Although I’ve been in Portland for about six months now, I still feel that I haven’t gotten a firm handle on the widespread musical landscape the city is known for. Sure there are the major players I’m acutely aware of, but when it comes to knowledge of more underground bands, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m green behind the ears.
Enter: Orca Team. Of the two sites I follow most closely that cover the “Portland scene” best, both had glowing things to say about this 60s surf-pop trio. “Blurring the lines between Buddy Holly-esque ’50s pop and Avengers VI ’60s surf rock” is how the local newspaper the Portland Mercury described them recently — and from a guy who has lived and breathed Mr. Holly and The Crickets due to my hometown’s constant fawning, I feel the comparison is apt.
Where some look to old-timey acts for similiarities, I see a more modern resemblance with the San Francisco band Sonny & The Sunsets. Both groups are rooted in nostalgia and have that sunshine sheen to them, but where Orca Team differs most from their coastal contemporary is in the complexity of the songs. Where Sonny Smith opts for a jam-band type feel to his tracks, bringing in a vast array of SoCal artists for his recordings, Orca Team strips it down to a nice basic guitar/bass/drums threesome — nothing more, nothing less. In a time where music seems to be judged based on the amount of layers that are incorporated, Orca Team’s simplistic take on music is refreshing to say the least.
On the stellar track “And She Knows”, the band sounds like each member is placed on the vertices of a large triangle with the microphone recording at the center, making it easy to separate and distinguish all elements in the song while leaving the vocals of Leif Anders the task of loosely tying up the pieces. Opening with some smooth “ooOOoohhs” that are the noise-less equivalent to the intro of Wavves’s “To the Dregs” before diving right into the song’s meaning with the line “Love her / Love her to death / And she knows”, the track is a sweet blend of easy-listening and catchy that is sure to make you sing-along by the second listen.
Thanks to the band, you can check out the track below, and if you’re lucky enough to be on the West Coast, they’ll be swinging by your place in the next couple of weeks. Also, they are currently recording for their first release (on SoHiTek records), so be on the lookout in the coming months!
Orca Team // And She Knows
