Singer

by Jason LymangroverMore concerned with bringing originality back to rock than crafting hooks, Chicago indie rockers Singer create music that is nearly as unorthodox as their moniker. In their songs, lyrics are fragmented and disconnected, and the structures are unconventional ones that meander around rhythms and never quite build to melodies or noticeable choruses. Even though the instrumentation of the band is traditional (bass, guitars, drums, and the occasional Rhodes part), the primary focal point in their music is a winding vocal falsetto line sung by all four members. Before the group came together, Robert Lowe, Todd Rittman, Adam Vida, and Ben Vida made themselves known as musicians while playing clubs in local bands in Chicago. Adam Vida and Todd Rittman's prior art-punk band, U.S. Maple, was starting to peter out, so they decided to recruit Adam's brother Ben, who had been playing in Bird Show and Town and Country. Their first practice was not a good showing, and Ben was unable to meld with the other bandmates, who had already established a tight playing style from years of playing together. Instead of giving up, they brought in Lowe, who had previously collaborated on tour with Ben in his solo project. With the group rounded out in a strangely uneven chemistry, the music began to take on a unique shape and they started stapling together some splintered songs that borrowed heavily from freak folk culture, psychedelia, and free jazz, as well as indie rock. Indie haven Drag City took notice of Singer's work and added them to the label's roster just before releasing the group's debut album, Unhistories, in March of 2008.