Melochrome - Stay A Little Longer

by Geraint Jones

published: 21 / 1 / 2002

Label: Loose Thread
Format: CD

Second album of Chicago based Melochrome features guest appearance from Lambchop's Deanna Varagona on baritone sax and cello and "is a warm and intimate album, abundant with sonic riches."

Review

‘Stay A Little Longer is the 2nd album by Chicago-based Melochrome. Again released on their own Loose Thread Recordings imprint, they apparently spent 2 months recording it compared to just 14 days on their debut. Based on the results here it sounds like it was 8 months well spent! Far from being overly indulgent, which is often the case when bands are allowed so much time in the studio, ‘Stay A Little Longer’ is a warm and intimate album, abundant with sonic riches. Recorded as a 5-piece, although one member has since departed, together with a smattering of guests including Deanna Varagona from Lambchop on baritone sax and cello, the band’s instrumental diversity and musical aptitude has conjured an album of conversely complex structure yet simple accessibility. Written primarily by main vocalist/instrumentalist Pramod Tummala,‘Stay A Little Longer ‘ is awash with analogue warmth with its broad use of keyboards and synthesisers. And they’re not afraid to use their guitars either! Add to the mix some lovely vocals and deceptively simple melodies, which despite a multi-layered frequently dense core also allows plenty of space for the songs to breathe and you’ve the making of something quite special. Imagining a collaboration between Air, Low and My Bloody Valentine might give you a hint of where Melochrome are possibly headed. Then again it might not. Either way, at just 9 songs and a very precise 45 minutes duration, by the time it’s over you’ll most likely wish the album would 'Stay A Little Longer’.