Spin
Reel Jem / For Real
Independent, 2007. www.reeljem.net
Columbia connection: Renee Serritella (guitar, keyboards, and vocals) graduated in ’04 with a B.A. in music (instrumental jazz).
The sound: Neo-soul/rock
The Word: Originally formed in 2004 as a back-up band for lead singer Monica Leigh, Reel Jem soon discovered its connection ran deeper, transforming the project into more of a collaborative effort. Encompassing elements of old-school R&B with new jazz, the band’s debut, For Real, is smooth and sultry. (An obvious influence on this band, Jeff Buckley, the brilliant singer/songwriter who passed away in 1997, would have been impressed.) Reel Jem is based out of Chicago and gigs locally.
—Brent Steven White
Post a Comment (0)Bumpus / All the People
AEMMP Records, 2007. www.bumpusweb.com
Columbia connection: Both Rob Polachek and Brent Pulse, the band’s horn players, attended Columbia in the late '90s and early '00s. The CD is on the college’s label, AEMMP Records.
The Sound: Pop
The Word: When Jim DeRogatis (the hard-to-please, prone-to-snarkiness pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times) likes your band, chances are you’re worth listening to. In 2001, DeRogatis named Bumpus’s Stereoscope one of the top 10 local albums. Since then, Bumpus has enjoyed an impressive amount of success, opening for brilliant hip-hop acts like Jurassic 5 and The Roots. All the People is the 11-year-old band’s fourth album. Bumpus’s easy sound conjures up Ben Harper, Jamiroquai and everything in between.
—Brent Steven White
Post a Comment (0)Soft Targets / We Hate You Soft Targets!
Rooster Cow Records, 2007. www.Soft-Targets.com
Columbia connection: Guitar player and label owner Chris Auman (B.A. ’93), graduated from Columbia’s fiction writing program.
The Sound: Post-punk/indie
The Word: Despite numerous lineups since the band’s inception in the summer of 2004, Soft Targets released this cohesive album this fall. The sound is simple, straightforward pop rock (think the Toadies meet the Pixies). The band’s previous release, Whatever Happened to Soft Targets?, an EP, received positive reviews from local press. “This four-piece just about nails an icy-cool, post-punk sound halfway between the Only Ones and Joy Division,” wrote Miles Raymer in the Chicago Reader. And bassist Dan Kiss, whose chugging baselines sound dirtier than the dirtiest White Stripes song, works a day job that seems unlikely for an older indie-rocker: He’s a Cook Country assistant public defender.
(To submit a recording for consideration in DEMO, send a CD and press release to: DEMO magazine, Columbia College Chicago, 600 S. Michigan Ave., suite 400, Chicago, IL, 60605. Priority will be given to recent recordings on a label. CDs will not be returned.)
