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Review: Men I Trust's 'Equus Caballus' is the band at its best

First came the donkey, and then the horse.  Canadian indie rock/dream pop outfit Men I Trust released only two studio albums between 2016 and 2024, but woke up in a big way this year, matching that output in just three months with a duo of connected projects in 2025: “Equus Asinus” and “Equus Caballus.”  “Early in the writing and recording process, we realized we had a collection of songs with distinct energies yet equally meaningful to us,” the band wrote on X in March . “It became clear that we wanted to release them as two separate entities both from the same genus.” The first was March’s “ Equus Asinus ” (the scientific name for donkey), a 14-song collection of atmospheric, acoustic-led tunes – immaculately produced, but not the band’s most memorable material.  Forming its current iteration nine years ago, the trio has never been the most experimental or bold, often filling that necessary yet understated role in the music ecosystem of inoffensive background music that...
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'It gets me geeked' – Exploring history and the Albany Regional Museum with LBCC Alumnus Sean Kinsey

Housed in a 138-year-old building, the Albany Regional Museum fits right into the city’s historic downtown. In fact, it blends in so well that it’s easy to miss its Southeast Lyons Street location when headed north toward the Willamette River.  But once you find the “Albany Regional Museum” signage and enter the storied building, you’ll be treated to a collection of local history and exhibits, open five days a week, Tuesday-Saturday.  And the first person you’ll probably meet is Sean Kinsey.  Often manning the front desk as part of his “many hats” job at the museum, Kinsey, an LBCC graduate and soon-to-be Oregon State alumnus, stands as a ready resource to community members with a passionate interest in all things history. A nontraditional student, he enrolled at Linn-Benton as a history major to change careers after working a warehouse job that he hated.  His career goal? Museums.  “It’s all about helping,” he said of his job in an interview that ranged from h...
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A late introduction to Pittsburgh, and the Steelers

Growing up as a Steelers fan on the West Coast, Pittsburgh was always out of reach.  I was the only fan in my family; growing up, I made it to the East Coast twice for vacations, but never visited the Steel City. Instead, I watched Steelers games on TV and read about how electric it was in-person the day after.  That finally changed when my dad surprised me with tickets to the Steelers’ 2022 home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a gift after I graduated high school. A few months later on a sunny, mid-October Pennsylvania weekend, my dad and I touched down in the city I had seen hundreds of times, but never met.  Pittsburgh, coming from the airport, is a bit underwhelming at first. Outside of the famous Franco Harris “immaculate reception” wax figure by the departing escalator, Pittsburgh International Airport and the surrounding area is just fine, but not an immediately obvious tourist destination.  But that makes downtown even better – you never see it comi...
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Review: Black Country, New Road takes a new path on 'Forever Howlong'

Not many album openers start with a harpsichord these days, and the ones that do certainly don’t name-drop TikTok in the final verse.  Black Country, New Road’s third studio album, “Forever Howlong,” manages to do both in the British six-piece’s genre-bending, multilayered April release. The new record is the band’s first studio album since their breakout 2022 release “Ants from Up There,” which landed on the best-of-year lists of publications such as Pitchfork and showed a more melodic and accessible side of BCNR.  On “Ants,” the band still exuded Windmill scene authenticity with their signature klezmer-inspired post-punk, but some of the singalong choruses had the broad indie appeal of acts such as Arcade Fire – a major influence .  But days before “Ants” was released, frontman Isaac Wood left the band.  Frankly, no one could sing those songs like him. No one should. Wood’s delivery is one-of-a-kind, impassioned and brilliantly raw.  The band realized that t...
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A long first day in a tractor

It was around halfway through the dusty, hot slog of my first day on the job – a 14-and-a-half-hour shift – when the crew boss’ truck pulled alongside the tractor I piloted and motioned for me to stop.  Don’t forget! Clutch and then brake. I came to a halt and opened the door.  “How’s the first day going, Ryland?” he asked.  “Pretty good,” I replied. And then in a goody two shoes, new hire sort of way: “I’m making mistakes, but I’m learning.”  He chuckled. “That’s good. Just make sure they’re not big mistakes.”  I sure came close, though.  My tractor and rake For starters, I was more or less in that tractor against my will. It was my decision, but the only available option for my first summer job. The age-old teenager paradox: needing money to buy a car, but needing that car to get to work.  So I got the same job as my older sister, and she graciously let me tag along every July morning to the headquarters of Boshart Trucking’s custom baling operation ...
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About me

Hello, JN217. My name is Ryland Bickley and I'm excited to be a part of this class spring term.  I've been around journalism for a while now, but this is regrettably the first class on it I've taken since high school. This is also my last term at LBCC, so I'm hoping to make the most out of it.  I'm a communications major planning on transferring to Oregon State starting fall term to complete my bachelor's degree. My goal is to work in media, especially journalism, once I graduate.  Outside of school, my two biggest interests are music and football. I play guitar and have taken a bunch of music classes at LB. I'm a fan of the classics but currently I've been listening to a lot of new releases in the indie pop and rock scene, with some of my top bands this month being Magdalena Bay, Fontaines D.C., Men I Trust, and The Lemon Twigs. I've also spent some time exploring the local scene.  And then there's football – my obsession for as long as I can re...
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