If I might personify the Chicago scene for a moment, he's probably growing his hair out into a ponytail, saving up to buy that new Ford Thunderbird, and wondering whether he could score with younger chicks if he ditched the wife. In people years, the ten-year-old subterranean Windy City post-everything scene has entered its middle ages and is starting to show all the inherent backwards-looking neuroses of the phase. Jim O'Rourke's hard-rocking kiss-off to the increasingly cliché jazz-rock sound on Insignificance was the initial salvo, but recently, bands like Rian Murphy's Chestnut Station and Giant Sand have also embraced the classic-rock sound. One practically expects the next Tortoise to be a collection of Styx covers.
Into this breach flies Archer Prewitt, veteran of the defunct Coctails and the MIA Sea and Cake, and possessor of the second best name in indie rock after Mr. Tobin Sprout. As both band cog and solo artist, Prewitt has done about as much as anybody to boost vibraphone sales and sculpt the dreamy, humid summer/snowy winter ambience of Chi-town's trademark sound. But now, as Three's psychedelic cover art and numerical heading seem to indicate, Prewitt's got his FM dial locked in on the sometimes-beloved, sometimes-maligned period between the Beatles and the Bee Gees.
Three doesn't mess with the Prewitt formula too much-- meaning he'll still maintain his place amongst the other artists in Amazon's "Customers who bought Elliott Smith's XO also bought..." recommendations list-- but the differences aren't hard to spot. More strident guitar and drumming, lots of tambourine and organ, a complete lack of shame when it comes to sudden string/horn overdub free-for-all. Of course, Prewitt's gentle voice keeps things from rocking with a capital R, but remember that the mid-70s were the golden age of the bell-bottom jeans singer/songwriter as well. Picture Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, and Lindsay Buckingham swapping hair-care secrets in an organic L.A. bistro circa 1974 and you're getting there.
It's a strategy shift that allows for a damn fine first-half of an album. Opener "Over the Line" (sadly, not preceded in the chorus by the words "one toke" and followed by "sweet Jesus") tricks the listener with a traditionally Thrill Jockey-esque slow riff before building momentum to a downright soulful climax peppered with Neil Young-style harmonica squawks. "Tear Me All Away" punctuates the new approach in a compact less-than-two-minutes of hyperactive strumming and harpsichord arpeggios more classical than classic. "Gifts of Love" initially comes at you with the two-chord progression and melodic bass found in 90% of the Sea and Cake fakebook, but layers on enough orchestra and flute frosting to hide the resemblance.
As with most of the 70s sensitive guy genre though, a lot of the music here toes the schmaltz line. And by the second half of Three, Prewitt's tripped right over it, landing in dangerous Neil Diamond territory. The LP closes with a quintet of excessively long number, half of which take a needlessly abrupt dogleg two minutes in; half of which droop under ponderous lyrics like, "Forever cold/ And lost in space," repeated ad nauseam. Elements like the Lambchop-brand heavenly choir female backup singers go from tasteful lime flavoring ("I'm Coming Over") to over-sweetened lemonade (cooing "oh babe, hold me" on "No Defense"). "Behind the Sun" finds Archer veering a little too close to the artist formerly known as Cat for my tastes, while "Sister Ice" is a vivid reminder of why punk was a necessary response to the excesses of 70s rock.
So Three ends up as a great EP set amongst a lot of so-so filler, damning it to the nefarious 7.x regions of the Pitchfork scale. It's an agreeable summer listen, but forgive me if yet another defection of a Chicago underground notable towards the classic-rock bin is also a wee bit troubling. Sure, the hazy Prekop/McEntire thing was moving more and more towards EZ-Listening territory, but is this what all that musical exploration comes to: tunes not far off from what Matthew Sweet was doing early last decade? Are we at the end of the line for this phase of the City by the Lake's musical progression, or are Three and its siblings a mere temporary re-assessment of roots and influences? Prepare a 3000-word essay for next week.
