I was drawn to Chicago’s The Changes from a demo for “Can’t Decide” that was posted over at I Rock I Roll. For me the upbeat head-wobbling sound brings to mind Voxtrot, with a bit of vintage Walkmen in the guitars. The variety in other tracks seem to suggest that the band is still defining themselves, but “If I Tried” could be The Sea and Cake, and “Her, You and I” sounds like guitar-infused Jamiroquai. They definitely show some promise (I like the retro-rock tracks more than the poppier ones), and with some quality production I think they could be great.
: The Changes – Can’t Decide (demo) :
: The Changes – Her, You and I :
: The Changes – If I Tried :
I really like these guys sound. The combination of nouveau rock with the smooth post-rock Chicago The Sea and Cake made famous is almost formulaic.
Yeah. It looks like they only play Chicago & NYC so far, but I’d like to see them live.
Sea and Cake? Maybe. Nah. Prefab Sprout & Aztec Camera cold contact their lawyers over this one. But I hope they don’t. The Changes do it well.
[...] The Changes played a nice set recently on KEXP. The last time I checked in with them was back in January, and at the time they were working on their album, Today is Tonight, which is to be released September 26th. I see from the tracklist that they’ve abandoned my favorite demo, “Can’t Decide.” I still think they have a poppy Phoenix feel to them. Sometimes it can be a bit too polished for me, but the ones from this set are good. “Her, You And I” is solid, and the new song that wraps up the set is my favorite. They didn’t mention a title so I don’t have one. Thanks go out to KEXP for what has to be the best podcast of live performances out there. [...]