Halophile, Channel, The Slants December 20, 2007

You remember that band you were in in high school -- all sloppy naivete, uncool earnestness and bad mixing? Halophile is that band refined into its purest form, that is to say the leaden weight of inexperience, pretension and ambition transmuted into golden rush of near-perfect indie songwriting.

The Slants are an Asian new wave group plowing their way through the Portland music scene.