When the former Alaskans in the Builders and the Butchers came up from their home base of Portland, Ore., for a show back in November, their new album “Dead Reckoning” had just been released in Europe. Yesterday that record came out Stateside on Badman records.

The early reviews have mostly leaned positive. The Onion's A/V Club gave it a B+, Paste Magazine gave it a 6.8 out of 10. On All Music Guide it scored three out of five stars, while Consequence of Sound awarded four out of five.

Portland Cello Project: photo by Tarina Westlund

Yesterday also marked the end of the band’s tour with Murder by Death, but the folk rock troupe heads out again on its own month-long headlining jaunt in April. Unfortunately those dates don’t include any in Alaska, but singer and guitarist Ryan Sollee will appear with the Portland Cello Project when it plays Discovery Theater. The cello-based group has collaborated with the likes of Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame and the Dandy Warhols, arranging both symphonic pieces and popular songs for multiple cellos. The Project was originally only booked for Saturday, March 19, but with that show now sold out, a second date has been added: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18.

I’m not sure what the collaboration with Sollee will entail, but here’s the group performing their version of Kanye West’s “All of the Lights.”

What: Portland Cello Project
Where: The Discovery Theater
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19 (Saturday sold out)
How much: $31-$36.
Visit centertix.net for more info.

--Matt Sullivan