The Chambermaids - The Chambermaids & Whatever Happened Tomorrow (2006/2013)

The Chambermaids are siblings Neil (vocals, guitar) and Martha Weir (vocals, bass) and Colin Johnson (drums). The Weirs formed the band (under the name the Shut-Ins) in 2003 in Minneapolis with a drum machine. They cut five demos, put them on their website and began playing local shows. The demo was well received at 770AM Radio K and they performed live at the station. The band has played local shows ceaselessly including appearances with K Record's Calvin Johnson, Mark Shippy of US Maple and the Wives as well as a number of other excellent Twin Cities bands. Neil is a former engineer at Pachyderm Recording Studio and is co-owner of the previously named, legendary recording studio, "Black Berry Way", known for recording bands such as Hüsker Du and The Replacements. The album was recorded at Neil's studio and was mastered by Dave Gardner (Magneto Mastering, Die Electric).

All the way from Minneapolis, it s the adoring and soaring sounds of The Chambermaids. If Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth hijacked Blonde Redhead s sound, then it might come out a smidgen like what The Chambermaids have managed to harness. Their sound is namely dirty shoegaze mixed with shiny, drifting guitar...pop? I m not sure. It s actually hard to put a label on this band, and that is most definitely a good thing. The Chambermaids have plenty of fantastic material on this album, but they sound their absolute best when they slow down, and allow their music to breathe a hollow and husky life of its own. Such is the prime example of Scraped Away , a song that is impossible to get enough of. A stalking bass line clutches at straws whilst the post-punky vocals of Martha Weir haunt the absolute f*ck out of the song. Seriously, it s like a ghost is crying for vengeance in the more snarling parts of Scraped Away , like a haunted house is being lowered over your head and burying you in reverb-drenched horror. Likewise, Flight of Cranes shows a band with a sound consciously spiralling out control. The My Bloody Valentine influence plays out steadily as the undercut bravado of guitar juxtaposes the quietly haunted nature of the rest of the song, pain echoing resoundingly, especially in the final moments of the song. Flight of Cranes pulls you like Poseidon s tides, washing your brain out with perturbed layer after perturbed layer of harrowing noise. Soundly Sounds