Souled American

One of the great unsung Chicago bands. A big fave from back in the day and something I always enjoy immensely whenever I revisit it. A definite must-check-out for anyone with any Alt-Country, Roots, or Outsider leanings.

They're kind of hard to describe, some people mention acoustic Dead when talking about them, but I am not the person to make that call. The word deconstructed was also used a lot in press. They seem to be John Prine fans, and somewhere I heard they started out as a reggae band. It features some very peculiar bass playing that sticks in my head for days after I hear it. If that piques your curiosity you can get all their stuff here, Their debut "Fe" is my personal pick for nostalgia but "Flubber" and "Around the Horn" are also very, very good and perhaps better starting points. You'll know pretty quick whether you're in or not, and if you're not you'll probably be mortified.

On their last three LPs "Sonny", "Notes Campfire", and "Frozen" the music gets purposefully sparse and even slower, and the atmosphere gets worked to an almost post-rock like quality, which I think is a pretty fucking cool thing for a band that covers "Rock that Cradle Lucy" and "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain". I would be curious to hear what you guys think of it.