Pitchfork

Not to be confused with Brooklyn Vice rockers Panthers, the singular Panther began as a solo project of Portland multi-instrumentalist Charlie Salas-Humara. In a review of Panther's 2007 debut, Secret Lawns, Pitchfork's Zach Baron remarked upon Salas-Humara's loner status: "Portland has probably the best DIY scene in the country, talented and clever musicians, the labels to collaborate, and they're all in bands by themselves. On a stage, they are alone; in the studio, pairs at the most. Do they even realize the guy next door is making the exact same sweaty complaint into the exact same laptop-- that theirs are problems that could be solved together?"

Guess they do, yeah. Salas-Humara now shares the Panther moniker with drummer Joe Kelly of 31 Knots. "Puerto Rico Jukebox", the opening track from the reconstituted Panther's forthcoming Kill Rock Stars debut 14kt God, finds the duo leaving behind the Casio beats of Secret Lawns tracks like "You Don't Want Your Nails Done" without giving up the funk. Salas-Humara's falsetto doesn't sound as overtly Prince-ly here amid scratchy guitars and dance-punk grooves, but he still sings in a way that implies the kind of goofy breakdancing that's easy to take seriously just because he seems to, too. Meanwhile, Kelly fills in the simple, James Brown-like beat in a way most laptoppers wouldn't, and he even has a drum solo. Just as long as Panther don't change their name to Panthers-- the confusion would be funny, but lawsuits are a drag.

MP3:> Panther: "Puerto Rico Jukebox"
[from 14kt God; due 02/19/08 on Kill Rock Stars]