Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs! Props to Portland’s own Coma Serfs for providing this lazy hack of a writer with a perfect introductory sentence to his article announcing the release of their all new EP, Ready Or Not America! Here Come The Coma Serfs.

And the utility of this EP’s title doesn’t end there; it also serves as a warning for those who are unprepared to hit the deck lest they receive one of these hot, fresh psychedelic chart-busters to the eye. That’s not where you want a song like “Lords Of Paradise” to get you, trust me. The spiraling, manic build at the beginning of the song may as well be Donkey Kong winding up for one of his patented Giant Punches--and anyone who’s ever played Smash Bros knows you better be ready when that shit drops. The song transitions into a wash of dizzying effects and chaotic intensity like a strung out surfer’s fever dream. Recurring accented hits punctuate the song and assault your ears like the beating in your temples of a gnarly hangover.

Preparing yourself for the Coma Serfs, however, isn’t always about being ready to defend yourself physically. For example, the song “Set Me Straight” beseeches more of a cerebral preparation in order to appreciate it to its full potential. The song’s chipper, upbeat energy captures that same carefree, kicking-a-pebble-down-the-sidewalk vitality of The Warlocks on their album Phoenix.

Come see them show off these shiny new songs plus more at Bunk Bar (1028 Southeast Water Avenue) 1/31 with Still Caves and Jackson Boone.

- Bryce Woodcock

Ready to take on the cold weather and darkest days of Portland with a debut EP is the mystical wonderland known as Nature Thief. It is a seasonably fitting name seeing how we just got our warmth stolen from us, but what they take from our weather, they give back with a plentiful amount of soulful musicianship that sails along the lines of acoustical psych rock. It is derived in Pacific NW indie-pop but holds a vintage tone in the wallowing melodies and their greatest weapon is something you don’t see too often in these categories, strong lead vocals.

The band came about this past summer and released their first song, “Docks.” A guitar driven ballad style tune with vocalist, Emma Browne’s pipes leading over its soft drive and smooth transitions. This week, they will release their first EP, Moon, featuring four songs that follow the suit of their single and bring a fresh look at a new Portland treat. The release show is slated for this Wednesday the 19th at the Holocene along with Big Haunt and Coma Serfs. 8:30PM; $5

- Colin Hudson