Eluvium—AKA Matthew Cooper—has quietly built one of Portland’s most compelling catalogs in experimental music, encompassing gentle noise, melodic drones, minimalist piano pieces, and modern classical compositions. Eluvium’s music has always seemed to exist on its own island, but Portland-based trio Braveyoung’s new album, Misery & Pride, suggests there may be other local artists worthy of working in Cooper’s considerable shadow.
Like Cooper, Braveyoung’s principals—twin brothers Isaac and Zac Jones and their longtime collaborator Michael Rich—are transplants, having moved to Portland a few years ago from North Carolina. Back east, the band dabbled in several styles, including heavy sludge, post-rock, and grand symphonies of noise.
Misery & Pride is an entirely different beast, trading in aggression for graceful dread. The album alternates between cinematic orchestral pieces and quiet passages for piano and strings, the common thread among them being a deep emotional resonance. This stuff is about as consistently somber as instrumental music can be.