Dave Chamberlain

In case you haven't noticed, rock is back.
Just when it seemed destined to decline into niche obscurity like the once wildly popular blues and jazz, a simple strain of good old-fashioned garage rock purified its seemingly diminishing DNA and electrified music fans all over the world.
And Chicago's place in all this? It's been too damn long since our city has had something to hang its hat on. Fly-by-nights like Disturbed and "seminal" acts like Wilco notwithstanding, Chicago hasn't made a collective splash in the rock world for more than a decade. But it will happen, it must. Here are the best bets to make it so.

The Ponys
A year ago, The Ponys were playing shows in front of twenty people--and most were their friends. Then, six months ago, the band released its proper debut, "Laced With Romance," and started playing to much bigger crowds. Flavor-of-the day hipsters even started saying they were already "too popular." The reason for The Ponys' soaring star? A clever combination of two popular genres, post-punk and garage rock. Lead singer Jered's vocals sound delightfully wrong--think the octave twisting of The Cure's Robert Smith--and behind him the band can go from eighties choppy and discordant to rockin' out. The band's finished sound has been constantly compared to Interpol, to which Jered answers coldly, "There's nothing you can do about that. Maybe we have similar record collections."

Potential stumbles:
None dammit--watch out

Another take:
"The Ponys come on primal and fierce, feeding time-tested riffs (think Velvets, Standells) into a cyclotron of fuzzy guitar distortion. Grade: A-." (Entertainment Weekly)

Rise Against
Rise Against has yet to snag anything more than press from esoteric sources. But they have an endorsement that goes much further, a major-label debut: "Siren Song of the Counter Culture," due August 10 on Geffen Records. Of all the endless pop-punk bands out there trying to sell records by sounding exactly the same, Rise Against differentiates itself by keeping its foot firmly on the high-octane pedal. Formerly counted on the Fat Wreck Chords roster, RA's two previous records showed the promise that landed them on Geffen. Far from pedestrian and with an unabashed softer side, Rise Against isn't just the leader of a flock, but instead represents the logical progression of the hardcore punk espoused by the likes of SNFU and Dag Nasty. Lead singer Tim McIlrath possesses a voice with outstanding range, and an equal blend of posturing and genuine emotion that expands far beyond the angry-punk cliché, and no doubt he makes the band.

Potential stumbles:
The risk of progressing into pop-punk puke

Another take:
"After seeing their live show, their new album is on my list of must-buys. Vocalist Tim McIlrath's voice battles from hardcore screaming to campfire sing along cheery." (In Music We Trust)

The M's
A four-man band that plays upbeat rock referencing everything from the sixties psychedelic era to modern garage, The M's are closest to a guaranteed long-term career. Of course, how successful that career will be falls into the hands of the fickle music masses, but The M's have everything in place: a well-honed live show, good looks, a management team that thrives on the inside of the music scene, and a solid debut effort on Brilliante Records. They first made a splash last year with an able blend of melody and harmony, plus just enough upbeat guitar-driven rock, and the band has quickly reaped the benefits from exposure; a four-show swing with Wilco introduced scads of mainstream music fans to the band, and an opening spot for Fountains of Wayne and Brendan Benson at this year's Taste of Randolph got the word out even more. Like The Ponys, it seems like it took The M's about a week to become the talk of the town--unlike The Ponys, the road to success for The M's is less bogged down by hipster cred, so the ascension works to their favor.

Potential stumbles:
Despite the band's standing amongst the indie crowd, there's also the ever-present scent of patchouli wafting around when they play locally.

Another take:
"Three-part harmonies and a Kinks-inspired bounce...Garage-rock fans shouldn't miss..." (Chicago Sun-Times)

The New Constitution
This quartet, including Wolfie refugee Mike Downey, made one of last year's great surprises with "On 4," a power-pop masterpiece that referenced everything from the Beatles to Cheap Trick to whatever garage-rock band is your du jour favorite. Though that idea--addictive choruses, big hooks and a lot of hip-shaking rock--doesn't seem that hard in theory, the number of bands that miss the mark so terribly makes the ease with which The New Constitution seemingly cranks out these songs that much more impressive. The sound isn't purely pop, either. Like the White Stripes, who can go from Zeppelin to Americana in the span of two songs, The NC dabble in country, a little bit of soul and add the spark of slightly heavier material as well. But regardless of the angle the band takes, it works.

Potential stumbles:
Bands with such a purely energetic sound run the risk of over-production when the big studios get hold of them.

Another take:
"The New Constitution's songs are both ace rock anthems for today and tributes to every rock musician who has come before." (Pop Matters)


The Like Young
Rock `n' roll duet Joe and Amanda Ziemba have made two of the best pop rock `n' roll albums from Chicago since, well, ever. Both of the band's Parasol releases, 2003's "Art Contest" and this year's "So Serious," are tight, energetic and absolutely packed with rock-'em-sock-'em guitar pop from beginning to end. With Joe slinging a six-string guitar and applying just-to-the-right-of-emo vocals, and Amanda pounding the drums and interjecting soft backing vocals and the occasional lead, they've found a place in the lexicon of duet rockers: less garage-centric than the White Stripes, but much, much more adorable than the Black Keys.

Potential stumbles:
A possible backlash against two-person bands, and the lack of a fully fleshed out sound on stage

Another take:
"Imagine a modern-day 'American Gothic': Biting lyrically, inviting sonically--now that's a marriage made in heaven." (LA Times)

Pelican
There's no reason why, assuming this sonic-booming doomcore band lasts another decade or so, Pelican can't become Chicago's next Tortoise. Despite the metallic nature of the band, there's an unusual crossover appeal here, with Pelican grabbing equal parts indie-rock and metalhead crowds. That's a distinction guitarist Laurent Lebec noticed a year ago, when Pelican's debut record on Hydrahead, "Australasia," came out. "There's fans of the heavy," he noted, in regards to the crowd makeup. "But also of instrumental music, experimental music, and people that used to be into bands like Hum--it's varied." Maybe it's the lack of vocals, often one of heavy metal's great turnoffs. Without a Judas Priest opera-howl, nu-metal's broken-glass-in-the-throat howling or death metal's depths-of-hell barks, the diverse crowd is left to concentrate on Pelican's shifting time signatures, counter melodies and cathartic builds and releases, the sum of which separates the band from the majority of the corpse-paint crowd.

Potential stumbles:
"Doom metal" and "long-term success" rarely occur in the same sentence.

Another take:
"I must admit, when I set out to listen to this band for the first time, the thought of an almost thirteen minute instrumental song made me groan. But with their ability to reduce the listener to nearly a trance-like state, Pelican made good use of every last second." (Punk News UK)

The Race
Hard-to-figure comparisons to Radiohead notwithstanding, The Race has seemingly made a habit out of never getting bogged down with one stereotyped sound, though there's no denying that that band is steeped in the Chicago indie-rock tradition. The Race's latest record, "If You Can," as well as the band's recent local performances with Franz Ferdinand and Seachange, show a muscular spike of growth in the band's dreamy and somewhat esoteric melodic pop. That record's single, "Rose," with a floating staccato guitar lead and lead singer Craig Klein's subversively dark vocals, make it The Race's strongest and most accessible song to date. Though the majority of The Race's material is very low-key, it's developed into material with musical depth and attraction--think an ensemble-oriented Nick Drake without the foreseeable early death, and much better, more modern production.

Potential stumbles:
The rest of the world lumps Chicago's indie-rock bands together--and that's not necessarily a good thing.

Another take:
"This is music to be listless to, the sound of I-must-escape-my-life-by-any-means-possible boredom condensed into a single CD; this is the soundtrack of sleeping until 2pm because you can't think of a good reason not to." (CMJ New Music Monthly)

The Reputation
If emo were a monarchy, Elizabeth Elmore would be its queen. Even though her band, The Reputation, isn't really emo by definition--she got the punk rock out of her system with her first band, Sarge--her ability to blend lyricism with the tone and feeling set inside the sometimes rocking, sometimes low-key music immediately snuffs the most sensitive of emo boys. And she learns from her mistakes, too. The Reputation's first, self-titled record had all the trimmings of excessive self-obsession and a very half-finished feel to it. But on this year's "To Force a Fate," she reigned in the lyrical moaning without losing any bite inside her many tales of loves lost and passing ships, and she took a tangible step in the right direction musically as well, gradually integrating an occasional softer side but never at the cost of energy. Considering the tangible movement forward since her teenage days in Sarge, only a fool wouldn't expect The Reputation to get even better.

Potential stumbles:
See The Race.

Another take:
"Chicago indie-rock debutante Elizabeth Elmore (ex- Sarge) has two reputations to flaunt. Known as an unabashedly forthright lyricist, she's consistently reflective and astute. And then there's her remarkable band, The Reputation, whose second album is muscular yet lush--a knockout combo of fiery rock and cascading grace. B+." (Entertainment Weekly)

Suffrajett
There's a lot to be said about a band with a super-hot female lead singer. There's even more to be said about that band if it comes with a pedigree in the rock department. Suffrajett has both. Lead singer Simi sings with a mile-wide voice and is nothing short of disturbingly attractive when she takes the stage. Leading the charge on guitar is Jason Chasko, an accomplished session man and one of Liz Phair's guitarists for "whitchocolatespaceegg." Together, they bring a little bit of danger and a whole ton of sex back into rock `n' roll, and Suffrajett's hard rock kicks with both hooks and charisma. It's a combination that led the MC5 to personally request them as an opening band for a month on the road earlier this summer. The band's self-titled debut was a great start, and expect it to get much better.

Potential stumbles:
The band has been together for just a year, and Chicago is strewn with the corpses of bands that burned out and fractured before their star rose.

Another take:
"Even though their debut CD isn't quite the 'raw rock `n' roll' they promise, Suffrajett has surely mastered the art of a catchy guitar riff." (Venus)

American Motherload
A great example of the twenty-first century's amalgamated metal sound that seamlessly crosses everything from Black Sabbath to modern stoner rock and even the (few) good parts of nu-metal, this five-piece's "Come to Life" reveals an extremely polished band. Loaded with heavy tracks infused with the bounce of a radio-friendly single, American Motherload made a record that's not nearly violent enough for the "extreme crowd," but still too loud and straightforward for most. In other words, it's just a touch to the side of the mainstream, exactly where a bulk of the record-buying public likes it. Vocalist Ben Loop possesses a voice for the ages, a little scratchy, bursting with energy and able to carry an arching note or burst with a furious scream. AM is an absolute aberration from the music normally produced by the cultish Chicago music scene, but that's not a bad thing.

Potential stumbles:
Metal moves in and out of favor among the mainstream--if they don't surf the current wave of acceptance, it might be a while.

Another take:
"If bourbon was music, this is what it would sound like. No bullshit, straight up rock...some of the best Chicago has to offer." (James VanOsdel, 94.7 FM)

(2004-07-27)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

Tip of the Week
Though this all-girl Swedish band has been around for nearly a decade, the States only caught on two years ago when the Sahara Hotnights released its five-star "Jennie Bomb"
(2004-07-20)

Tip of the Week
One thing has become chillingly clear: Morrissey the solo artist will never match the emotional and musical heights that he did with Marr in tow
(2004-07-13)

Raw Material
Venomous Concept--a loud-rock super group of sorts that boasts Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins, Shane Embury and Danny Herrera from Napalm Death and Kevin Sharp from Brutal Truth and more recently Damaged--takes the idea of hardcore and sets the clock back to the beginning
(2004-07-13)

Tip of the Week
Rarely has a band so young done so much in such a short time
(2004-07-06)

Raw Material
(2004-07-06)

Tip of the Week
(2004-06-29)

Raw Material
(2004-06-22)

Tip of the Week
(2004-06-16)

Raw Material
(2004-06-16)

Tip of the Week
(2004-06-09)

Raw Material
(2004-06-09)

Double team
(2004-06-02)

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