The Lavender Flu

Portland’s Lavender Flu have always operated outside of the norms and forms of the average indie band. Letting garage and punk sluice through psych, soul, and folk, the band’s been a beacon for blistered and barnacled bouts of outsider aura. They rolled riffs in gravel and let ‘em spit at the listener with little restraint, but over the years they’ve begun to wipe the debris from the speakers. Their latest album, which seems to have slipped under the radar a bit, brings the band as close to pop as they’ve ever come. Barbarian Dust had moments of brightness and brilliance, and the band picks back up the vapor trail left behind in its wake. No one would ever label The Flu a wholesale pop experience, but on Tracing The Sand By The Pool, the band gets as close as they’ve ever been to being just that.

There’s still some of that same ‘ol grit on “Patron Eyes,” a punk gutter burner that feels snipped from the band’s past, but there’s also the psych-pop sunshine of “I’m Gonna Love You,” the downtempo lament of “Used To Be My Hand,” and the pristine glow of summer on “That’s Alright.” The hooks aren’t hampered on the new record, but the band isn’t completely content to scrub up either, kicking a good dose of fuzz in the amps and letting a bit of the old acid eat away at the ends of songs, the band finds an excellent balance between bluster and beauty. Don’t miss out on this one, it got a bit buried at the end of last year, but its a beaut on LP from their home at In The Red.