Last Minute Plans: Save The Clocktower Album Release Show Friday

By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 9, 2012 7:20PM

Last year's full-length debut from Chicago band Save The Clocktower, Carousel, melded an impressive amount of indie-rock sub-genres into a cohesive whole. The band celebrates the belated release of synth-driven sophomore effort Through The Glass Friday at the Double Door.

While it's disappointing to hear the band eschew styles of genre they're really good at (dance-pop, shoegaze), Through The Glass is rewarding in that it demonstrates a band coming into its own sound—something that wasn't readily apparent inCarousel, for its highlights.

By contrast, Through The Glass is melody-driven synth-pop studious enough to ape the masters while showcasing a memorable sense of harmony that is solely its own. In the process, Save The Clocktower side-step both the overblown maximalism and the underdone, chintzy hipster-isms that have been recent hallmarks of the genre.

For an example of this dynamic at work, check out album highlight "It Happens," which is like Out of Time-era R.E.M., the Sea and Cake, and Depeche Mode all synthesizing their talents into one song.

Then check out single "Like That", which is more on the smoother pop tip:

For more details about Friday's album release show, go here. Today is the last day to use the promo code CLOCKTOWER to get tickets for half off the price at the door. So use it, or lose it, gang.

Save the Clocktower plays with .Ode., Paper Thick Walls and Twinray, on Friday, Aug. 10 at the Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave., 8 p.m.