Monstrous Media!

When I first moved to Portland three years ago I was eager to seek out the best and most promising musicians that were defining the scene I had heard so much about. I remember so clearly two bands sticking out as shoe-ins for success. Bands that were giving me exactly what I wanted, bands that were making me smile and giving me chills at the same time. One of those bands was the fledgling Starfucker and the other was Typhoon. These days Starfucker (now Pyramiddd) signs commercial deals with IBM and Target like their signin’ autographs. Typhoon has yet to reach these heights but with the upcoming release of Hunger and Thirst it seems as though extraordinary things are on the way for this band.

Over the past few years Typhoon embodied a persona quite contrary to what their moniker suggests. They were illusive, playing the odd show here and there and releasing quiet tracks that only their friends knew about. Hardly a downpour, hardly dangerous.

Enter Hunger and Thirst. Recorded over the last few months in Portland by Paul Laxer, this heavenly collection of choral ballads will be released in May on the band’s new record label, the winsome, spectacular, Tender Loving Empire.

Like the first drops of an oncoming tempest, Hunger and Thirst opens with the plunks of differently pitched hollow percussives. These elements form into slow puddles of bass-heavy guitar and eventually burst into a thunderstorm of triumphant horns and angelic vocals in the background. The record continues on in constant undulation. The high points are epic choral explosions and the lows are monologues backed by guitar with heaps of delay. As usual, all of the new Typhoon tunes are soaked in passion. This record is impossible to take lightly as it will rest heavy on the strongest of hearts. Good work guys, nice to hear from you, and good luck.

Typhoon – Starting Over

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Typhoon – Affliction (off of 2009′s Friends and Friends of Friends TLE ’09

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