Local CD Reviews

“Around Hear” is a monthly feature where a stable of IE writers review albums sent to us by local musicians. If you are interested in having your CD (must have a minimum of three songs) reviewed and are Illinois-based, mail it and any other media materials to 657 A W. Lake St., Chicago IL, 60661. Everything that meets the aforementioned guidelines will be reviewed in the order received. This may take several months.

Chicago-based Bird Names might just be the exact opposite of “accessible” music. Their second release, Open Relationship, contains 15 under-three-minute tracks and zero melodies. At best, they might be considered experimental folk rock. At worst, they would be considered simply un-musical. The sparse, falsetto-drenched vocals are drowned by the random instrumentation. These birds definitely put the “psyche” in psyche-rock. (www.myspace.com/birdnames)
– Carter Moss

Listening to Blake/e/e/e‘s Border Radio (Free Folk), one is reminded of that cliche about Chicago’s weather: If you don’t like it, wait five minutes. Nestled next to minimal, skip-beat folk (“The Great Rescue Episode”) is the throbbing, space-jam crunch of “New Millennium’s Lack Of Self Explanation.” The languorous, precise “Narrow Zone” rubs against the claustrophobic insistence of “Time Machine,” fleshed out with steady, pulsating groove splashed with shards of spiky guitar and atonal vocal stabs. (www.blakeeee.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Boho Paisley plays remarkably consistent midtempo rock on its nine-song CD, Chimp Militia. Most tracks effectively use acoustic rhythm guitar layered with wandering electric guitar solos and steady vocals, not unlike Red Hot Chili Peppers’ mellower tracks. Lyrics explore the seamy side of party life on “Bartender,” “Trapped In Her Head,” and “Breakdown,” the latter with the not-so- romantic repetitious line “she only loves you when she’s getting high.” (www.bohopaisley.com)
– Jason Scales

With their new self-titled release, South Side quartet Bullet Called Life greet their classic hard rock leanings with soulful vibes. On “Speed Queen,” the group implement heavy, guitar-drenched choruses but in the verses lead vocalist and guitarist Aaron Hosek lets his inner crooner loose. Then with “The Stranger,” a funky organ and bass combo plays the perfect match for Hosek’s optimistic, relationship-related lyrics. (www.myspace.com/bclrock)
– Max Herman

The mighty Hammond B3 renaissance continues – not that it ever really went away – with The Dixon-Rhyne Project debut, Re-Invention. The album unites 71-year-old keyboard legend Melvin Rhyne with relative youngster/saxophonist Rob Dixon. With vet fret-man Fareed Haque and drummer Kenny Phelps, they have re-tooled the classic jazz organ quartet into a sleekly smooth, modern funk jazzy jam band that peripatetically skips and flirts with every musical genre through 10 cuts of mostly Dixon originals. This is a must for jazz fans and connoisseurs of excellent musicianship. (www.owlstudios.com)
– David C. Eldredge

Bad band name, good tunes. Fcab obviously means something to Mark Johnson and Stefan Lindgren, though we haven’t got a fucking clue. Honestly, we don’t care as long as it keeps kickin’ out fuzzy, floor stompers like “Hid The Bottle” and “EGA” from Orange. The band and Drew Neeley give the album’s more intimate stuff like “Dead Man” enough production to make it heartfelt, but it’s raucous rockers “Ten Ton Gorilla” and “Motor-cade Circus” that make Fcab a punch in the gut. (www.myspace.com/fcab)
– Trevor Fisher

It’d be great to say the 10 gritty tunes on Genius School’s self-titled debut are, as its name implies, intelligent or somehow instructive. Sadly, they’re neither. While the lyrics on songs like “Our Appreciation Society” and “The Backwards Face” are interesting, the band’s performance is consistently ragged. Still, the group has potential: It just needs to study a bit more for the sophomore release. (www.myspace.com/wearegeniusschool)
– Jeff Berkwits

Icy Demons comprise members from Chicago and the City Of Brotherly Love, and the music heritages and geographic influences of each location are evident in their twisted, psychedelic, droning electronic post rock. The title track off Miami Ice is cool, bouncing electronica poured through a cracked funnel and chopped and sliced with jazzy percussion. Tracks like “Summer Sa-mba” and “Jantar Mant-ar” revel in their relaxed, lounge groove, enhanced with tribal rhythms and thin electronic flourishes that recall ’70s-style minimalism. (www.icydemons.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Taking their name from the suburban street they grew up on, power trio Kemman‘s debut, The Long Rocker, displays the accomplished chops the friends have honed via other bands (most notably Rules Of Attraction and Cougars) during the past 15 years. The EP’s five songs – of a more melodic, progressive, Van Halen-ish metal-edged, guitar-hero-charged rock – are even more conspicuously interesting in their lack of vocals. Such are the playing skills that one really doesn’t miss the human voice. The question remains whether such interest can be sustained. (www.myspace.com/kemman)
– David C. Eldredge

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Category: Around Hear, Columns, Monthly