Austinist CD Review: Bound Stems Appreciation Night

Remember conventional wisdom? Once upon a time, it declared that releasing two records in the space of a single year was inadvisable. It might have also suggesed that lyrics with a historical or literary bent have no place in popular music, or that a group of highly-educated nerds from Chicago will never make it in a rock band. Fortunately for us, popular music, rock bands, and specifically Bound Stems seem to have little interest in conventional wisdom these days. The Windy City quintet released their full-length debut, Appreciation Night, last month on Flameshovel Records, and since then the disc has been on near-constant rotation in our car stereo.

The second release from Bound Stems, following the generally under-appreciated EP The Logic of Building the Body Plan, is a truly rambling piece of work. The songs tell stories, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes nostalgic, occasionally absurdly tongue-in-cheek, as is the case with the stupidly brilliant “Book of Baby Names.” The music follows suit, frequently creating a sense of urgency, even a lack of direction, straying but never quite getting lost. On “Andover,” the band jerks and bounces like they’ve just discovered their inner Modest Mouse. Later, they transition to what begins as a sensitive duet about a long-distance relationship on “Excellent News, Colonel,” before letting the song transform itself and fall apart in a manner that is both unexpected and fitting, a microcosm of the album as a whole. Throughout the disc the band rambles along, shifting gears and changing tempos, but never betraying what is distinctly their own sound. It is a sound worth getting accustomed to; you'll likely be hearing a lot of it soon.