“Casey Neill & the Norway Rats summon up the ringing guitar arpeggios of Merseybeat pop, the college-radio coolness of R.E.M. and the pure pop melody of the Beach Boys’ oddball years” – Rolling Stone Portland songwriter Casey Neill is announcing the formal release of his previously limited-press CD time zero land out July 26th digitally on Fluff & Gravy Records. This album follows last fall’s Casey Neill & the Norway Rats’ Sending Up Flares, and includes two outtakes from those band sessions. Neill engineered the rest at his home studio and plays the lion's share of the instruments. It's a dreamy affair with sonic homages to Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Sade, the acoustic side of Rust Never Sleeps, and the Brit-folk pioneered by Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, and June Tabor. One of the things people often say about the Norway Rats is how their music defies easy genre categorization and while Sending Up Flares leans into the fruits of that collaboration, time zero land embraces the influences and craft songwriting that has been at the core of Neill's work. time zero land is named after the Polaroid Time-Zero Onestep SX-70 Land camera. These songs live in a similar hazy world of dream sequences culled from memories and how they relate to our present moment. The lyrics reflect this time-bending with deep dives into hitchhiking in Ireland, recollections from the front lines of the 90s timber wars in the Pacific Northwest, a song written as part of a 2012 production entitled “We Would Find Landscapes” by Mabou Mines theater company that Neill was the composer for (“Dance On Air”), and an 18th century Irish ballad that comes from the repertoire of master sean-nós singer Joe Heaney/Seosamh Ó hÉanaí of Connemara (“The Rocks of Bawn”). Of time zero land, Neill states, "Over the past few years, memories of things that happened ages ago suddenly came rushing back. At the same time I am pretty vague on what happened in 2017. During the stretch of years where things were paused in music, I wrote all of the Norway Rats songs on Sending Up Flares, eight songs for the duo I have with fellow Minus 5 member Joe Adragna (Sadabouts), and these solo songs on time zero land. Where Sending Up Flares is sonically and thematically about forging ahead, these ones face the other direction from the places we are now to the places we've been." One of the album's standout tracks, "The Distance Ahead," is influenced by Richard Powers' biocentric novel The Overstory. "It is a book that draws directly from the ancient forest protection movement of the 90s on the West Coast," states Neill. "As someone who was deeply involved in those very protests and communities, I thought I could try my hand at a wide lens look. It's also very much a Gen X song with lyrical nods to The Replacements and Rush's tales of suburban isolation. At a time of climate crisis, this era of the environmental movement was sadly prescient." While Neill is promoting and performing tracks from time zero land live, he is also still very much touring in support of Casey Neill & The Norway Rats’ fourth full-length album, Sending Up Flares, which is the sound of a band rallying together, turning the genre-bending range of its influences into the group’s most cohesive, cathartic album yet. Created amidst chaos and uncertainty, these songs offer a lifeline to a world in need of balance, shot through with stories about resolve, resilience, wonder, and positive human interaction. And who, exactly, are the The Norway Rats? They’re a band of Pacific Northwest heavy hitters with a longtime roster that includes accordionist/keyboardist Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists, guitarist/producer Chet Lyster of the Eels, bassist Jesse Emerson of Amelia, and Neill (who, in addition to releasing solo material, often moonlights as a member of The Minus 5). Sending Up Flares also features guest appearances from a number of indie icons. Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker contributes vocal harmonies to the jittery “Jumping Out Of My Skin,” while Slang’s Anita Lee Elliott adds some George Harrison-influenced slide guitar riffs to the song’s arrangement. Scott McCaughey and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck — both of whom perform alongside Neill in The Minus 5 — appear on “The Stars Unseen,” which features McCaughey’s free-time percussion and Buck’s ghostly E-bow guitar lines. On an album filled with musical all-stars, though, it’s Casey Neill & The Norway Rats who shine the brightest. They’ve established their own musical mix — a melting pot of synthesized textures, organic instruments, and sharp songwriting — and they’ve never sounded so resolute. A prolific songwriter and road warrior since the late 1990s, Americana and Scots/Irish-folk influences have often underscored his songwriting. Sending Up Flares hints at a European influence too, with songs that channel everything from the cinematic sweep of golden-era U2 to the dark, complex alt-rock of PJ Harvey. If time zero land is intimate and largely acoustic, then Sending Up Flares is broad, eclectic, and every bit as explosive as its title. A four-piece string section (Bizarre Star, arranged by Kyleen King) adds a symphonic punch to “How Beautiful Am I?,” the album’s tribute to Marianne Faithfull. Synths, stacked vocal harmonies, and burbling electronics run throughout “Fall Into Forever,” bringing to life the song’s bizarre storyline involving a Tokyo typhoon, Dante’s Paradiso, and pop star Britney Spears. Together, these 11 songs shine new light on a band who, after more than a dozen years together, have arrived somewhere singular and startlingly unique. “Our sound has evolved continuously since 2010,” Neill says. “Every time we make a record, we hope we’ve reached the place we’ve been trying to get to all along. Sending Up Flares feels like that. It’s the destination.” "It's hard to pin down the exact genre of the record. There's probably a 20-something in NYC right now smoking a clove and wearing a fisherman's beanie who can pin down the fitting genre; 'Neo-Realist,' 'Indie Folk,' Post-Colonial-Coalminer Stargaze. I don't care what you call it, I just like it! Slip on the headphones, drive to the starlit Mojave in your mind, and look upon the warm desert sands." - Americana Highways “…atmospheric and alluring all in equal measure, and, as a result, becomes consistently compelling…” - The Alternate Root "Oh wow – now this is something really special. Frankly I could, and probably will, listen to this all day. A grey January Monday morning just got a whole lot better.” - Americana UK

“Soundgarden meets PJ Harvey meets Florence & The Machine.”  Bittersweet angst and optimism weave through Katelyn Convery’s music, piercing the frontier of modern alt-rock, and harkening back to the edgy era of 90s NW grunge, with textures characteristic of early 2000s indie-pop. Alluring melodies, compelling chord-changes, and perceptive, unapologetic lyrics land as a ferocious, buttery roar - explosive and soothing all at once.  Originally from Portland, Katelyn grew up listening to local FM radio station 94.7 NRK which served up alt rock like Nirvana, Elliot Smith, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morrisette, Garbage & Modest Mouse. At the age of 22, she left the US to work and live abroad in South Korea, Spain and South Africa for eight years. “As an outsider, my constant companions were my guitar and voice. I ran to songwriting to make sense of everything I was experiencing and began a relationship with music-making that continues to carry me through.” Katelyn’s songwriting has earned her a place on two PDX Pop Now compilation albums with songs American Dream & Extraordinary Love, which she co-produced with bandmate Timothy Karplus. With dance-able beats and captivating lyrics, Katelyn delivers a dynamic, riveting, & simply unforgettable live performance enhanced by the talents of Timothy Karplus, Mark Powers, Blake Johnston and Nate Purscelley.