June Cleaver & the Steak Knives: A Place Where Nobody Goes
(Independent)Although their previous album hit the decks all the way back in 2004, it would be inaccurate to say prog heroes June Cleaver & the Steak Knives have been idle. Multi-instrumentalist brothers Christopher and Patrick Bradley have produced and scored animated film shorts, while working out of their respective homes in Chicago and Accord. Their new album packs quite a punch, with 15 fresh tracks of genre-busting rock. The Bradleys create a dense soundscape that draws on the atmospherics of new wavers like Echo & the Bunnymen as well as concept-heavy forebears like Frank Zappa and Radiohead. "Infallibility of the Knife," is a reverb-and-electronica-flavored meditation of the dark side of human nature. "Haunting Me" is driven by an eerie keyboard figure and the guest vocals of Marianne Taskick. Connoisseurs of eclectic, quirky pop will find much to enjoy here.