Ethers Ethers Vinyl

Chicago based Ethers release their eponymous debut album, featuring former members of Heavy Times, Radar Eyes, Outer Minds. 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.

Ostensibly it’s a local rock group made up of friends and former bandmates, but it’s also a testament to how simplicity and the familiarity of working with a group of collaborators over a stretch of time can eventually lead to catching lightning in a bottle. After the dissolution of his band Heavy Times, guitarist & songwriter Bo Hansen joined forces with husband & wife musical/life partners Russell Calderwood & Mary McKane & drummer Matt Rolin to concoct what would become Ethers’ 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 & mastered by Melbourne legend Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring), the spartan production allows the songs to be the main focus.