Ethers "Ethers" LP (2018)

Details: New stock. Black vinyl pressing of Ethers self-titled debut album, released on Trouble In Mind Records (2018).

Description: "Calling Chicago band Ethers a “supergroup” might be hyperbole to many outside the Chicago music scene, but for those who have been keeping score in the past few years, a pedigree of bands like Heavy Times, Outer Minds, Radar Eyes and The Runnies seems like a dream team. After the dissolution of his band Heavy Times, guitarist and songwriter Bo Hansen joined forces with husband and wife musical / life partners Russell Calderwood and Mary McKane and drummer Matt Rolin to concoct what would become Ethers’ eponymous debut album. A self-described "bad time band", Chicago group Ethers' debut consists of twelve songs of ragged, soulful rock and roll; heavy on hooks, with stark arrangements and sticky melodies that hang with an unexpected resonance. Instant earworms like opener Empty Hours, Rip Off and Modern Dating recall bands like soulful punks Royal Headache or Asheville troubadours Reigning Sound, while third quarter-album high point CBD rages with nervous energy like a long-lost Feelies Crazy Rhythms outtake. Tunes like Carry What You Kill and album closer Something are soaked in melancholy, but peppered with cynicism and charm. The band oozes a world-weariness, but the tunes yearn with a hopeful ache for better days ahead. Recorded in the raw, with very little audio adornment by Chicago engineer Dave Vettraino and mastered by Melbourne legend Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring), the spartan production allows the songs to be the main focus."

Grade: M (new stock)

TRACK LISTING SIDE A:

A1. Empty Hours
A2. Running Through The Night
A3. Rip Off
A4. Nature's Revenge
A5. Emily
A6. Carry What You Kill

TRACK LISTING SIDE B:

B1. Patient Life
B2. Past My Prime
B3. Party Girls vs. War Dept.
B4. Temporary Exiles
B5. Modern Dating
B6. Something