Portland’s Ages and Ages to headline the Bartlett in support of ‘Me You They We’

After the 2016 election, the twice-weekly writing sessions Tim Perry and Rob Oberdorfer, the core of Portland’s Ages and Ages, were holding became something like therapy sessions, a chance to try to make sense of what was happening in the world.

The result of those sessions became the band’s fourth album “Me You They We,” which was released in April and brings Ages and Ages to the Bartlett on Friday.

“Needle and Thread” deals with the urge to disengage from difficult conversations.

“When I look out, I see our current polarized socio/political/cultural environment as one continuous, tattered and crusty piece of fabric – and here I am with my needle and thread, not so sure how or even if I want to weave myself into it all,” Perry told Talkhouse about the song.

Another song, “How It Feels,” was finished as a fire in the Columbia River Gorge was bringing ash to Portland and after natural disasters hit Texas and Florida and divisive comments from President Trump and centers on what it’s like to need love and to be heard in “what feels like end-times.”

“We just want to make good music,” Oberdorfer said in a press bio. “And we want to be real with other people who want to be real. We want to challenge ourselves and our friends to break down barriers as much as we can to lead each other back to sanity.”