Portland’s Bory are of a similar stock to the favorite-band’s-favorite-band canon, seemingly finding more inspiration in the deeper-cut ’90s alt-rock playbook than the grunge and shoegaze icons that have largely defined the genre in the 2020s. Guided by Voices and Teenage Fanclub immediately come to mind when listening to the lo-fi power- and jangle-pop influences on their second and latest record, Never Turns to Night. It’s all about the riffs—though unlike Alien Boy, whose vocalist Sonia Weber also plays drums in Bory, band leader Brenden Ramirez also channels Robert Pollard’s sense of calm, and even Elliott Smith’s acoustic balladry on the record’s latest single.
Speaking to the album’s biggest influences, it may be no surprise to hear Ramirez rattle off names like The Apples in Stereo and Superdrag, though clearly he was pulling from a much wider range of inspiration on these songs. He isn’t shy about invoking obvious influences like The Beatles or The Zombies (or Elliott Smith, albeit his jammier later recordings), while unexpected names like Andy Shauf come up, due to his unique storytelling abilities, and even bossa nova gets cited as the source of Never Turns to Night’s mesmerizing chord progressions. Making it a true family affair, Ramirez even references his sister’s budding music career.
With the album out this week via the newly minted Bleak Enterprise, check out the playlist below along with Ramirez’s commentary. You can also pre-order Never Turns to Night here.
Elliott Smith, “Stupidity Tries”
Figure 8 is one of my favorite albums of all time. I love all his records, but I especially resonate with his later work. On this song I love the way those lead guitar parts perfectly outline the harmony. Not a wasted note. The song rocks so hard that by the end it feels really empowering and completely fights against the devastating lyrics.
The Apples in Stereo, “Shine a Light”
I’m not sure why, but the melody that Robert Schneider sings in the chorus hits me so hard every time. I get emotional when I cover it. The whole record kicks ass. The songwriting feels so natural and effortless and immediate. Big guiding light for Never Turns to Night.
The Beatles, “And Your Bird Can Sing”
It’s an obvious band to put on an influences playlist, but it must be included. The best to ever do it. The guitarmonies on this song are so insane and were definitely an influence on the guitars in “We’ll Burn That Bridge When We Get to It.” Also, the bass might get a bit overshadowed by the guitars, but Paul is playing out of his mind on that four-string.
The Cardigans, “Been It”
They’ve always got great guitars and chord progressions in their music. The arrangement of all the instruments and how they perfectly work together and bring the dynamics up and down are so good. I’m still learning how to do this. Also, when that alarm clock goes off I get so pumped.
Superdrag, “Extra-Sensory”
I listened to so much Superdrag when making the record. I think it really came out on songs like “Living Proof” and maybe “The Test.” The vocal harmonies in this song are so damn good and the melody, like in all Superdrag songs, sounds so emotional and sincere. I love the main guitar riff, too.
The Byrds, “If You’re Gone”
The lead guitar is so tasteful and jangley. I love the way it plays a little back-and-forth with the vocals in the verse. Those backup vocals holding one note in unison makes this track especially cool. It sounds full, but also really cold.
Soursop, “Out of Shape”
This is my sister’s project. She started writing music much more recently than me and she’s already an incredible songwriter. It kind of came out of nowhere. Her songs are extremely inspiring to me, especially her lyricism and sense of melody. I was helping with producing her songs during the time I was writing for Bory and the things I would learn in one project would bounce over to the other project and it would all snowball off each other. People need to be put onto this!
Elis Regina/Antônio Carlos Jobim, “Águas de Março”
Jobim is a master of harmony. He’s so good at making sense of chromatic movement with his chords. This song is probably the clearest example of that, where the whole thing is just one chromatically descending mass. My music isn’t bossa nova, but I take so much inspiration from his chord progressions. Also have to shout out Regina for putting on an absolute clinic with her vocals. Makes it sound effortless.
The Zombies, “Care of Cell 44”
A classic. My favorite part about this song is the really loud bass line. It feels like the whole arrangement is centered around it. Sometimes I think my favorite part of the writing process is writing the bass line. I try to channel this energy.
Andy Shauf, “The Worst in You”
This whole album is incredible. My song “Groundhog Day” is about a party, and I definitely drew some inspiration from Andy. His way of storytelling and exploring characters is masterful. I’m not very confident in that style of lyricism, so I find it really inspiring. I also love how he works weird chromatic lines into his melodies, like in this song.
Wagatsuma, “Inu Ga Tooru”
At the end of 2023 I played a single show in Tokyo that my friend (and an amazing songwriter) Yokosawa Shunichiro set up. It was a magical night. Every band on the bill was incredible. Wagatsuma was one of them, and this album has really stuck with me ever since. I think it was one of my most played albums during the making of Never Turns to Night.
