Local fans of poppy and complex (pomplex?) indie rock must hit The Astro Lounge tonight for a terrific double-bill featuring the familiar Finn Riggins and the not-as-familiar Tartufi.
The friendly Idahoans in Finn Riggins have played Bend several times, and they’re always a blast. These two guys and one gal make jittery, addictive pop-rock that’s propulsive and highly percussive, with singalong choruses that are catchier than Velcro.
Visit their website, www.finnriggins.com, and click on “Music” to check out “Some Are Knightz,” the frenzied, fuzzy track they released in April for Record Store Day.
Now, if we know that Finn Riggins is a good band, we can only assume they can also recognize a good band. And Finn’s keys/synth man, Eric Gilbert, calls Tartufi “one of the best bands we’ve ever seen/played with” and “really incredible stuff.”
Incredible is a good word for it. Tartufi is a trio now, but they spent the past five or so years as a duo that wowed anyone who saw ‘em because they sound like quintet (at least).
XLR8R magazine called Tartufi’s music “an imposing tangle of beauty and ambition,” and that really is spot on. The band builds epic musical mosaics by live-looping layer upon layer of Lynne Angel’s vocals and guitar and Brian Gorman’s drums.
The result is something that sounds a bit like Modest Mouse’s “The Moon & Antarctica” album crossed with Pink Floyd’s spaciest moments, with female vocals and a little more math-rock tendency. Tune into www.tartufirock.com for an example; start with “The Butterless Man,” a labyrinthine 26-minute track released last year.
Remember in the first paragraph when I said fans of pomplex indie rock must hit this show? I meant that, not only because bands like this don’t roll through Bend often, but also because if you support them when they do, they might come back sooner!
Finn Riggins and Tartufi ; 9 tonight; $5; The Astro Lounge, 939 N.W. Bond St., Bend; www.p44p.biz or 541-388-0116.
— Ben Salmon