SINGER
Unhistories

There are only seven songs on this semi-psychedelic quartet’s debut, but Singer jams quite a bit of sonic information into each track. And the Chicago band does it with the simplest of implements: two noodly guitars, one throbbing bass and constantly rolling and tempo-changing drums. Oh yeah, then there’s the voices. While not challenging the Beach Boys in the mellifluous harmony department, the four members of Singer—as their moniker would imply—do indeed enjoy sidling up to the microphone together to belt out their wobbly vocal polyphony. Sounding like the result of some truly focused jams, Singer injects math-rock unpredictability into what superficially should be a freak-folk record. But on a track such as the loping, multifaceted “Please, Tell The Justices We’re Fine” (on which gentle, pastoral moments are buttressed against wending, frenzied guitar lines and propulsive, jazzy drumming), it’s very clear this is not that sort of record. Instead, Unhistories combines several idiosyncratic styles into a gem of structured improvisations. [Drag City, www.dragcity.com]

—Jason Ferguson