The 1900s - Medium High
Medium
High, the 28-minute new mini-album from Chicago psych-pop
troupe The 1900s, is a collection of outtakes, b-sides and
radical re-imaginings. Darker, less poppy and looser than
previous releases, the mix of songs was recorded at various
times, places and with various people, and manages to form
a surprisingly cohesive and unique addition to the 1900s catalog.
The majority of these songs were written long before the debut
EP, Plume Delivery,
was ever released. "Collections," "Making Love
In Summertime" and "Will In Firm Fashion" were
the very first songs the band wrote and played together in
a damp, rented basement in Chicago's West Side back in 2005.
With a couple rosters shake-ups since then and now, Medium
High finds the band purging its sometimes dark past –
making way for a new direction and new album, which they are
currently in the process of recording. Accordingly, the songs
deal with characters who find themselves in uncertain, in-between
moments in their lives. "When I Say Cohen" (a Leonard-inspired
live recording of the band's single "When I Say Go"),
"Will" and "Face I Know" (a psyched-out
version of Cold &
Kind's dreamy "Supernatural"), all tell of epic
physical journeys, while "Collections", "Age
Of Metals" and "Making Love" explore deep-seeded
emotional conflicts.
Medium High again finds The 1900s proving to never
be in short supply of surprise.
The Onion AV Club:
"The Chicago collective finds the connecting point
between Stereolab, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and
high-lonesome bluegrass."
URB
Magazine/Next 1000/Artist Profile:
"It’s been over 40 years since the Zombies released
their chamber-psych-pop classic Odyssey and Oracle, but don’t
tell that to Chicago band the 1990s... However, the 1900s
aren’t strictly a retro throwback, their tight and bouncy
pop songs recall Belle & Sebastian’s recent output
or the mellower tracks on the New Pornographers’ Challengers."
Visit
the 1900s website
and then check them out at MySpace.com
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