorky is celebrating 25 years of killer tunes, and Jesse joins the show to discuss his approach to music, UFO encounters, the origins of his book Keep Music Evil about the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the fight for Portland independent music, and the legacy of the late, beloved Gorky co-founder Ben Holladay.

Music this week:

• “Action Pants” by Gorky (22:39)
• “First Blood” by Moderator (49:50)
• “AM Radio” by Gorky (1:01:54)
• “Shopping” by Rayon (1:26:04)
• “Swinger” by Salo Panto (1:44:49)

Portland emo math-punk superstars Swiss Army Wife grace us with their presence fresh off the release of their brand-new full length, “I Love You, But I Hate it Here”. For all its volume, emotion, and dynamic, the record never tries to grip too tightly, breathing comfortably and finding a deep flow through the shards and sharp edges. The gang talks discovering satisfaction through vulnerability, the virtues of permissible imperfection, multi-wave-poastmodern-emo meaninglessness, and the causation/correlation among their creative output, Mt. Dew, and geopolitical instability.

Music this week:

• “Idaho” by Swiss Army Wife (15:41)
• “Big Bumming’” by Hummus Vacuum (31:33)
• “Cowboy” by Swiss Army Wife (50:23)
• “Sisyphus” by Citrus Jr. (1:08:15)
• “No Such Thing As Ethical Consumption Under Late-Stage Capitalism” by DMH (1:21:43)

Named one of Portland’s best new bands by the Willamette Week, ethereal indie folk band Essie and the Hum seem to have sprung to life fully-formed, with a musical cohesion and creative clarity that belies their scant 13 months together. The whole band is in the house this week to peel back the curtain on that creation myth and dive into the moments of change and growth that have propelled them so far. We also get into the gremlin-core good looks of Billy Joel; bone-conducting as an audio medium (pro or con?); gnat jewelry; and paper eating (decidedly pro).

Music this week:

“I Am a Flower” by Essie and the Hum (22:34)

“Fauna Song” By Rapman Gavin and Jesse the Tree (40:15)

“Raccoon Eyes” by Essie and the Hum (1:06:15)

“Nausea” by Laska (1:24:59)

“La Bruja” by Arteaga (1:42:32)

This is an all-timer, my friends. Portland queer folk collective Complimentary Colors joined us this week, and Ash, Camille, and Hannah instantly made us hope we could be friends IRL…as I’m sure most people hope for in their company. They make beautiful, emotional, honest music and they played three such tunes LIVE in studio. Plus, movie ettiquette, an organic conversation about Taco Bell, and Big Papa Drew. Just enjoy, y’all!

Music this week:

• "Not Coping Well" by Complimentary Colors (25:48)
• "Moonbeam Girl" by Complimentary Colors (48:37)
• "Fever Pitch" by Complimentary Colors (86:09)
• "Fly Fly" by Zookraught (105:29)

Portland trio Ogre come replete with refined, bruising chaos; a group whose Bandcamp page features a brief style guide (Arial only, please) would likely approve of the pomp and semicolon of this sentence. On the eve of their evolutionary new record "Bryan" (dropping May 29), Grace, Ace, and Nils of Ogre join the show to sow a little discord on the mics. In a sprawling conversation, we touch on Keanu, bowling beers, an abiding love of AI, eschewing stage banter, ogre-on-ogre crime vis a vis Shrek, and occasionally music. You'll effing LOVE it!

Music this week:

• "Arctillion 444" by Ogre (25:30)
• "An L.A. Funeral" by Orcutt Shelley Miller (49:45)
• "Hair" by Ogre (70:13)
• "firmly placed atop YHWH" by Rheumatoid Trapezoid (86:28)
• "Cabin Fever" by Slomosa (115:32)

Portland hip hop may not have a governing sound, but it thrives on sustained commitment, cross-pollination, experimentation, and progression. Slick Devious is the emodiment of that ethos and approach, to which we'd add rare introspection as an artist. All of this makes him a killer MC and an excellent conversationalist, and we get tons of both this episode. The fellas chat about the relative necessity of live performance, what an artist owes an audience in terms of connection, wet handshakes, generational diarrhea, the political ambiguity of the cybertruck, and factory-fresh foods. Slick also graces us with some world-premiere previews of upcoming projects.

Music this week:

• (Still Untitled w/Cabanna Project) by Slick Devious (34:01)
• "Trim" by Conrizzle (51:04)
• "Enrolled" by Slick Devious (65:15)
• "Runtz (Smoking Runtz)" by Slick Devious, produced by Nate Habits (76:02)
• "Everybody Needs to Be" by Kutiman (93:30)