Chin Up's latest blends and collides

The band merges sounds and vocals — only sometimes successfully.

By Jordan Hickey

Published Oct. 13, 2006

On Chin Up Chin Up's third major label release, This Harness Can't Ride Anything, collision and cohesion are everything.

When two vocalists sing together, nine times out of 10, it's possible to identify one from the other, either because of a variation in the natural sound of the voice or because they are singing different melodic lines. But all throughout the album, the primary vocal lines of Jeremy Bolen and Nathan Snydacker are fused into one. Even when apart, the two sound so much alike that it is often difficult to discern which of them is singing.

When the typical hoarse, desiccated style that is most often associated with Chin Up Chin Up, (specifically on their debut album We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers,) is modified into one of a much higher pitch, as on "I Need a Friend With a Boat," each two vocalists modify their voices to imitate each other.

The lyrics themselves are a reflection of the bent and somewhat unsure vocal lines as they describe a search for self-meaning, something seen best in the line, "I've been looking for something/ For something for miles" from "We've Got to Keep Running."

The music itself flows well for the most part. The omnipresent drum set is always to be found in the background as it follows and supports the lines of the guitars as they are strummed and plucked.

The non-drum set percussive elements of the album are always remarkable. The first track, "This Harness Can't Ride Anything," begins with the clicking plucking of a guitar that sounds remarkably like an old popping toy, except with direction and less sporadic clicks.

On "Stolen Mountains," the chaotic yet playful line of the upper range of a marimba that sounds like rain drops appears at first to be random, but upon closer listening, patterns start to form.

The transitions from one track to another are seamless and inspired, such as that from "Blankets Like Beavers" and "Landlocked Lifeguards," which flows easily from one into the next.

Regardless of the blending that might be found in the two musical entities of the album, when they come together as one, they collide. The movement of vocals and instrumentals do not always appear to get along well with their counterparts. It's as if seams might be seen if the music were able to pass before the eyes of the audience.

Bolen and Snydacker's vocals might cooperate and blend into one, but they do not always get along with listeners' ears. In many of the tracks, the voices assume a rather atonal value and are simply annoying to listen to.

The different musical aspects on the album occupy different realms and, although they might sometimes clash and bite at each other, they find some dissonant forms of harmony and equilibrium as the album progresses.

Album Review:
Artist: Chin Up Chin Up
Album: This Harness Can't Ride
Genre: Indie Rock
Record Label: Mock & Roll Records
Released: Oct. 10
Most Listenworthy Track: 'Stolen Mountains'
Reviewer's Rating: 3 out of 5