Modern Rituals: the tale of two coasts, one east, one west, and the story of two brothers, one called Danny and one called Michael. Complicating Chief’s story, however, are the usual gaps, omissions, lapses and contradictions. Raised in Los Angeles but relocating to New York City for university, the two brothers are supported by able-bodied songwriter, Evan Koga and Mike Moonves arriving on bass. A return trip to Los Angeles also sees them shift the focus of the story back west. And it’s a similarly restless and transitory habit that characterizes Chief’s music; a loping and satisfyingly gentle conflation of folksy whimsicality buoyed up by some sparkling arpeggios, some foot to gas choruses and more natural reverb than a five day trip down Torquay’s Kents’ Cavern. Shuffling, wide-screen opener, ‘The Minute I Saw It’ combines the purring, barely contained feedback of The Verve and the hirsuit, period harmonies of nouveau crusties like Fleet Foxes, whilst single, ‘Breaking Walls’ recovers the smoky, sumptuous gypsy hooks that Fleetwood Macs’ Rumours left so squarely in the middle of the road circa 1976. Like some of those damp, but chunky logs you threw into your patio fire basket during that two-week wet period in August, ‘Modern Rituals’ is one of those albums that smoulders fairly anonymously for a time before magically igniting and emitting the satisfying glow of a Krakatoa sunset.
The album, produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Emery Dobyns (Patti Smith, Antony and the Johnsons) goes someway toward filling the gap left by Beachwood Sparks, that Crosby, Stills and Nash album of your Dad’s you made into a frisby and that barbecue summer that never happened.
Modern Rituals released 20.10.2010.