Dave Noyes

Latest Articles

The Baltic Sea craft a crisp dystopia

Minding every Period
It's been nearly three years since the Baltic Sea's phenomenal debut, Through Scenic Heights and Days Regrets , but when you're making music like this, I can see how it might take a while to build a second edifice.
By SAM PFEIFLE | July 27, 2011

Aleric Nez needs no accompaniment

Ramblin' man
For any songwriter, the urge can be great to add in that string section, that trumpet piece, that bit of backing vocal that’s so easy to hear right at the edge of consciousness.
By SAM PFEIFLE | October 27, 2010

We heart these people

Meet Portland's most influential
We all know Portland is a busy, exciting place to live. It takes a lot of people's amazing energy to keep it going, though. Who's doing the moving and the shaking?
By JEFF INGLIS | February 10, 2010

Days of the New

The orchestral stylings of Rustic Overtones 2.0
When drummer Tony McNaboe delivered the burned copy of Rustic Overtones’ new full-length album, he tucked it inside the packaging of the re-released and re-mastered Long Division.
By SAM PFEIFLE | November 05, 2009

Regardless of the cost

Tony McNaboe testifies on sophomore release
If you were concerned that the return of Rustic Overtones would mean the ends of their various side projects, it’s clear now that was a fruitless worry.
By SAM PFEIFLE | July 22, 2009

Finding even better days

Gypsy Tailwind show power and Grace
Gypsy Tailwind have been a slow build. Though Halo Sessions was one of the best local albums of 2008, it seems no one really heard it until 2009, thanks largely to the radio success of "So Lonely," a single whose melancholy bounce was heartbreakingly honest: "I'll tell you a secret: I drank myself to sleep last night."
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 17, 2009

Wrap it up

Local music for the hard-to-please
I'm way ahead on my shopping this season (it's easier because the family has finally come to its senses and agreed to a strict one-gift-per-person rule).
By SAM PFEIFLE | December 10, 2008

She’s all okay

Darien Brahms is better than ever on Number 4
Darien Brahms has been pegged as an alt-country diva or an anti-war activist, but on her solo records she’s mostly been an old-school rocker.
By SAM PFEIFLE | September 03, 2008

Okay, I’m Biased

Looking forward to a summer of Jerks, Phantoms, and Tules
Is our local music scene actually better because so little national and international talent comes here?
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 18, 2008

Dead of Winter + Fiery Furnaces

Music seen at SPACE Gallery, January 18-19
It was a weekend of big acts and big crowds at SPACE Gallery.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | January 23, 2008

Return of the kings

Rustic Overtones at the Mercury Lounge in NYC, December 6
The tiny room in the East Village shook from top to bottom for almost an hour on a frosty New York night last week.
By RYAN O’CONNELL | December 12, 2007

Keep rotating

Satellite Lot return with Sleepwalk in a Burning Building
The album improves with every listen and is damn hard to get out of your player of choice.
By SAM PFEIFLE | November 28, 2007

Rustic reunion

Are there Overtones of something long-term?
Yes, Rustic Overtones are back.
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 06, 2007

Dead of winter

February 10, SPACE Gallery
The theme of the weekend in Portland’s nightlife was “Fire and Ice.”
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | February 14, 2007

Kimchee encore

The second birthday bash, T.T. the Bear's Place, January 5, 2007
After the second consecutive Friday-night show celebrating the 10th anniversary of the local indie Kimchee Records, it was easy to see how the label has managed to thrive over the past decade.
By JEFF BREEZE | January 10, 2007

Angels in America

Tony McNaboe leads an all-star cast for a holiday single
It’s been 21 years since “We Are the World,” and maybe it’s surprising we haven’t seen much like it since.
By SAM PFEIFLE | December 13, 2006

Portland scene report, June 30, 2006

Sibilance
Nameless all-star band to unveil at Geno's; Zion Train back on track; Lammi, Glaspie land high-profile gigs
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | June 28, 2006

In the Pink

Seekonk’s second is a perfect sculpture of sound
Any group of musicians can get together, ramp up the beats per minute, and impress a crowd of onlookers with a barrage of notes, but only a finely tuned band can play slowly and keep people interested.
By SAM PFEIFLE | April 26, 2006

Sibilance

Portland's local music news for the week of Feb. 3-9
Matt Shardlow; RPM Challenge; impending spring Band Guide
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | February 02, 2006

Albums of the decade

10 discs you should own
I somehow stumbled into a radio gig playing local music at the beginning of this decade and subsequently had a ringside seat for a lot of what transpired.
By CHARLIE GAYLORD | December 23, 2009