Friday, November 20, 2009

the dimes historify indie rock

Beantown, Red Sox, Harvard, Irish immigrants, and Paul Revere. What does any of this have to do with Portland indie-rock outfit The Dimes.

Everything, my friend. Everything.

On their sophomore release The King Can Drink The Harbor Dry, the quartet (recently multiplied to an octet) tackles the theme of Boston conjuring up images of Susan B. Anthony, Abigail Adams, Red Cross founder Clara Barton, Mary Dyer, and the great fire of 1872.

With crafty ingenuity and cleverness, the band accomplished to create love songs and story-telling tales rather than history lessons, a la Sufjan Stevens' poignant tributes to Michigan and Illinois.

Powerful females dominate the personalized odes, and the tunes are lovely gentle and full-spirited. Plus you getta sail through the Boston Harbor discovering the details behind the tracks.

The album came out this week and if you missed their listening party at Mississippi Studios you can still catch release parties in Eugene and Ashland in mid-December.

And while we're at it, why not watch The Dimes perform in a cupcakery.

The Dimes at St. Cupcake from The Penny Jam on Vimeo.

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Read this article on The Deli Portland.

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