Project Film Thrives With Chicago

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 7, 2011 6:40PM

Chicago indie-pop duo Project Film has come a long way in the past year. The band started out as Sam McAllister’s (Tandem Shop Records founder) side project, in which he wrote instrumental tracks for films and stored them in a folder named “Project Film.” Despite the uninspired name, the solo project expanded into a duo, released its debut album Chicago, and is now preparing to head off on tour and release a new music video.

The upcoming video will feature “Sound Sleepers” off Chicago, an album that sparked some local interest when it was released last fall. We’re not saying it’s a great album or even a unique one - it’s comprised of the type of sweet and dreamy indie pop we hear all too often. But these guys do it well, and Chicago turns out to be a solid first effort with a distinctly Midwest sound and some standout tracks (see “Motionless” and “Minneapolis”).

Project Film will kick off a brief West Coast tour in a couple of weeks. But they won’t leave without a send off - the band will perform a show at the Empty Bottle Saturday, July 16, opening for headliners Austra and supporting act Cult of Youth. And when they return, they’ll celebrate with a ‘welcome back’ show Sunday, August 14 at the Whistler. Also performing will be folk-rockers Nelken, and in typical Whistler fashion this show is free.

In the meantime, check out this behind-the-scenes footage of Project Film’s upcoming music video “Sound Sleepers":

Project Film performs Saturday, July 16 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western, 10 p.m., $10, 21+
and Sunday, August 14 at The Whistler, 2421 N Milwaukee, 10 p.m., Free, 21+