B-Side Guys

Portland’s musical DNA runs deep through Risley’s latest single “World Goes On,” though this isn’t just another dreamy indie rock export from the Pacific Northwest. Michael Deresh, longtime fixture of the Portland scene and PDXPOPNOW! founder, has assembled a lineup that transforms personal history into universal resonance.

The production maintains perfect tension between gossamer and gravity. Jaime Hazerian, fresh from LA’s post-rock outfit Arms for Tripoli, weaves intricate guitar lines with Deresh that float above Tyler Rachal’s anchoring bass work. Andrew Meininger, known for his work with Wampire and Bed, provides the dynamic percussion that prevents the dreaminess from drifting into vapor.

Lyrically, “World Goes On” masterfully balances nostalgia with clear-eyed presence. Lines like “You were young and clean/and barely seventeen/That’s why you felt so free” could easily tumble into mere reminiscence, but the track’s arrangement keeps pulling forward. When Deresh observes “Everything’s sold like the end of the world/like it always is,” he captures both apocalyptic anxiety and world-weary wisdom.

This maturity feels earned. Since Risley’s sprawling 22-track debut featuring a rotating cast of Portland indie luminaries, the band has distilled their sound to its essential elements. The British indie influences remain, but they’re metabolized rather than merely referenced. Each instrumental layer serves the song’s emotional trajectory, building to the revelation that “happiness is not a plan/It’s a state of mind.”

From the Mississippi Studios stage to the grooves of “Umbra Penumbra,” Risley demonstrates how Portland’s indie rock heritage can evolve without abandoning its roots. “World Goes On” suggests that sometimes the most profound insights come not from radical reinvention, but from learning to find beauty in persistence.