Listen/Watch: Macie Stewart - "Finally"

photo by Ash Dye

 

When I was introduced to Chicago experimental rock duo Ohmme a couple years ago, I remember reading that singers/multi-instrumentalists Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart were accomplished musicians in their own right who kind of found each other and birthed the band. While just hearing how their voices and their guitars seamlessly intertwine is certainly enough to back up that assertion, I was surprised to discover that unlike Cunningham, Stewart hadn't released a solo album. Fortunately that changes with "Finally", the first single from Stewart's debut Mouth Full of Glass. "Finally" is an introspective reverie, simultaneously sparse and lush featuring collaborator Lia Kohl on cello, as Stewart effortlessly balances violin, guitar, and vocals. Even as the track builds in intensity, there's a pervasive gentleness both lyrically and in Stewart's arrangement, as Stewart gently takes herself to task - "I'm wrong and I know it, but not willing to show it", Stewart sings and it's the lightness of the delivery that sets the stage - Stewart doesn't need to be brusque or forceful to get her point across, her tenderness is reassuring in an of itself. "Finally" is a song about coming to face to face with realizations but avoids the obvious drama that could wrought from it with something a little more unexpected. It's a meditation on the self - and the track expands into a wider lens, a clearer picture like a thought taking shape. It's a graceful blooming that evolves into increasingly sensuous sounds and which Kohl perfectly encapsulates in lyric video she crafted for the song. 

 

Macie Stewart's debut album Mouth Full of Glass is out September 24th on Orindal Records. You can pre-order the record on limited edition glass or black vinyl, cassette or digital here. 

Listen: Ohmme - "Peach"

photo by Alexa Viscius

With their previous singles "Icon" and "Water", Chicago experimental duo Ohmme, offered up an introduction to both their sound and their upcoming full length debut Parts with a display of versatility. The caustic guitars of "Water" balanced effortlessly with the pristine unencumbered beauty of the duo's vocals lines already a worthwhile display of Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart's embrace of opposites in motion, when contrasted to the resplendent pop hooks of "Icon" showed a band that truly intended to but their best foot forward. With "Peach", the third single, from their upcoming full length album, Ohmme continue to lean wholeheartedly into their spirit of experimentalism. "Peach" essentially splits the difference between "Icon" and "Water", featuring jangly complex guitar lines, clattering percussion, and surreal lyricism. Unlike "Icon" which achieved a subtly glide into it's more abrasive instrumentals, "Peach" offers them up immediately and unrelentingly as the duo balance the song's various moving parts with elongated verses, bursts of harsher elements, and the duo's characteristic ability to use their more gentle vocal lines as a ballast in the cacophony.



Parts, the debut full length from Ohmme is out August 24th on Joyful Noise Recordings. You can pre-order the record here.

Listen: Ohmme - "Water"

Last month when Chicago experimental pop duo Ohmme announced their much anticipated debut full length album Parts, they shared album opener and first single "Icon": a brighter, more pop rooted cut than the occasionally folky, more darkly textured tracks of their self-titled debut EP. Though not quite a completely jarring shift, it did display that Ohmme's game plan for the full length would be much more of opening themselves to different than doubling down on what they've already offered. Though "Icon" featured more consonant guitar riffs in line with Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart's impeccable vocal harmonies, the duo didn't completely divorce themselves from abrasiveness as the song takes a dramatic tonal shift and incorporates some of those angular, rougher hewn elements. 

"Water", our second taste of the duo's full length, is a dip into turbulent waters once again. It's an experiment in opposites as Cunningham and Stewart's guitars cut aggressive shapes alongside Matt Carroll's similarly intense drumming while their vocals stream out in clean arcs. Ohmme established early on a knack for blending seemingly conflicting, dissimilar textures, and somehow finding a way to stitch them together into a cohesive musical tapestry and "Water" is no different as Cunningham and Stewart take grit, add propulsive energy, and essentially end up creating glass. "Water" is brief but severe musical science experiment happening in real time and the result is a work of art equal parts crude and elegant: the brilliant cacophony giving way to its beautiful, crystalline climax.   

Parts, Ohmme's debut full length album, is out August 24th on Joyful Noise Recordings. Pre-orders are available for the record now.

Listen/Watch: Ohmme - "Icon"

photo by Maren Celest

When I was first introduced to Chicago based experimental duo Ohmme last year from fellow experimental duo Ahleuchatistas, I was immediately taken not only with their impeccable vocal harmonies but the effortless blend of abrasive, dissonant guitar parts and the gentle flow of their vocal lines. Ohmme's ability to methodically blend disparate parts into something incredibly engaging as well as challenging, made me fall hook, line, and sinker for their unique band of meticulously crafted experimental rock pop.

Considering my introduction to them laid in the dark pop jangle of "Woman", the first thing I noticed in the pastel-colored music video for Ohmme's new single "Icon" was not just the visually brightness but also tonal one. The guitar lines are cleaner, Sima Cunninham and Macie Stewart's vocals lighter in tone and delivery. It's slightly surprising considering Ohmme largely rooted themselves in darker palettes on their debut EP. But intensely capable as both songwriters and composers, Ohmme's decision to turn the lights on in "Icon" doesn't take away from the fact that the duo are skilled purveyors of intricate rock pop.

The music video, directed by Elijah Alvarado, makes humorous reference to this newfound stylistic change as Cunningham and Stewart clad in their dark clothing navigate an aggressive brightly colored birthday party thrown for a dog by its owner attended by suit clad guests with balloons for faces. Cunningham and Stewart smile and make polite conversation but a casual eye-roll here and there and frequent attempts to dodge the guests let you know their interactions are more out of social obligation than enjoyment. Though all of their reactions to the birthday good boy and its owner seem genuine. All the time Cunningham and Stewart sing about a nameless protagonist's appetite for destruction with a penchant for dark conversations topics who ties to portray herself as softer and more ladylike.

Then halfway through, the guitar shifts tone and Cunningham and Stewart are bathed in dim colors and red light. Earlier instances of balloons being popped become more obvious as the duo beginning delighted popping balloon much to the horror of the balloon-faced guests. Not only is it hilarious but from its very opening lyric - Ohmme and Alvarado ensure "Icon" syncs both in visual and musical  composition. The song's frequent disgruntled references to balloons becomes a significant part of the video's aesthetic and Ohmme flirt with new sound styles pairing breezy melodies and textures with dynamic tonal shifts. It's a great offering at what they duo are capable of and should properly excite anyone who hears the new single or sees the video about their new album Parts which is out later this year.
   


Parts, the debut full length record from Ohmme, is out August 24th on Joyful Noise Recordings. You can pre-order the record now.

Pitstop: OHMME

photo by Michael Salisbury

My discovery of Chicago duo OHMME (formerly Homme) is a combination of constantly seeing former Red Eye Chicago writer Josh Terry gush about them and actually hearing their song "Woman" off their self-titled EP used by Ryan from Ahleuchatistas to promote a show he's playing with them later this month. While I certainly should've jumped on the suggestion the countless times Josh Terry inadvertently recommended them, it was actually hearing them that led to me being instantly charmed.

Though there's probably tons that can be said about the serendipitous linking of Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart though the free improv scene in Chicago, the main focus should be on the fact that Cunningham and Stewart create songs that achieve a pitch perfect balance between indelible pop melodies, experimental sounds, and gorgeous vocal harmonies. Take "Woman" which begins with sharp guitar jangle before the duo's vocals enter with perfect harmonic softness, it's an immediate juxtaposition of opposites. That's to say nothing of the sweet dissonance of the song's chorus. OHMME are a band of opposites but also a band able to blend together those very parts in something notable. At once abrasive then soothing, OHMME is a dynamic band that filters their various influences into an intricately layered avant pop masterpiece.



The duo are able to weave together a sound that seems a hell of a lot bigger than just two people can make. Like "Fingerprints" which you swear is the result of some wonderfully deployed vocal effect but is really just the sound of Cunningham and Stewart being effortless in sync as they rapidly play off each other. It's a level of mind-boggling synchronicity that immediately brought to mind Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius or frequent Son Lux collaborators Lily & Madeleine. And yet, OHMME is thankfully a band all their own. Their self-titled EP is a stunningly versatile work filled with both aggressive rock pop numbers and mellower vocal showcases sometimes even in the course of the same time like see-sawing "Furniture".



OHMME have been creating music together for years and their EP is a testament to both the talents Cunningham & Stewart and the seemingly limitless creativity of their bond. Hopefully it's not another three years before the duo put out another record but if it takes that long to get a record as unique and enjoyable in sound as the EP, it'll be well worth the wait.



OHMME's debut self-titled record is out now on Fox Hall Records. You can snag it via the band's Bandcamp.