During the 1980s and early 1990s, Seattle, Washington, cultivated the distinct sound known as “grunge.” A mixture of hard rock, punk and metal, the so-called “Seattle sound” helped foster the contemporary rock movement.  Just as then, Seattle forging musical styles ahead, and these days grunge has given way to a moody, mystical pop sensibility that seems to have everyone wearing long underwear on stage yet singing about how hard it is to get along when he or she is “back in regular life.” Of course to truly keep up, you’ll need a working knowledge of the Seattle music blogs such as soundonthesound.com, seattlemag.com, seattlesubsonic.com and blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb to name a few. That way, bands like Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground, Black Whales, Ravenna Woods, Thee Emergency, Curtains For You or Wild Orchid Children won’t be strangers.

Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground

myspace.com/kaykayunderground

“An indie band started by Kirk Huffman and Kyle O’Quin of Gatsbys American Dream. Like Gatsbys, the band draws influence from a wide variety of musical genres. Though the band only has three official members, they have been known to perform with as many as 11 additional musicians on stage.” blogs.seattleweekly.com

Black Whales

blackwhales.com

“With a sound that’s audibly influenced by early Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin, a splash of The Clash at times, a hint of The Beatles at others. The band just finished recording a full LP, as well as a new 7-inch A- and B-side single.”seattlemag.com

Ravenna Woods

ravennawoods.net

“Led by multi-instrumentalist Chris Cunningham, who plays guitar, mandolin and violin, the trio creates a serene soundscape speckled with xylophone tones and harmonized vocals that take listeners on a magic carpet ride.” seattlemag.com

Thee Emergency

myspace.com/theeemergency
TheeEmergency.com

“Over the last couple years, the quartet of Dita Vox, Sonic Smith, Nick Detroit, and Tom T. Drummer (now a five piece with the addition of Dr. S on the keys) have burned countless calories on nearly every local stage imaginable, fast becoming one of our prized possessions for their chest-thumping energy and bombastic stage presence.” Brian J Barr, blogs.seattleweekly.com

Curtains For You

myspace.com/curtains4you

“heavily influenced by ’60s pop, in particular, parallels can be drawn to the music of The Beatles and The Kinks. They are mainstays of the nascent Seattle retro-pop scene…a really solid outfit that use interesting sounds and rely on a constant shuffle beat to churn out mid-tempo tunes that sound a little bit like Jellyfish if they had listened to a lot of Stephen Foster and New Orleans dirges.” Seattle Power Pop Blog

Wild Orchid Children

myspace.com/Wildorchidchildren

“I’m pretty sure guitarist Thomas Hunter has been possessed by the god of rock. The man is absolutely jaw dropping!  The essential role, he alone, plays in Wild Orchid Children is astounding. His precisely executed guitar antics, were backed by hard hitting, rhythmically tight drummer Andy Lum, while the other five members, at times, ditched their respective instruments to beat and shake things in a percussive assault.” seattlesubsonic.com