We'll keep this short and sweet: Portland band Celilo is coming up our way this weekend, and if you find yourself in Ballard on Saturday night, you might want to pop into their Conor Byrne show. Bon.
Celilo somehow manages to exist as an amalgamation of familiar, but not too-familiar sounds: they're at times reminiscent of early My Morning Jacket, spliced through with a Band of Horses-y, Pearly Gate Music's set at KEXP-y sounding kind of way; and at other times you'll swear you just saw them open for Nada Surf after a line or four of lyrical prose ripe with indie sensibilities that are backed with just the right amount of jangly guitar. The band manages to merge their decidedly Pacific Northwest sound together effortlessly with something that's all their own, a little pedal steel for the heartbroken, a little campfire reflective-ness as an homage to home. And once our first listen hit lines about the poetry of a rumpled hotel pillow, we were done for.
These PDXers play Conor Byrne on Saturday with Tiny Messengers, Gentlemen Gluttons, and Us On Roofs. We'll see you at the show!