By Ezra Lloyd
Touting elements of “progressive rock” and “indie psych,” Chess at Breakfast seems to immediately conjure some direct connection to The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
The first track taking on a few intricate rhythmic changes and really playing with the audience. I will add that this record very clearly wants to be played loudly. The only mental image of Chess at Breakfast’s live act has to be them in front of a wall of Marshall half stacks on a mountain top during a total solar eclipse. The sheer size of this album sonically is massive, and the way it plays with dynamics only makes that size more apparent.
THE GOOD
The world needs more music like this. Leaning on stylistic cues from punk, blues, rock, and even metal at times, this is the exact kind of stuff that we need to keep a fan base attached to what is ostensibly a “tradition of underground music.” Chess at Breakfast is accessible enough to draw in crowds of people who don’t just belong to one small niche, and in earnest has the power to unite a whole subsection of punk / rock that has been swirling around in basements, orphaned and disjointed for the past 10 years.
THE BAD
At times, this album can have tinges of derivation. Calling things derivative seems a bit derivative in itself in 2019, but here we go. That may be seen as a bad aspect of this album, but it could (and probably should) run as a good quality. Let’s be real, these guys are by no means as bad as something like The Black Keys (Everlasting Light by The Black Keys v.s. Mambo Sun by T. Rex — go look it up). Realistically it is up to you, and depends entirely on what you want out of this album and what your expectations are when you get to the table.
THE VERDICT
This is probably one of the best albums coming out in recent memory based on what we heard, from the production to the instrumentation to the promotion. They are running an exclusive listening party for their album to aid in promotion. Even encouraging listening parties to be a thing again is an amazing feat.
