Sunday, August 17, 2008

Bottomless Pit - Congress EP

Ok, kids:

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday and the half-posting earlier. Wedding yesterday took me out of the game and I screwed up the scheduled post for today. Here's my real two cents on the whole thing:

Bottomless Pit hail from Chicago and are a band I really wish were not around. Not that they aren't absolutely great, but were it not for the tragic death of drummer Mike Dahlquist a couple years ago, we would still have Silkworm to enjoy (as well Mike's grins). Both are missed greatly by many. Look out for the upcoming documentary Couldn't You Wait coming out (hopefully) by the end of the year.

Of course, the demise of Silkworm fostered the rise of Bottomless Pit, featuring Andy and Tim from Silkworm with Chicago luminaries from .22 and Seam. Ex-Seam drummer Chris Manfrin really shines on the tracks here. His push and pull combined with the frequency range covered by the triple threat of bass, baritone and electric guitars makes for a big sound and four great songs on Congress. Andy and Tim will never be accused of being Sam and Dave, but the stark driving sonority of their tracks fits the vocals perfectly. I believe that it was recorded at Electrical by Heather Whinna, but that's just a guess. (and a wrong one!, Jon Solomon points out that it is Greg Norman, and adds that Mr. Norman's contact info is etched into the vinyl)

If you're a sucker for tangibility, Congress is available here on 12" vinyl (45rpm) that comes with a CD of the tracks for convenience sake. You new-school kids can digital download through Comedy Minus One here or check the links below.

R

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