Cheer-Accident
Skin Graft Records
Chicago's Cheer-Accident came together by accident over
"cheers" in the first moments of New Year's Day, 1981, though only one member of the band's initial incarnation -- Thymme Jones -- remains today. The band started out as a three-piece comprised of drums, piano, and stream-of-consciousness vocals, then went on to try on a variety of sounds over the years. By the late '80s, Cheer-Accident had settled on a more or less consistent lineup that included multi-instrumentalist Jones (also an occasional member of Gastr del Sol, US Maple, Brise-Glace, and You Fantastic!, among others), guitarist and occasional producer Phil Bonnet, guitarist Jeff Libersher, and bassist Chris Block. The only significant change over the next decade-plus would be the exit of Block and the entrance of former Flying Luttenbachers and Brice-Glace member Dylan Posa.
By the '90s, Cheer-Accident had refined and developed one of the most unique musical aesthetic in recent memory: erumpent, endlessly layered noise collages that hit you with volcanic force. It starts with guitars, usually two or three of them, and busy energetic drums, and builds into a madness of beautifully arranged layers that include a noble-sounding trumpet, a madman harmonica, multiple keyboards, tape loops, and extremely occasional and always inscrutable vocals (and often still more instrumentation, including flute, piccolo, trombone, and Moog organ). Cheer-Accident makes transitions from hypnotic minimalist drone to dissonant jazz improvisation to a kind of deconstructed prog rock effortlessly, gracefully, and often on multiple occasions during the course of a piece. In a Chicago music scene crowded with self-styled innovators, Cheer-Accident is a consummate original.
Or stood. Guitarist and respected local producer Bonnet died of a brain aneurysm in February 1999. Shortly before his death, Cheer-Accident finished recording its seventh full-length, Salad Days, with esteemed producer Steve Albini (with whom the band had recorded on numerous occasions beginning in 1988). Though the band's future is in question, this eccentric, lovely album serves as a nice introduction to a dense, varied, remarkable catalogue.
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
09/05/01
Salad Days
InsomniaGraphic DepressionGraphic Depression 2Post-PrematureSalad Days
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