Search - Town & Country :: Decoration Day

Decoration Day is the second release from Town and Country, a Chicago quartet with connections to many of the city's free-improv, postrock, and other experimental notables. The group plays what might loosely be called "chamber rock," which places them in a broadly eclectic tradition ranging from the Brecht-Weillian art-song of the Art Bears to the lush neoromanticism of Rachel's and even the populist oddity of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Using acoustic instruments, including guitar, contrabass, piano, harmonium, and accordion, Town and Country's take on the art-music tradition centers around the dissonant miniaturism of Morton Feldman, and the EP's opening track neatly captures the Japanese-rock-garden quality of his style. The second track is even more restrained and ascetic. The third track, "Off Season," blossoms a bit more melodically, with two distinct sections, both structured around each instrument playing looping figures of different lengths that wend their way around one another and sync up at different spots with quite mesmerizing results. --Bob Bannister