Christopher Teret at SPACE Gallery and Huak at Empire Dine and Dance, March 20
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | March 25, 2009
Chris Teret's singing is just as unassuming as his songwriting. When he sings, his mouth hardly opens; instead, the edges of his lips spread back into his cheeks, and his dry, mundane delivery takes on a graceful lilt. Its variations are subtle but effortlessly expressive, and they suit his efficient, eloquent narratives to a "T."
Playing an electric guitar and accompanied by two visiting members of his band Company (the four-piece are scattered between Portland, Los Angeles, and New York City), Teret largely stuck to songs from an upcoming Company album. While the songs aren't fully fully fleshed out yet, the band's sound (highlighted by Teret's shimmery strumming) is the best outlet for Teret's laments and old-time travelogues. His lyrics toe a line between bland simplicity and quiet profundity, but the nuanced emotion of his plainspoken phrasing — like the "even" in "Baby, I'm an island in the sea/No one there to even look at me" — ensures that they invariably tilt towards the latter.
Nearby at the Empire, the ever-tightening indie-rock four-piece Huak continued to mine the nearly-forgotten charms of mid-'90s emo (Tallest Frontman in Portland Jake Lowry teeters between sentimental verses and chaotic, cathartic choruses), filtering them through the brutal, jagged structures and dense guitar squall of early post-punk. The band, in their abruptly shifting movements and time signatures, still have a bit of an itchy trigger finger, but (perhaps with the addition of Rattlesnakes drummer Mike Cunnane) their aim's getting exhilaratingly precise. If their opening slot for Mission of Burma weren't proof enough, Huak have quickly entered the upper echelon of the local indie scene.
Related:
It takes a village, Old friends return, Margin call, More 
- It takes a village
Treble Treble , a new 15-page photobook and 10-artist compilation album curated by local musician and budding photographer Joshua Loring, is the first concerted effort to market Portland's indie music scene.
- Old friends return
The sinewy post-punk group HUAK drop Yorba Linda , their first full-length, named for the birthplace of Richard Nixon.
- Margin call
Since it's one of the Tablet's duties to explore the margins of Portland music culture, we thought we'd forego an official top 10 in favor of some hidden favorites that won't often chart.
- Foamspun jams
We blurbed it ages ago, but HUAK's excellent Yorba Linda is finally getting the wax treatment it deserves.
- The death of 'Do This,' and more
Photographer/songwriter/BOXY member JOSHUA LORING and SPACE GALLERY were awarded a grant by the MAINE ARTS COMMISSION to document the underground rock scene.
- Rock of wages
Huak are the rare local band who, in the two-plus years they've been playing regular gigs, sound bolder and more self-possessed every time you see them.
- Sunset Hearts' bright laments
There's something we respond to in the juxtaposition, the pairing of sweet and sour, dark humor, vulnerable heroes. And, of course, opposites attract.
- The kids will have their say
Whoever's idea it was to launch 131 WASHINGTON ST. : nice work.
- Huak bring old punk traditions out of history
When people play a genre of music that predates them, sounds nothing like other bands in town, and is all but guaranteed to make them no money, people take note.
- Vain displays
The relentless "Get Fucked" tagline, which the band VANITYITES repeat ad nauseam in online media campaigns, has gotten a liiiiittle tired and transparent lately.
- Huak + Metal Feathers at Bayside Bowl, September 24
The DJ at Bayside Bowl can't stop playing the Pixies' Bossanova. Not that anyone's complaining.
- Less
Topics:
Live Reviews
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, More
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, Mission of Burma, SPACE Gallery, Chris Teret, Chris Teret, Chris Teret, Mike Cunnane, Indie Rock and Emo, Less
