New album: Patches || Tales We Heard From the Fields

Last year The Laughing Chimes ended up high in our year-end lists with their debut LP In This Town. Evan Seurkamp (vocals, guitars), one of the brothers of the jangle pop duo, has also started the project Patches – along with RKC (bass, backing vocals), and Aaron Griffin (guitar, percussion). The three band members wrote and recorded all songs in their various bedrooms in Austin, Texas, and they switched instrumental duties from track to track. On their first album Tales We Heard From the Fields you hear a fuller, noisier and more experimental sound than that of the Chimes – the listener has to put in a little more effort to comprehend what’s happening – but it’s also quite exciting with strong melodies. As they say themselves: “Sometimes it jangles, sometimes it fizzes, sometimes it whooshes.” They sing about close subjects – Canaries, Wet Cement, The Back of the Cupboard, Plastic and Gold, etc. – within the theme of the album title and matching the band name. The 14 original songs echo the dark ’80s, but bring light into 2022.

Tales We Heard From the Fields is out now digitally. Add to wantlist: Bandcamp