Veiled in the sonic shroud of avant-pop’s murky soundscapes, Portland, Oregon experimental Duo Mordecai are forging an incendiary path. Comprised of vocalist Andrew Alexander Endres and violinist Kate Kilbourne the band came together conspiring darkly sweet, beat-driven bangers that fold in R&B swagger, electro mysticism, and pop sensibility.

Armed with a new album, the band’s textured compositions utilize steady bass-and-drum against an unlikely violin/effects tandem to create bizarre-yet-catchy progressions, as heard on songs like “Price.” The dynamism of Mordecai’s quiver of songs vacillates between the suave, the bleak, the pleading and the rapturous, usually within one track, endearing dark-pop progenitors and new-jack popsters alike.

Mordecai completed its first tour of the West Coast of the United States in 2016, and is releasing its debut full-length in August 2017 followed by a full European Tour.

-Ryan Prado (Portland Mercury/Vortex Magazine)