Deeper’s origins date back to 2014 when prior to releasing any material an abrupt line-up change left the Chicago based band looking for a new direction. Singer and guitarist Nic Gohl along with childhood friend, guitarist Mike Clawson and drummer Shiraz Bhatti threw out all of their old songs and brought on bassist Drew McBride to round out the lineup. The subsequent demos leaned on intricate guitar interplay, direct “of the times” vocals and a spirit that speaks to the band’s collective place in this pit of endless internet. Deeper honed their sound over the course of 2015& 16’ in basements, lofts, and anywhere that would have them.
Chicago’s The Hecks — Andy Mosiman (guitar, voc), Dave Vettraino (guitar/voc) and Zach Hebert (drums/voc) — have been skulking around Chicago’s DIY scene for some time now honing their unique twin-guitar sound, weaving tense and beautiful sonic passages of dissonance and harmony into weird and infectious compositions.
Throughout their debut album, The Hecks find different ways to remake/remodel pop songs through an art-rock lens – the descriptor “post punk” applies, but isn’t quite accurate. The Hecks manage to cram knowledge gleaned from years of absorbing sounds and tones both ugly and
beautiful, hitting all the wrong notes in all the wrongs ways to deconstruct sound into their own vessel. Noise drones like “Landscape Photography” and “Tea” sit comfortably amidst the more ‘traditionally structured’ tunes like “The Thaw” &“Trust and Order” as well as the apocalyptic mid-album belter “Favor” which sound like something akin to the heavens falling. The mood is perfectly represented by the cover photograph by Chicago architectural photographer Richard Nickel of a scaffolded building bathed in an otherworldly light, giving the image a surreal semblance, skewing perspective & giving the impression of the image tumbling toward the viewer.