EP stream premiere: moments like this never last - Perfume-V

photo: photo credit: Matt Plante

words: Michael Brooks

Mac Pogue has played a vital role in the Portland DIY scene these past few years—whether through recording songs for his friends, making album covers, playing in other bands, or just slinging merch on tour. His involvement has led to personal involvement in a musical community that’s birthed such bands as Strange Ranger, Cool American, Snow Roller, and Alien Boy. Pogue no longer lives in Portland (according to his Twitter he’s started a new life “selling toilet parts in the desert”) but on moments like this never last, Pogue’s new EP recorded in New Mexico under the solo moniker Perfume-V, the spirit and sound of the Pacific Northwest looms heavily.

Opener “tell” calls to mind the experimentation of Alex G’s earliest work as elastic guitar lines sluggishly pulsate every which way, ultimately culminating into lo-fi pop catharsis with kicks and claps that stir up an overwhelming sense of exultation. Pogue described the EP as “sort of my letting-loose and going deep on my love for pop-punk like Superchunk and Tenement” which is evident on tracks like “unsure” and “negative smiths”, a pair of mid-tempo rockers placing a muddled, frantic, and distorted backdrop beneath bright melodies and introspective lyricism. moments like this never last covers a lot of ground over its brief 17 minute runtime, Pogue’s prolificacy on the 90s-indebted slacker pop anthem “perfume home movies” or the steady and meandering sway of “best boy” is part of a long-lasting tradition of bands from the Pacific Northwest, an area where genre tags are useless and the lines between pop and indie-rock are blurred.  

moments like this never last is out this Friday