If you're looking for the perfect soundtrack to this already chilly Chicago autumn, look no further than locally-based four-piece Cains & Abels and their debut LP, Call Me Up. The band officially released the record in May - just in time for summer - but its introspective, generally bleak style of folk rock is much more suited to the gray days ahead.
This is folk rock, but it's the darker, more daring side of genre. On Call Me Up, Cains & Abels are never afraid to come across as rough around the edges or to veer into the unpleasant or unknown. Take the violent imagery of one of the album's highlights "Killed by Birds," which includes lyrics such as, "For the bone to be lodged in my soft neck/Each time I pull back the skin I find the feathers within/Killed, killed by birds," for instance. This and other tracks such as "Warm Rock" and "Dark Days" are perfect examples of how the foursome combines the eerie with the beautiful for great results. Completing the package is David Sampson's unpolished, unsteady vocal delivery, which somehow fits the mood.
Download mp3: Cains & Abels - "Killed by Birds"
A non-album single called "My Life Is Easy" is also available for free download at catbirdseat.org.
Cains & Abels will play Schubas on Thursday, October 22 with Karl Blau and LAKE. Click here for more info and tickets.