Officially, summer isn’t quite over yet. By my count we’ve still have 10 days left. The weather outside seems to support this fact, though we all know what’s coming. Football already fills the TV on Sundays, and in no time at all autumn colored leaves will be on the ground and temperatures will dip. Before we know it we’ll be in the midst of nine more months of rain.



Either aware of this fact or oblivious to it — depending on how you look at it — Portland’s Pink Widower may have the answer. With the release of The Enchanted Realm of the Pink Widower, which will officially “drop” — as they say in the bizz — on Oct. 14, Pink Widower seems to be looking to hold off the drear and precipitation so common here in the Northwest with 10 tracks of sunny, breezy sonic goodness.



While The Enchanted Realm won’t officially hit shelves until next month, a copy arrived here at Weekly Volcano World Headquarters sometime earlier this month. With the bite of fall only moments away, now seems like as good a time as any to give the disc a spin in my CD player and offer up a few words of review here on weeklyvolcano.com.



Pink Widower is fronted by “the Jed,” a man and musician so respected he can put a “the” in front of his name without people scoffing. The Jed led Six Foot Sloth in a former musical life — a band known for melancholy musings and wrist cutting themes — but with Pink Widower the Jed seems intent on changing perceptions. Where Six Foot Sloth moped, Pink Widower dances — and the result is something far less depressing than the vibrations many have come to expect from the Jed.



A medley of pop, psychedelic rock, horns and reggae, The Enchanted Realm of the Pink Widower (the band’s debut effort) is the perfect summer record — which either makes its mid October release an oversight of epic proportion or a well-planned distraction. On one hand, a summer record is best in the summer. That’s the rationale way to look at things, anyway. But then again — what better way to help the hordes of bundled and waterproofed music lovers here in the Northwest survive the bleakness of winter than by releasing a musical effort sure to make everyone forget just how cold and pissy it’ll be outside in mid-October when the disc sees the light of day?



Judging by the songwriting intellect The Enchanted Realm displays, something tells me the album’s fall release date is no oversight. A band that puts together a record of this quality, and obviously spends the time to make it superb, doesn’t choose a release date without thought. At least that’s what I assume.



Sloppy horns and a lounge beat open The Enchanted Realm on the album’s first track, “The Crimson Eye.” Those not familiar with The Pink Widower — which is probably most folks since the band only recently emerged on the scene — might think they’re in for a Sinatra meets Mighty Mighty Bosstones effort. Naturally, as one can imagine, this has the potential to scare off listeners — but those who persist will be pleasantly rewarded. With every track of The Enchanted Realm that passes, it becomes more and more apparent that this disc is a true eclectic work of genius.



The disc’s third track, “Christmas Lights,” utilizes a troubling (and perhaps even menacing) bass line to draw listeners into a song built on new wave possibilities and clever lyrical wanderings. The result is equal parts artistic vision and just plain fun — a combination well worth the price of admission.



“Battle Dogs” marks the disc’s halfway point, and while the pace is slowed and the syllables drawn out on Enchanted Realm’s fifth track, that’s not to say it shoots listeners with a tranquilizer dart or incites apathy. Even at the disc’s least urgent moments, The Pink Widower still manages to gives discerning ears something to smile about. Even as the lyrical content inevitably turns momentarily sour — no surprise considering the Jed’s history — The Enchanted Realm still packages it with sunshine. The ukulele work on “Let Me See” is just such a UV ray of autumn hope.



In all, The Enchanted Realm of the Pink Widower is the perfect summer record, which just may make its fall release a godsend. This Portland band has captured 80-degree weather and summertime ease on CD, and as the rain sits just around the corner, come February we may all be thanking them. 

LINK: Pink Widower MySpace