Music Spotlight: Contra Party
Portland-based indie rock band Contra Party released their debut album Over Your Shoulder January 17 with a nostalgia-inducing music video for the track Heather out today. The 11-track album is part grunge, part shoegaze, a touch of angst + all the atmospheric, moody sounds of our brooding dreams. We’re especially digging the mellow tracks Explore, Final + Made No Difference along with the sulky track Candle. The duo is composed of best friends Scott McLean, co-founder of the illustrious Portland indie club Holocene + Luis Galdames, film + TV sound-designer, and the two say this project was a long time coming. We caught up with Scott about the album, his favorite music + what’s next for the pair.
Asymmetric Magazine: Congrats on the release of your debut album! Can you tell us about Over Your Shoulder?
Scott McLean: Thank you! It’s been a few years in the making—a collaboration between two best friends who have been meaning to release an album together for some time now. It’s rare to find a collaborator where you both feel completely open with and totally trust the other. This record feels like just the beginning; we have so much more music percolating.
AM: Are there any consistent themes you typically pursue through your music?
SM: Sonically, we wanted a bit of tension between crunchy guitars and more floating vocals, with more subtle hooky guitar parts. Lyrically, it’s all pretty unconscious, but there’s a current of hiding, revealing, running away, confronting, and accepting.
Watch the music video for Heather off Contra Party’s album Over Your Shoulder
AM: For first time listeners, how do you like to describe your sound?
SM: Moody, cinematic, fuzzy-at-times indie rock. Hopefully you hear something different, or new things, with each listen.
AM: We love your album art! How do you think it complements your sound?
SM: Aww cool. Yeah we love it, too. It’s a collage from our friend David Shannon. It just had this epic, floating, ominous/badass vibe to it, and we felt that it was a perfect intro to our music.
AM: What other musicians are you currently listening to? What are some top tracks you're into right now?
SM: Currently listening right now to the new Andy Shauf album, and in general the ‘new’ Arthur Russell album Iowa Dream, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Resavoir, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Rosalia, Tirzah, La Force, and Led Zeppelin.
Top tracks:
Arthur Russell // You Did It To Yourself
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith // First Flight
Tirzah // Devotion
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever // In The Capital
AM: What is something that inspires you outside of music?
SM: Hiking in the woods, walks in the city, and time with friends and family.
AM: Where is one place that you feel completely in touch with your creative self and your music?
SM: Our little home studio. It’s a place to completely let go and see what happens.
AM: What can we expect to hear from you next?
SM: We’ve got some videos coming through for a couple songs off Over Your Shoulder and then we’ve got an EP coming out in the Summer. Hopefully a live show or two.
// listen to Over Your Shoulder:
// photos courtesy of Impulse Artists
// Listen to more Contra Party on Spotify.
