Horse Movies are a band to pay attention to. The trio recently won our artist of the month poll, with their album Switch Flipper being one worthy of constant plays. They're heading off for a tour in the next couple weeks, so we wanted to exchange a few words with the band in hopes of getting to know a little more about them. Here are our 6 questions with Horse Movies...

Deli PDX: What are the songwriting dynamics in the band? Is it mainly one of you that writes the songs, take turns between the three of you or go into each track together?

Horse Movies: We get together and do that thing that birds do where the mom chews up the food and feeds it to the baby bird. But we do it back and forth with song ideas. 

How did Horse Movies come to be a band? Where does the name come from?

We're firm believers that all movies could use more horse characters. We originally met because we were all very active on a horse meme sub Reddit. We thought it'd be funny to start making music too, and eventually drifted away from our love of horse memes to focus more on the music. 

On your upcoming tour, are there any particular dates/cities the band is more excited to play than others?

Honestly we're just stoked to get out of Portland for a while, meet new friends and see cool bands. Hanging out with Mom Jeans for a week is gunna be a blast. And we get to play with Adult School in Santa Cruz, who are probably the best band ever. 

Who are some acts that have influence Horse Movies sound? 

Robin Williams circa '85, children's books involving lonely insects, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 soundtrack, and Toy Story on ice.

Being a somewhat "newer" band, how do you feel about the politics of Portland's music scene? What place do you all feel Horse Movies holds within the scene?

We've met a lot of great people in the PDX scene. Good hearted kids, ya know? Kids who constantly go to shows no matter who's playing. They're just in it for the music. It's frustrating when people are in it for the drama. We've learned to stay off the internet and use horse blinders on Facebook haha.

If there's one thing each of you could change about the current state of music (locally or globally), what would it be and why?

More all ages venues for sure. Kids need places they can feel welcome and enjoy themselves. Also, when it comes to music, we wish people would use their ears and not so much their eyes.

See Horse Movies off properly by hitting up their tour kickoff show June 19 at Black Water with Lubec, Tallwomen and Prison Dress. 

As the sun falls closer to the horizon, the conflict of choosing to stay in on the last night of the weekend or go into the new with a bang is quickly presented. There's quite a bit going on tonight depending on what you're in the mood for, so let new outfit Plastic Cactus help you make the decision.

Plastic Cactus have steadily gained traction over the last few months with their live sets, but their recently released collection of mastered tracks is sure to propel them further. Pricks, their debut album, shows the band have an adept mastery of slowed, southwestern psych-surf despite their northern locale.

Their songs are the perfect soundtrack for the setting sun and are even better in person, so check out their show tomorrow at the Know with the Cigarette Bums from Los Angeles, Horse Movies and Strugglers.

Heavy Handed is a band that describes themselves as not being good, even going so far as to telling potential fans to not even buy their records or give any type of monetary support to their endeavor. That joking, endearing modesty has worked in their fandom favor, because they've become a band we want to endlessly support.

With John Palmer on guitar, Jackie McLaughlin on drums and Harvey Buckner on bass, Heavy Handed have already exhibited lasting and infectious talents with their recently released self titled debut, which seamlessly blends garage rock and pop music's best aspects. From the bluesy "Hesistate" to the slow pop of "Oh, Edna" and the fairly psyched out "Still Life," Heavy Handed has a solid handle on what good music is.

Their next show is set for 12/18 at Blackwater as an entirely "H-bandname" bill, with Helmstron (James Helmsworth of Husky Boys), Hex Vision, Horse Movies and Hard Skulls. It's supposed to be a benefit for Standing Rock with a $2-$5 donation, but now that it's successfully been halted (thank goodness!) it's unsure if it'll still serve as a benefit show, but either way it'll be a fun night.