Every once in a while there is a Chicago and that seems to break big without me ever being aware of their existence. It doesn't happen often, but it's always a shock to get that email about a slick, huge, super-duper professional-sounding release from a band that looks like each member has their own stylist and then read the line "Chicago-based" without having a single clue who they are! This just reinforces that even in a world where I have an inordinate amount of knowledge, I still have some glaringly embarassing blind spots!
Which brings us to Brigitte Calls Me Baby, a group so slick I initially approached them with caution, thinking they might be some industry baby or whose "connections" to Chicago were tenuous at best. But a quick glance through their concert history proves they definitely cut their teeth in smaller Chicago venues, moving up the food chain in a natural manner—which means I have no excuse for having missed these cats before now.* Especially when the band in question manages to cross the drama of The Smiths with the galloping danciness of early Killers, merging a bit of theater with funkier rock and/or muscle in a way thatI found irresistable. They are of a dying breed of rock band that have no fear of gloss but still manage to make songs sound like they came from a few human's bouncing ideas off each other and not a conglomerate of sonic technicians grafting disparate parts together in search of "a hit."
Brigitte Calls Me Baby's sophomore effort Irreversible is out in early march and if you're looking for something bright, shiny and fun you should have this high on your list of new releases to check out. You can stream "Slumber Party" (and click through to pre-order) below to get a taste of what to expect. My praise of this stuff doesn't come lightly, and while I'm slightly red in the face for being so late to this party I am so glad I finally accepted the invite!
*O.K., I'm being hard on myself. I no longer go to 4-6 concerts a week, and since the pandemic my "ears to the ground" approach has been somewhat hindered by that. Though a glance through old emails proves I've definitely been sent plenty of press releases about the band, but none of them included links to downloadable music, so I ended up not digging any deeper. MY MISTAKE!
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