Aan
These familiar faces of the local indie rock scene have meticulously taken more than half a decade to release their measured debut record, Amor Ad Nauseum, earlier this year via Portland’s Party Damage Records. At the helm has always been Bud Wilson, who mentions that the entire band are War on Drugs fanboys, but here’s what’s on his personal tour playlist.
DISCO DOOM: “Rock Yeah”
“The first string of shows after SXSW, we played with Disco Doom from Switzerland. Their record Numerals is just stunning. It’s a real slow burner—sort of like Dinosaur Jr. meets Yo La Tengo. Experimental but meshed with really rich guitars that are not processed. Just a record that was done analog.”
FIONA APPLE: “Left Alone”
“Fiona Apple’s 2012 record (The Idler Wheel...) has been blowing my mind for a year—it’s the most real record I’ve heard in so long.”
HELVETIA: “Wait”
“My favorite Portland band is Helvetia (featuring Jason Albertini from Built to Spill) but they never play out.”
THE FLAMING LIPS: Embryonic—"Silver Trembling Hands"
“It gave us a perspective because there’s a lot of tricks on that record—things hiding in the corners that we were interested in incorporating into this record and also exploring the studio itself as an instrument. This record shows that you could do some really cool stuff in the studio.”
THE NATIONAL: High Violet—"Lemonworld”
“It’s really tempered and it has a color to it. There’s not a lot of high frequencies and it’s really moody—just in the production, not even speaking of the actual music. The way it was recorded and mixed is very dark, and that was intriguing to Jeff Bond who produced the record with me.”
ROXY MUSIC: “Take A Chance With Me”
“Some of the drum sounds we were going for were influenced by Avalon. The beginning of the song is really booming—’80s drums but not your stereotypical stuff—but big, roomy drums.”
BROADCAST: “Unchanging Window / Chord Simple”
“I’m always listening to tons of Broadcast. It’s mostly nostalgic for me and one of my favorite things.”
LOCAL LOVES:
And And And, Like A Villain, Sun Angle, The We Shared Milk
DOWNLOAD AAN: "Daylight"
Inspired by Roxy Music, download Aan’s "Daylight" from Amor Ad Nauseum for your personal playlist. "The drums are sort of trying to mimic the drums from that Roxy Music record (Avalon)."
