The Minus 5 are releasing Killingsworth at the same time leader Scott McCaughey is putting out Young Fresh Fellows' I Think This Is, both on Yep Roc. McCaughey's OG band was the YFF, one of the most high profile "college rock" bands of the 80s, their sinuous chicane garnering acclaim from Rolling Stone to scores of local zines at the time. That band included, among others, Kurt Bloch (later Fastbacks), whose guitar is the inspiration for a lot of playing that has come out of this region since then.

But there have been few songwriters Seattle-spawned as misery-guzzling and diarizing as McCaughey, whose drunk village savant rants and rave-ups against relationships, religion, the rent, and himself are close to the hearts of his purlieus peers. Upon moving to Portland, he began amassing collaborators there who have helped his newer band put out some out much of his best music ever, such as The Gun Album from a couple of years back, pulling in Wilco's Jeff Tweedy as well. This album has on board for much of it John Moen of the Decemberists (and "a Maroon and a Dharma Bum and a Jick"), and the vocals of Colin Meloy, but also REM's Peter Buck as usual. Special note should be made of Little Sue and the Shee Bee Gees who do a lot of backing vocals and dueting ("I Would Rather Sacrifice You" in particular for that) here in the way that female accompaniment has made later period Leonard Cohen albums less caustic on the ears.

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at The Tractor

This show was eight thousand kinds of awesome. Such are the perils of life in Seattle.

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at The Tractor

A benefit for the re-launch of NoDepression.com last Saturday blew the roof right off the Tractor.

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