As Illinois near the end of their massive six EP Adventures of Kid Catastrophe, they’re combining song styles more and more. Chapters 1-3 each focused on an individual aspect of the wide-ranging band, tech in Chapter 1 (QRO review), old school-twang in Chapter 2 (QRO review), and their soft heart in Chapter 3 (QRO review). Chapter 4 (QRO review) began the second side’s change by involving all three elements, but it relied mostly on the sad Chapter 3. Chapter 5, however, puts each element on equal footing, while uniting them all in the theme of a girl leaving a boy.
The songs on Chapter 5 go in order like the first three EPs, with opener “She’s So Funny” a tech-stop rap a-la Chapter 1 from singer/songwriter/Kid Catastrophe Chris Archibald (QRO interview), about a girl leaving him for dead, in a weary, restrained attitude that Arch can pull off. The following “Old Man Rivers” goes like Chapter 2, lo-fi & low-tech, with Arch’s fuzzy vocals about waiting for a girl to come back played wryly upbeat (akin to Beck – QRO album review). And Chapter 5 finishes with the heart of Chapter 3, in the sweet, light, banjo-twang loss of “How Do You Feel”.
Even as Chapter 5 sums up and excels the band’s previous Chapters, the fifth installment of Archibald’s videos with Los Angeles’ People-Food is mostly just a montage of the fourth video, the love affair of a boy and his fish – but be sure to catch the end:
On their impressive What the Hell Do I Know? EP (QRO review), Illinois showed the ability to play different sides, and after introducing them on the first half of The Adventures, Chapter 5 lives up to them. The band is also altering their touring schedule after this, abandoning the East Coast EP release parties (and even skipped it for New York, disappointed with Fontana’s – QRO venue review – and they weren’t wrong…) to head to Austin for SXSW (QRO festival preview), and then to the West Coast, which sorely needs some Illinois love, just like Kid Catastrophe needs his girl – or fish – in Chapter 5.
MP3 Stream: "She's So Funny"
- Ted Chase
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