McMenamins in Bend hosts two local indie rock bands

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, December 27, 2023

McMenamins in Bend hosts two local indie rock bands

Fans of psychedelic indie rock from Central Oregon, take note: Two bands you should hear and/or see are playing together Saturday night in Bend.

One of them, The Color Study, released an excellent album called “Future Past Present Tense” a little over a year ago, which captures their sound quite nicely: Warm, Wilco-ish roots-rock meets Flaming Lips-ish psych-pop radiance, all draped in lush and immersive Beach Boys-ish production. When you listen to them, you can tell that frontman Scott Oliphant is not only a musician, but also a longtime sound engineer.

The other, Heavy Light, I wrote about just a couple of months ago when they released their great new album “Frames,” which I called “a collection of modern and melodic indie-psych-pop built out of crisp rhythms, elastic grooves, prickly guitar licks and softly glowing synthesizers that sparkle and drift, depending on mood.” Often, they sound like indie-pop band The Shins patiently cruising across the dusky sky on the cover of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno’s classic 1975 album of proto-ambient vibes, “Evening Star.”

These two are a perfect match!

Heavy Light and The Color Study: 6-9 p.m. Saturday, free, McMenamins Old St. Francis School, 700 NW Bond Street, Bend, mcmenamins.com.

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