Indie rock is a very hit-or-miss genre. It can easily be generic, overplayed, boring and even straight-up soulless at times. But some bands bring the genre to life and do it justice. Tokyo Police Club is one of those bands.

The Canadian group has been churning out energetic, driving, feel-good jams since its debut EP A Lesson In Crime came out in 2006. Now, nine years later, the men of Tokyo Police Club have sprung from the lo-fi numbers they created straight out of high school into more carefully and skillfully produced tracks. They are bringing their infectious presence to Eugene’s Cozmic Pizza (199 W 8th Ave) next week.

The band has a style that is undeniably lovable. Filled with a cheerful intermingling of bright guitar riffs, cleverly placed synthesizer and tireless drums, Tokyo Police Club makes it hard not to want to dance along. Although overall the band’s music is joyful and lively, it’s stuffed with undertones of growing older and nostalgia for past times: “I remember when our voices used to sound the same; now we just translate,” wails lead singer and bassist David Monks in the song “Breakneck Speed” off of the band’s 2010 release Champ.

Tokyo Police Club has had multiple television appearances and shared the stage with bands such as Weezer, Foster the People and Angels & Airwaves over the years. And after their most recent 2014 release, Forcefield, it doesn’t seem like the band will be stopping the tour bus any time soon.

Tokyo Police Club will play in Eugene on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Cozmic Pizza. The show is all ages. Tickets are $17 for early bird general admission and $21 for regular general admission. Doors open at 8:30 p.m, show is at 9 p.m.

Listen to the track “Miserable” off Forcefield below.

Sometimes punks have to grow up. They have to get a real job, move out of their parents’ house, cover up their stick-and-poke tattoos and dye their hair back to a natural color. If this transformation process had a soundtrack it would be FIDLAR’s Too.

The Los Angeles-based punk/garage act filled all of its debut album and EPs with smoking, drinking and indulging in other illicit substances. These raucous, straight-to-the-point punk jams are what garnered popularity for the band and created a dedicated fan following. But the more gritty, less gimmicky side of that time in FIDLAR’s existence seems to get swept under the rug.

Zac Carper, the band’s frontman, was addicted to meth, crack and heroin throughout the period that FIDLAR gained initial popularity. Now, Carper is clean and that important facet of his life is definitely a large part of this new album. Although FIDLAR’s new material is not all about drinking cheap beer, waking and baking or surfing and skating, Too is definitely still a very fun LP.

Zac Carper sprawled out on the stage after a FIDLAR performance at the Backspace in Portland, Ore. in 2013. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Too covers the bases of addiction, rehabilitation, loneliness and anxiety without coming across as a bummer but instead a cathartic release. In an interview with Stereogum, Carper acknowledged that this change in content might come as a shock to fans, but also that that reaction doesn’t necessarily matter to him. “[The] first record is always going to be better than the second record. ‘I liked them better when they didn’t sell out.’ ‘I liked them better when he was on drugs.’ There’s always going to be people saying that […] You’ve just got to roll with it,” Carper said.

Although the sophomore slump is a real and difficult obstacle to overcome, Too has many undeniable strengths. For the most part, Too strays away from the simplistic fast and hard tracks of FIDLAR’s first album and takes a more pop approach with an abundance of catchy hooks and more melody than ever demonstrated by the band. This different approach might cause some to think the band has abandoned the punk idealism completely and sold out, but for Carper “[t]ruly selling out would have been just trying to make the first record over again.”

Although more poppy than its preceding releases, FIDLAR has in no way gone soft in Too with hard-hitters like “Punks,” “Drone” and “Bad Medicine.” Overall, the album serves as a reflective piece for the band’s, and specifically Carper’s, wildest times and the summary of where those times have landed them now. This retrospective view of highs and lows are demonstrated clearly in tracks like “West Coast,” an upbeat rollercoaster ride of past scenarios being carefree and drugged out and the slow, dark, carnival-esque “Overdose” in which Carper swears he is “really gonna try not to overdose again.”

Too shows that FIDLAR has grown and matured without losing sense of themselves, and that a new stylistic direction is not always a bad thing because, “fuck it dog, life’s a risk.”

Too comes out on Sept. 4 and is available to stream on iTunes and Spotify. Listen to Too on Spotify below.

For a successful band, selling out and going commercial may seem like an easy path to take, but Beach House has made it clear that they are not in the game for anyone but themselves and their fans.

The band proclaims in a statement released by its label, SubPop, “[…] The larger stages and bigger rooms naturally drove us towards a louder, more aggressive place; a place farther from our natural tendencies. Here, we continue to let ourselves evolve while fully ignoring the commercial context in which we exist.”

Beach House, the Baltimore duo composed with Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally, goes out of its way to please its fans. The band has installed a democratic option for fans under the “setlist creators” tab on the tour website. Those attending the show can elect which songs they’d like to hear from Beach House, the votes of which directly inform the band’s setlist.

On Depression Cherry, the band keeps its promise in returning to older styles without coming off as stagnant, digressive, or cloned. The LP is automatically familiar and delivers the droning, gliding, romantic dream-pop familiar to older releases, though still presents itself as an evolution of the duo’s sound.

LeGrand’s crystalline and golden, sultry vocals melt over organs, chiming guitar and bass-heavy synthesizer in a commonplace way for Beach House. For the most part, Depression Cherry retreats from the live drum tracks that made its predecessor, Bloom, bigger and more “aggressive” sounding, as the band stated.

The release even borrows electronic drum tracks from previous releases. “Space Song” uses the drum track from “Walk In The Park,” a song from the band’s 2010 LP Teen Dream, which creates an enjoyable connection for longtime fans and tucking in even more familiarity. “Fall back into place,” LeGrand repeats in throughout the song as her vocals echo over and seep into each other. Throughout the ten tracks, Beach House seems to effortlessly be doing just that.

Although Depression Cherry isn’t necessarily as loud as Bloom on the surface, the release still retains the sweeping, cinematic factor that makes the band so enjoyable to listen to in the first place.

Though structurally simple, the album still creates a complex atmosphere, weaving a sensual and intimate ambiance into each track. This intimacy is reflected through both beautiful instrumentation and the creation of a sense of musical landscape. Beach House paints a haze-filled, sun-speckled picture similar to other groups that share their genre (Slowdive, Asobi Seksu, older releases from M83), but the overly amorous and passionate overtones of each slide on Scally’s guitar neck (“Beyond Love”) or purr of LeGrand’s vocals (“Days of Candy”) are what easily place Beach House within the top ranks of their peers.

The lush soundscapes of Depression Cherry definitely have the power to make its listeners zone out, but will also leave them engaged long after the last track has come to an end.

Depression Cherry was released on Aug. 28 on SubPop and will be available for download and streaming on Spotify and iTunes as well.

Listen to a stream of the full album from NPR Music below.

Raking in 3,000 YouTube views in just twelve hours on a song cover, or any video, for that matter, is an impressive feat, but having that cover reach the original artist is an entirely different triumph in itself.

Both were achievements that the University of Oregon’s all-female a cappella group Divisi accomplished with their recently released music video, “11:59,” a song originally performed by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Now, only a week after its release, the video has already gained over 5,000 views with the count still climbing.

The day it was uploaded, Franti recognized Divisi’s cover on his Facebook page.

“As musicians I think one of the most surreal and humbling moments is when you hear people sing the lyrics to your songs,” he wrote. “You sit back in awe knowing that each person has developed their own relationship to the words that goes deeper than you could’ve ever imagined when you wrote them … and then sometimes something like this video comes along and you get to sit back and simply rock out!”

“It’s been very humbling,” said Hayley Valoppi, a recent UO music school graduate and Divisi member, about Franti posting the cover to his Facebook page.

Divisi, an Italian musical term meaning divided parts in harmony, began singing together in 2001, but didn’t officially perform under that name until 2002. Depending on the school year, the group typically consists of 11-14 women.

“The group changes every year [and] each individual makes it something new” said Valoppi, who played multiple roles in Divisi over the years such as music director, business manager, recording manager and treasurer. This past year was Valoppi’s fourth in the group and she is, like other members, very excited about the music video’s positive reception.

This most recent year Divisi members also included Kelsey Pargeter, a cinema studies junior at the UO and Caitlin Byers, a senior in the School of Journalism and Communication.

The video, directed by Brad Burke and Green Studio Productions, is the group’s first and takes place in various familiar locations around Eugene.

“When we were talking about ideas it definitely came down to having a day in the life of Eugene,” a feature that has gotten many positive comments on YouTube said Pargeter, Divisi’s business manager and choreographer.

“The music video was very time consuming,” said Byers, the group’s music director. “We all had to get up at 5 a.m. and head out to Skinner’s Butte and start filming there. It was a long day but very fun and rewarding and it turned out just how we wanted it.”

The positive exposure from the music video is just what Divisi has been looking for while growing as an a cappella group. About to move into the next school year, the group is already thinking about reaching upcoming goals like competing in the ICCAs (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella).

“We’ve actually been talking about it since the middle of May … but we don’t actually audition for the ICCAs until mid-October,” said Byers. “It’s pretty much straight from the very beginning of the year that you buckle down and start working on that.”

If the ICCAs sound familiar, it may be because the competition was popularized by the movie Pitch Perfect, although the whole process is definitely not the same on the big screen as it is in real life.

Along with the excitement of the upcoming ICCAs, Divisi is also in the second round of auditions to potentially be featured on a television show called Sing It On.

No matter the large, recent accomplishments, the success has not gone to heads of the group’s members. Divisi continues to overcome preconceived notions of what it means to be a group of women a cappella singers.

“There are stereotypes that come with being in an all-female group, like female groups can’t be as powerful or big sounding,” said Valoppi. “That’s something Divisi strives to overcome and I think that’s something Divisi has always succeeded in — having that full, mature sound even though we’re ‘just a bunch of ladies.’”

“11:59” is a cut from Divisi’s newest album Shots Fired which is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Watch the music video here:

25-year-old slacker-rock prince and proclaimed “Pepperoni Playboy” Mac DeMarco has done it again. Originally from Canada, DeMarco made his first prominent step onto the scene right out of high school under the moniker Makeout Videotape and was joined by a full band shortly after. A few years later, DeMarco returned to producing music under his own name, releasing his first solo EP Rock and Roll Night Club in 2012. Now, three years and multiple successful releases and tours later (including a sold-out show at Eugene’s Cozmic Pizza this past April), DeMarco has released his newest mini-LP Another One.

Mac DeMarco and his band play a sold-out show at Cozmic Pizza on April 21, 2015 (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Another One is filled with the soundscapes and instrumentation with which DeMarco fans are well-situated: incredibly smooth, reverb-ridden vocals, wavy guitars, warped synths, playful bass and spry drums that all seem to have a timeless quality to them. The eight tracks on this bittersweet release touch on both the positive and negative elements that lay within love and relationships. Although known for his wacky onstage antics, such as regularly covering Coldplay’s “Yellow” with his band and getting naked and putting drumsticks where drumsticks should not go, as well as his fairly eccentric, yet lovable personality, Another One, much like DeMarco’s other releases, is not just filled with fun and games.

DeMarco drinks a beer and lounges on stage at Cozmic. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Packed tight with the right amount of serious, somber, reflective tunes like the album’s title track, in which DeMarco croons over layers of echoing, melancholy synthesizer about jealousy and insecurity, “Feelin’ so confused, you don’t know what to do, afraid she might not love you anymore.” The mini-LP stays cleverly balanced by including sunny, bubbly tracks like “No Other Heart” and “Just To Put Me Down.”

Overall, Another One sticks to DeMarco’s so far infallible style of writing songs poppy enough to sound like they could be accepted as present-day No. 1 hits, yet antiquated and nostalgic enough to sound like they could easily have been kept under wraps within a dingy, teenage-filled garage in the late ’70s. While definitely keeping DeMarco’s older material in mind, it’s more matured and cleanly edited and produced than earlier releases.

There’s just something indescribable about DeMarco’s music that seems to resonate with people of all ages, be it the sense of carefree “good vibes” or the sense of sentimental agelessness. Whatever it is it will make you want to grab your sweetheart, go for a ride and lay under the stars with DeMarco’s vocals roaring as a soundtrack to the night.

Only about 25 minutes from beginning to end, Another One is definitely short, but also sweet. The album glides to an end with “My House By The Water,” an instrumental song composed only of the windy, lapping of lake water and simple synthesizer, with a distorted tone similar to a messed-up VHS or cassette tape seconds away from unraveling. The song fades to a false ending with a few seconds of silence only to surprise listeners with DeMarco’s voice clearly and loudly reading out his current New York address. “Stop on by. I’ll make you a cup of coffee. See you later,” DeMarco exclaims.

After listening to this release you just might be feeling like you want to take him up on that offer.

Listen to Mac DeMarco’s “Another One” available now on Spotify.

At roughly 5:30 p.m. on Monday evening, the Eugene Police Department received several calls about a fire at Civic Stadium near 20th and Willamette. No injuries occurred as a result of the fire, Eugene Fire Chief Randall Groves said.

Update: As of 7:45 p.m., police and fire were still on the scene.

Here are some photos of the emergency response to the destroyed stadium.

Onlookers stand on the fields of South Eugene High School and watch as smoke and flames surround Civic Stadium (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Burned structure of Civic Stadium (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

(Meerah Powell/Emerald)

(Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Police and firefighters work together in an attempt to put out fire at Civic Stadium. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Fire hydrants gush water in an attempt to put out fire. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Firefighters fight to contain the flames in the north part of Civic Stadium. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Follow Meerah Powell on Twitter at @meerahpowell

Hayward Field hosts the 2015 USATF Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 25-28 2015.

Tyson Gay takes first place in the men’s 100 meter dash final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Trayvon Bromell walks it off after a close second place against Tyson Gay in the men’s 100 meter dash final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Sharika Nelvis waves to fans after racing one of the fastest times in the world and placing first in women’s 100 meter hurdlers preliminary round. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Women’s 1,500 meter preliminary run. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Dalilah Muhammad places third in women’s 400 meter hurdles preliminary round. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

UO athlete Jenna Prandini places sixth in women’s 100 meter dash final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Sprinter Jasmine Todd (left) takes third place in the women’s 100 meter dash final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Tori Bowie happily waves her American flag after taking first place in women’s 100 meter dash final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Carmelita Jeter (left) collapses on the track after suffering injury during women’s 100 meter dash. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Bershawn Jackson runs in men’s 400 meter hurdle semi-finals. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

LaShawn Merritt qualifies for the men’s 400 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Allyson Felix prepares for a run that ultimately qualifies her for the women’s 400 meter finals. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

An air of immense excitement hung over Hayward Field in the second day of the USATF Outdoor Championships. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Hayward Field hosts the 2015 USATF Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 25-28 2015.

Richard Jones runs the men’s 800 meter semi-final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Ashley Spencer prepares to run the semi-final 400 meter dash. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

First place winner Molly Huddle (center) stands with second and third place winners Shalane Flanagan (right) and Emily Infeld (left) after the women’s 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Tyler Pennel runs the 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Tyler Pennel and first place winner Galen Rupp run the men’s 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Men’s 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Hassan Mead collapses happily after taking third place in the men’s 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Third and second place winners Hassan Mead and Benjamin True rejoice after the men’s 10,000 meter final. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Flags fly high over the first day of the USA track and field outdoor championships. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Rupp accepts his seventh national title as the sun sets. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Follow Meerah Powell on Twitter at @meerahpowell

The Emerald followed University of Oregon Class of 2015 Duck Walk to Matthew Knight Arena for Spring Commencement and throughout the day.

Students begin gathering for the Duck Walk Parade around 8:15 a.m. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Students formed in groups according to their majors Matthew Knight Arena for commencement at 9 a.m. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Jane Lyons hangs out at a booth with leis and flowers available for graduates and their families. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

It’s never too late to get one last photo in front of Lillis. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Tearful hugs hello and goodbye. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Congratulations, graduates! (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Graduates shared their favorite memories from their time at the University of Oregon and what they will be taking into their adult life.

Follow Stacy Yurishcheva on Twitter: @stacyfromrussia.

At 8:15 a.m. today, University of Oregon graduates and their loved ones gathered at the intersection of 13th Avenue and University Street to participate in the annual “Duck Walk Parade” to Matthew Knight Arena for the university-wide graduation ceremony. We sent Emerald photographers Jamie Perry and Meerah Powell to the event to document some of the Class of 2015’s most embellished graduation caps. Here’s what they brought back.

Nolan Rogers, a business major, keeps it cheesy on graduation day. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Molly Fullerton, a general science major, decorated her grad cap with a variety of colorful plastic dinosaurs, plants and flowers.

Caghain McCoy, a psychology major, wears a plush neuron on top of his grad cap. “Because I study brains, get it?” (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Brianna Huber, journalism and humanities, rocks a beautifully-decorated, Harry Potter-themed cap. You won’t need the Lumos Maxima spell to see this dazzler. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Justin Johnson, a psychology major, wears a crown fit for a king on top of his grad cap. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Bianca Archilla, an anthropology major, gives a shout-out to her mom as well as a shout out to her job at Disneyland on this cap. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Haley Morris, an advertising major, showcases a photo collage of her loved ones on her grad cap. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Adam Bailey, a journalism major, wants us to know that he’s “kind of a big deal.” Stay classy, UO! (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Nikki Nguyen, an advertising major, shows off a beautifully decorated and colorful mandala design on her grad cap. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Katelyn Green, a political science major, lets everyone know that she is #ready to take on the working world with this bedazzled cap. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)

Social science major Lauren Frei’s cap is a testament to girl power and a supportive shout-out to survivors of sexual assault. (Jamie Perry/Emerald)

Kaela Thomas, a French major, dares “to boldly go,” where no one has gone before, a reference to the Star Trek franchise. (Jamie Perry/Emerald)

Alexandra Stewart, a general science major, shows off her worldly cap with a thanks to mom and dad. (Jamie Perry/Emerald)

McKenzie Donaldson, a business and Spanish major, dons a worldly cap as well. (Jamie Perry/Emerald)

Follow Meerah Powell on Twitter @meerahpowell