Rockin' Our Turntable: The Handcuffs

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 14, 2008 9:15PM

The first couple of times we saw The Handcuffs they were still called Big Hello and we thought they were O.K. A few years passed, the band changed their sound a bit, and we wondered if Gwen Stefani knew someone had stolen her vocal tics. It was decent stuff, but Chicago is full of decent power-pop bands. A few more years passed and we saw the band's yet-again re-tooled line-up playing at The Note and we were blown away. It took some time, but The handcuffs finally grew larger than merely the sum of their influences.

The band's sophomore album Electroluv continues the band's evolution as core 'Cuffs Brad Elvis and Chloe F. Orwell kick out teeth rattling pop tune after pop tune. Elvis' drumming is solid as ever and Orwell has finally found a voice all her own that she wields artfully. Bassist Emily Togni and multi-instrumentalist Ellis Clark build up and around that central foundation to populate an album that doesn't belong to any specific point in time. And, if you think of it, isn't that the goal of all really good pop music.

The Handcuffs play their CD release party tonight, November 14, at The Abbey, 3420 W Grace, 9 p.m., $8, 21+