Pictorials' style of post-garage punk-pop is lackadaisical and mellow, and it should be played loud, indoors, on rainy days -- possibly when you're stoned.It's grey and wet in NYC as we recover from the pre-apocalyptic Hurricane Sandy, and as such, I'm feeling a special interconnectedness with Portland, Ore., a city that seems to experience similar weather about 80 percent of the year.

Thus it's fitting that I'm writing about one of the indie capitol's latest yields, an XTC-inspired lo-fi trio that spins synthy garage-rock tunes with subtle punk undertones. Today we're giving Diffuser.fm readers a taste of Pictorials' first single, 'Sense of Vanity,' a track that features an anthemic chorus and bright, hope-inspring leads.

Part of what makes Pictorials so fresh is the band's purist beginnings. When Diffuser spoke to bassist Mike Moreau, he told us, "We didn't know what we were doing -- I didn't know. The band was just for our friends and us. We didn't necessarily know where we were going to take it, we just knew it was fun, and we liked playing with each other."

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