Fans of Minus the Bear have a great reason to show up early to the band’s show at the Indigo District Saturday night, besides the shorter lines at the bar. The Seattle-based indie rockers will be joined by labelmates Chin Up Chin Up, a band that brings its own catalog of cryptically titled songs and innovative instrumentation with it from the Windy City.
Chin Up Chin Up, whose appropriately optimistic name should give you an idea of its overall sound and of the way your head will nod upon hearing it, come to Eugene following the release of their sophomore album, “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything,” last October.
The album, the band’s first on the Suicide Squeeze imprint, marks the end of a major transition for Chin Up Chin Up and the beginning of a promising future. The band has been busy touring to promote the album, appearing with acts like Cursive and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, and continue to build momentum as it sets out to tour the West Coast.
Singer and guitarist Jeremy Bolen spoke excitedly about Chin Up Chin Up’s achievements since signing with Suicide Squeeze, including the recent debut of the music video for “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything” on MTV2.
“It got premiered on [the TV show] ‘Subterranean,’ I guess about two weeks ago now,” Bolen said. “It seems to be doing pretty well. It’s getting a little bit of attention, at least.”
The attention is well deserved. “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything” uses creative instrumentation and production to create an experimental pop record serving as a window into the state of the genre right now. This view looks especially promising alongside the latest releases by former labelmates Bound Stems and the UK’s Guillemots.
According to Bolen, the band’s adaptable, original sound is the result of slow, deliberate collaboration.
“We kind of sit around in our practice space and write together; it’s kind of like the first stage,” Bolen said. “We write somewhat collectively, and then kind of revisit things a lot. It’s kind of a time-consuming process.”
The final result of this process takes the form of beautifully layered, often heavily processed melodies that dance around Bolen’s understated vocals. The songs sound rich without being busy, which Bolen said is the result of subtractive songwriting. “We cut stuff out of things more than we add things a lot of the time. At least, that’s what we’re trying to do, trying to get a little simpler overall.”
Bolen also mentioned that because of the band’s busy touring schedule, work on songs for a future release has been hard to find time for.
“We have not sat down in a room together to write any of it yet. In my head right now, it’s going to be different,” Bolen said, adding, “I think, you know, instrumentation-wise it’s going to be a completely different direction we’re going to go in.”
But the future is still a ways off for Chin Up Chin Up, and for now listeners can be sure of the quality of its work so far. Those in attendance Saturday night can expect a mix of material from “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything” and the band’s debut “We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers.” The set at the Indigo District should be just what fans of creative pop music are looking for before Minus the Bear takes the stage.
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Nod Your Head
Daily Emerald
April 25, 2007
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