Talkdemonic  Eyes At Half Mast 

Words: Wyatt Williams
Label: Arena Rock
XLR8R Rating: 8/10

Talkdemonic may be one of Portland's best-kept secrets. The local-favorite duo of Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro uses its unlikely pairing–drums and viola–to craft tight yet reverberating tracks of pastoral melancholy. Molinaro, who recently moonlighted in The Decemberists, lends a dramatic, almost visual touch with her strings. The instrumental tracks on Eyes at Half Mast certainly recall the cinematic beauty of the Pacific Northwest, but that isn't to say they're calm or quiet. In fact, O'Connor beats the shit out of his drums on some of these tracks, drawing urgency from his lush, multi-instrumentalist arrangements. Sorry Portland, don't expect this to stay your secret much longer.