The Laughing Chimes were formed by Athens, Ohio siblings Evan and Quinn Seurkamp and began as a homegrown project inspired by classic jangle pop and underground influences. They have since added Ella Franks and Avery Bookman to their ranks and the quartet release their latest album ‘Whispers In The Speech Machine’ this month.
The album opens with `Atrophy` a medical term for the partial or complete wasting away of a body part. It`s full of jangly guitar riffs with a rolling beat and reminded me of early R.E.M. meets Lloyd Cole and The Commotions. There`s a hazy indistinct intro to `He Never Finished The Thought` a dreamy offering that tipped it`s hat to the formative sound of The Jesus and Mary Chain.
`Country Eidolism` has a fairly ethereal feel to it with intricate guitar chords shared throughout. The track gains more depth as it evolves and a tapped drum rim guides us along. Eidolism is the belief in ghosts or spirits and this song did have a fairly haunting sense about it. The wonderfully titled `Cats Go Car Watching` has a rhythmic rolling texture with vocals that had a kind of weariness about them.
`A Promise To Keep` has a faster pace and almost veered towards the gothic with an underlying synth tone leading us along. We enjoy a much more expansive sound on `High Beams` which I found quite mesmerising.
`Fluorescent Minds` is as the title suggests a fairly luminous composition which has a robustness about it and draws you into its captivating auditory depths. The final submission comes with `Mudhouse Mansion` which I read was built in Fairfield County, Ohio in the mid to late 1800`s and demolished just under a decade ago. It gained a reputation as a haunted house with a variety of stories associated with it. The song itself has an infectious shimmering jangly quality.
I was drawn back to the eighties with `Whispers in the Speech Machine` a time that gave me much joy as did this album. If you enjoy jangly pop come post-punk with a touch of the gothic thrown in, you`ll wallow in what The Laughing Chimes have to offer.
Rating 8/10
