THROUGH A MELTING PYRAMID OF: HOT VICTORY

Music can be a hell of a lot of things, but as far as opening doors to another plane of consciousness? That's the kind of description I'd generally throw at the feet of some Yanni lookalike with a pan flute, not the heavily stylized mostly-just-drums duo Hot Victory. In reading their own description: "Hot Victory has created an all-enveloping cybernetic structure of electroacoustic music powered by a relentless human pulse, opening portals deep into the hybrid mind and exposing the warped mathematics to their own theory of everything, transporting you to innerspace as much as it will to outerspace with its sci-fi vision of the future where man still controls the machines, where humanity still shines through a techno-trash society" it's hard to know if they're playing this tongue firmly in cheek or if they actually believe 100% in what they're about. I don't really care. This sounds like a cross between a Krautrock band and a Gamelan orchestra. I like both of those things. I like Hot Victory.
I guess you better prepare to lose your Total Mind, people. Hot Victory is playing Total Fest XIV. 

GET BLESSED: DIVERS

I was told two things before writing this post: 1) Divers have this habit of being pegged as too "indie" for the punk crowd or too "punk" for the indie crowd and 2) Everybody loves comparing them to Springsteen. I dunno. I mean, I get the above points but what I'm really hearing, what I'm gonna tell you guys because jeez, I think Divers are pretty sweet and they're totally playing the fest this year...I think these guys borrow more from the Replacements or even some of the Ian-centric Fugazi songs. It's all in the conviction, man, and Divers got that in spades. I know I'm not the only one noticing: Divers just got voted "Best New Portland Band" in the Willamette Week's 2015 poll.

If you're the kind of punk that values pretty intense feelings, seeing a rapturous live show featuring other punks' pretty intense feelings, and totally owning the meaning of the word "us," then you are hella lucky because Divers is the perfect band for you. For me. For probably everybody.