Towne Lounge | 714 SW 20th Place, 241-8696 [map] [INSTRUMENTAL INDIE ROCK] The Portland quartet Bright Red Paper self-effacingly describes itself as "pretentious cello music...with none of the pretension!" That statement does seem to fit the lush instrumental sounds that classically trained cellist Douglas Jenkins and company create on their self-titled debut, which echoes the eviscerating and epic sounds of Dirty Three, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Bright Red Paper's collective experience in indie-rock, classical, jazz and surf combine to form an expressive whole that both soars and sears at all the right moments. DAVE CLIFFORD. Towne Lounge. 9:30 pm. $5. 21+.

Recently Eugene has been a hotspot for a new, evolving style of music characterized by one instrument: the cello. Whether it's Matt Haimovitz performing Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" or Rasputina drenching us in a torrent of strange, dark, metal-influenced cello rock, the hauntingly human voice of the instrument is the one connection in this new hybrid that bridges classical and rock, forming a whole new genre.

This Sunday, Portland-based Bright Red Paper performs a free show at Cozmic Pizza. If you haven't caught the previously mentioned concerts, now is your chance to hear some of the most beautifully atmospheric music being played today. BRP is at once ethereal, intensely melodic and emotional, building and flowing, like a piece of paper swirling and diving in an updraft.

"I just love this instrument so much," says cellist Doug Jenkins. "I don't play anything else anymore. I think a lot of the way I connect with it is because it's so human on every level. It's human in the way you play it, you feel like you're dancing with it. Its voice is human."

This is the music of barren landscapes, of snow falling through trees, of wind slipping across open plains. It is vast and mind-blowingly expansive, dark and rich. The songs evolve from hours of improvisation until themes emerge, the lilting melodies that take you on a slow ride, that climb heavenward then fall like a feather floating down. "We carve those themes into a structure," says Jenkins. "Some of our songs are pretty big compositionally."

Melodies intertwine, as bassist Arcellis Sykes works a subtle combination of song and rhythm behind guitarist Daniel Enberg's sparse, balanced playing. Drummer Eben Dickinson weaves beats and silence into and around them, but it's Jenkins' cello that pulls it all together, a bright ray of light curving through the shadows.

Off their first, self-titled album, songs like "D is for Dead Sea" (which you can download at www.brightredpaper.com) have a yearning quality. There is peace in the rise and fall of build-up, tension, then resolution.

They've only been together about a year but BRP is already packing the crowds in to hip Portland venues including Tonic Lounge. "If we're playing in a smaller place like a coffee shop or a wine bar, we'll play two long sets," Jenkins says. "We sit facing each other and really listen and improvise. Playing at bigger places, we play a shorter set that's really loud and fun. One is more of a mind game, really thinking and trying to do things that are texturally beautiful. One is playing with contrast and volume to get texture."

Several modern acts have bridged the divide between chamber music and rock by wedging electric bass or lead guitar into a lineup of typically classical instruments. Portland's take on the sub-genre comes courtesy of Bright Red Paper (pictured), a quartet which often mirrors the cello-driven Rasputina. Generally melancholy in tone and tempo, Bright Red Paper's combination of cello, drums, electric bass and guitar builds to a dangerous gallop, a break likely to flood the mind's eye with dramatic scenes. The music is hypnotizing, and a good match for the chamber-centric opening trio Viola Viedma. 10 p.m. Friday, Towne Lounge, 714 S.W. 20th Place; $5; 503-241-8696.

Friday, January 20, 2006
Bright Red Paper All about the band, in their own words.
Sound: Pretentious epic cello music with none of the pretension.
Members: Douglas Jenkins (cello), Daniel Enberg (guitar), Arcellus Sykes (bass), Eben Dickinson (drums)
Other band names in the running: Adolf Hipster, Elevator/Escalator, Fake Jazz.
Most treasured instruments: We probably shouldn't publish the extent to which our instruments are treasured. Jenkins plays a 1993 Schuster and an 1895 Bohmann cello.
Unofficial slogan: "Quiet intensity." It's something we say (enunciated slowly and dramatically) both as a joke and seriously (we aren't really sure which anymore) before many of our songs when we are playing live. You'll usually see Dickinson say this to us when we are having an off night and are just playing loud and not really emphasizing our builds and resolutions.
Why we rock so hard: Purely by accident. We don't understand it either.
After a gig, nothing tastes better than: A bottle of pinot grigio.
Touring must-have: A bottle of pinot grigio.
Any stage banter you wish you could rescind: We called a song "Donna Martin Graduates" at a show, naming it after a "90210" episode completely as a joke. Now, people sometimes chant "Donna Martin Graduates!" It's not even that good of a song, but some weird subset of our fan base likes the title.
On the record: "Bright Red Paper" (self-released). Another release is due next winter.
Catch us live: 8-10 p.m. Friday, C-Bar, 2880 S.E. Gladstone St.

After listening to this Oregon band's debut album, I was surprised that they had almost slipped through the cracks in 2005. The band is an excellent representation of classically minded musicians catering to a post-rock crowd. Much in the spirit of contemporaries such as Rachel's and A Silver Mount Zion, Bright Red Paper is largely led by the violin with guitars making subtle contributions for most of its work. Yet, true to the post-rock dogma, Bright Red Paper sets the tension high, reaching breathtaking climaxes and earth-shattering cathartic releases. This band is more artistic than your average post-rock band, and all signs indicate that they are working with a winning formula. Now they just need people to discover them.