Music
Press
This band's dark, foreboding melodies are the warnings its name implies, and the fulfillment of its own prophecies. Their range is startling, covering the haunting and the rocking. - The Oregonian
“Indie rock” has grown to encompass such a wide diversity of sounds that it’s almost useless as a description.
Local art-rockers A Cautionary Tale liven things up with the addition of instruments like saxophone and xylophone, creating music that’s at once hypnotic and complex.
While members boast impressive credentials and backgrounds in jazz and flamenco, the resulting creative output is more akin to the mesmerizing sounds of bands like Morphine and Pinback, and equally accessible.
- The Portland Tribune
A Cautionary Tale is made up of Chris Glaab (bass, sax), Rich Boles (classical guitar, xylophone), Nick O'Donnell (bass, jazz guitar), Kevin van Geem (drums), with each member handling vocals. The local combo cites acts like Pinback, Pharaoh Sanders, and Black Eyes as influences, and their sound is somewhere in the midst of said heavyweights with a little loungey, Latin flavor to sweeten the deal. Much like the Black Heart Procession's salsa-fied Amore del Tropico, when these locals are on, their mix of indierock and world music is downright intoxicating. - Portland Mercury
Too bad for A Cautionary Tale, that they missed the lounge resurgence of the mid '90s as their skillful blend of bossa nova, cocktail jazz, and indie ballads would make any tiki head salivate. Tonight marks the release of their debut album, Let New Days Dawn, a sophisticated pop music bounty, adorned with xylophones and smooth flamenco guitar licks. The Mark Sandman-inspired vocal melancholy that occasionally rises to the surface puts a bit of a damper on the whole affair, but overall a damned impressive piece of work, boys! JB
- Portland Mercury
Discography
LP - "Let New Days Dawn"
Compact Disc
Photos