Chatham Rise is the Minneapolis, MN combo of Tim, Collin, Sam, Ben and Brian. This four song EP is a perfectly fine little release – none of the tunes really stand out and all are quite good. We’ve all heard the terms shoe-gaze, goth-rock, dream-pop – all could apply here…and space-rock works too. Though, if I understand the term correctly, perhaps less shoegazey as the guitar sound isn’t quite as hazy. Still, I’m sure they have a couple pedals down there. It’s a nice spacious sound, adding some keyboards and quiet far-away vocals. They sound a lot like Spiritualized on Fall In, it begins typically with a lone guitar, before the rest of the band enter and they all lock into a nice hypnotic mellow groove, as do all of these songs…things just float and flow along. Autopilot is driven by rumbling bass, and there is a spacious texture made up of various aspects of guitar sounds and probably keys, too. The closer Hollows – if I had to choose a favorite, I’d go with this. Again, things start out with a lone slow guitar melody, and then bass and tom-toms join in and keep things slow-but-steady. I wait throughout this track to hear that really sweet bass pluck which only happens 2-3 times, during which one must be patient and appreciate the journey…good vocal, too (and even less decipherable than on the other tracks), really moody, melancholic stuff. There’s nothing new here in terms of style, but it’s still highly enjoyable.
For more info, visit: http://www.myspace.com/thechathamrise
Reviewed by Chuck Rosenberg