New Music: Bound Stems, Page France, Over the Atlantic, Phelan Sheppard

Bound Stems - Western Biographic - Appreciation Night (Flameshovel 2006)


Bound Stems – Appreciation Night / Flameshovel

You really couldn’t ask for a more appropriate label than Flameshovel for local product Bound Stems. Already established with an impressive roster of loose, Midwestern style indie-rock low on production and high on creativity, one of Chicago’s finest music establishments are ready to unleash the first proper full-length from the band who has been receiving hype for two years already. Since the release of their last EP, Bound Stems have expanded to a quintet by adding singer and multi-instrumentalist Janie Porche which adds a welcomed contributor to their sound. Like most Flameshovel bands, they sound sloppy on first listen, but over repeated plays, the complexity and intricacies of each song unveil themselves. Patchworking floods of guitar, structure defying drumming, keyboards that hum one second and spit the next and interweaving male/female vocals with narrative threads, found sounds and the occasional spoken word, Appreciation Night is interesting and fun record ambitious as it is youthful and wonderfully Chicago.





Page France - Chariot - Hello, Dear Wind (Suicide Squeeze 2006)


Page France – Hello, Dear Wind / Suicide Squeeze

I’ll be honest, anytime Christianity even comes within a stones throw of music that is not classified as the ceremonious fun that is gospel, I promptly turn on my heel and head in the opposite direction. But these days, indie wunderkinds like Danielson and Sufjan have been disguising their beliefs within catchy folk-pop that is leap years away from the stale and condemned (ironic?) genre of Christian rock. Along these same lines comes the Baltimore quartet Page France fronted by the enigmatic and budding songwriter Michael Nau. With a voice like Langhorne Slim and a backing band that would be comfortable on Saddle Creek/Team Love, Nau endearingly professes his optimistic beliefs without preaching but rather presenting an image much more friendly than those blindly sheltered in their multi-million dollar a/v units they call churches. Take away the lyrics, and you are left with a light-hearted, loose but not sloppy folk-pop record that’s both catchy and instrumentally inventive. This is a strong debut for an act whose audience will easily find them.





Over the Atlantic - 35 Black and White - Junica (Carpark 2006)


Over the Atlantic – Junica / Carpark

The drum machine patters, a soft electric guitar strum cues a simple bass plod followed quickly by Nik Brinkman softly stating “She once called me the runaway,” and just like that, you are swallowed into the electro-pop world of Over the Atlantic. Brinkman, a film school graduate who entered the music industry at 17 with his band Ejector, accompanied by sound innovator and Involve label head Bevan Smith (who also goes by Singer for his solo work) form one of New Zealand’s best pop tandems with each member supporting the other while adding their own individual style. Junica’s accessibility is its best attribute, simple electro-pop grooves accentuated by a touch of atmosphere and the occasional electric guitar hook form a strong backdrop for unobtrusive, multi-layered vocals and lovesick lyrics. Over the Atlantic certainly won’t win any awards for breaking new ground, but if harmonious electricity is your deal, you won’t be disappointed.



Track Review:



Phelan Sheppard - Water Clock - Harps Old Master (Leaf 2006)


Phelan Sheppard – Water Clock (Leaf 2006)

In accordance with Water Clock, it’s fitting that Phelan Sheppard’s new album is called ‘Harps Old Master’ seeing as David Sheppard’s metallic guitar picking sounds as if being plucked on the strings of a shimmering harp (unless of course it actually is). Sheppard and Keiron Phelan, two-thirds of State River Widening, are once again tinkering around the studio with every instrument they can squeeze a sound out of and bringing forth what seems to be another subtly gorgeous record for the Mecca of minimal amazement, the Leaf Label. Water Clock’s emphasis is on that sparkling string sound, but its what’s happening around those harmonies that really move the song; a double bass simultaneously plods and whirrs as mechanical snares tiptoe over echoing keyboard snippets and bright, high-frequency pads zip by like passing headlights. It’s a wonderful four minutes that hopefully hints at without completely unveiling what to expect from the upcoming full-length ‘Harps Old Master’ (9/25).