Cool Summer Records Presents: AAN - "Mystery Life" (Rising, Portland)

"AAN is a fearless experimental Pop band from Portland, OR mixing heavily textured guitars with rich vocal harmonies," according to Facebook. Frontman Bud Wilson decided to start a band with friends-musicians Jon Lewis (drums), Reese Lawhorn (bass), and Jeff Bond (guitar). AAN, which is pronounced like a hard Boston-accented "on," managed to self-release a number of CD-R's throughout the city starting around 2007. 6 years and a few well-received singles/EP's later, AAN are finally ready to unleash their long-awaited debut album, tentatively titled Amor ad Nauseum. I almost hate making open-ended analogies like this... But most of the time, Wilson's vocals sound a lot like a near-perfect hybrid mix between Jeff Buckley and Pavement's sloppy brand of smart 90's Indie Rock.


Stereogum (Claire Lobenfeld?) scored an for AAN's latest, Mike Wilson-directed music video, "Mystery Life." It's titular plot revolves around the age-old shtick of lead character, Bud Wilson, running from The Grim Reaper for his/her dear life. When he first spots a quick glimpse of Mr. Reaper, Wilson effectively trades in his longboard for a motorcycle behind a train. Next, Bud Wilson really tries to ditch The Grim Reaper by cliff-side, mini-boat, rickety pier, etc. The 2 unlikely friends eventually end up bonding over a pizza and pitcher of beer, before "making it rain" @ a dimly-lit stripclub. Bud & Grim soon end up @ an amusement park with 2 saucy dancers, whizzing through a Loop de Loop roller coaster, and escort them by way of taxi back to their apartment. Stay tuned 'til "Mystery Life"'s final scenes, which I'm pretty sure co-star(s) Wilson's fellow band members: Jon Lewis, Reese Lawhorn, and Jeff Bond [undertakers].