St. James Pays Us A Visit

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 16, 2005 4:37PM

This morning, we've been running around the Chicagoist offices like mad, trying to get the place tidy. Like lots of other people this time of year, we've got family in town. Specifically, our sister (site) Austinist and a band they've been raving about called St. James. While little sisters aren’t always known for having great taste in music, this is the exception.

We were already predisposed to liking St. James when we found out their lead singer is a former Chicagoan and they’ve got a woman on bass (maybe it’s reverse sexism but we’ve had a thing about female bass players since we saw Gail Greenwood onstage with Belly in the late 90s). And it doesn’t hurt that the music on their 5-song EP pleases us greatly.

With shades of Nick Drake’s vocal stylings, lead singer Austin Hartley-Leonard takes us through songs that are perfect for our “Windows-Down Road Trip” playlist (“The Shore and Stars”) and remind us of what we like best about Badly Drawn Boy (“Drifting”) while also hinting at Kiss Me-era Cure (“Hooray For The Heart Attack”).

The quiet harmonies of guitarist Matt Ramsey and the aforementioned bassist Harmoni Kelley sneak quietly into each song and add weight to the introspective lyrics that in lesser hands would drift into LiveJournal territory. Instead, the EP is filled with the kinds of romantic mediations that adults consider as they sip their coffee and simultaneously wish they were back in college, but thank their lucky stars that they’re not.

We can’t think of a better venue for St. James than the Hideout and that’s where they’re playing tonight in a late show starting at 10 PM (if you’re looking to make an evening of it, Austinist says the Jack Pendarvis reading at 7 PM is not to be missed either). In the meantime, click over to the St. James site and download “Drifting” and “The Shore and Stars,” the first two tracks from their EP.