A Free Man

Portland must be a fantastic place to be for a music fan these days. I have managed to stumble into “hot” music scenes throughout my life - I lived in Seattle in the early 90’s and Athens, Georgia in the latter part of that decade. These places pale in comparison to the musical Mecca that Portland has become in the Naughties.

The latest Portland based act to catch my ear is The Helio Sequence, a duet composed of Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel. “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” - their fourth LP, and first in four years, was released in January on Sub Pop.

It was the folky, Dylan inspired “Broken Afternoon” that caught my attention on Word Magazine’s free CD, but this track seems to be the exception rather than the rule on “Keep Your Eyes Ahead”. For two mild mannered looking Oregon boys, The Helio Sequence have a big ole sound. Weikel used to drum for Modest Mouse and you can certainly hear the Mouse’s, and some of their Portland contemporaries, influence in Helio Sequence’s latest.I’m not typically a big fan of heavily synthesized music, but Helio Sequence use the keys effectively to establish a loping rhythm that complements but doesn’t overshadow the vocals and guitar. Likewise, there is a fair bit of studio wizardry to generate the swirling, multi-layered, texture that comes through on “Keep Your Eyes Ahead”. Again, it’s not intrusive and serves more to enhance Summers’ and Weikel’s musicianship than hide their failings. Check out “Broken Afternoon” and “Captive Mind” from the new record.

MP3: The Helio Sequence - “Broken Afternoon”
MP3: The Helio Sequence - “Captive Mind”

The Helio Sequence’s “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” is out on Sub Pop and available from Amazon and .