Familiarize Yourself

It has come to my attention that I have yet to actually write about a Chicago band on here, which has made be kind of feel out of touch with the local scene a bit. So, I guess it is just my luck that I’ve recently been turned onto Castevet, who were actually recommended to me by a fan of the site. After a few listens of their debut full length Summer Fences, I was hooked on their unique, interesting style. If Castevet’s sound was a cocktail, it’d be a pretty easy recipe to follow:

The Castevet
2 parts 90’s Emo (Cap’n Jazz, American Football)
1 part Beardcore vocals (Small Brown Bike, Hot Water Music)

Shake well. Served best in a crowded basement or art space.

Despite the simple ingredients, the four piece’s sound is complex as Summer Fences is quite instrumental based and all but one song exceeds the 5-minute mark. Their sonic dynamic was enough for Deckfight.com to called them “the balliest band in punk rock”.

All the while, Castevet holds a distinct Midwestern feel, and they reminded me a lot of fellow Chicagoans, Colossal. With that said, the band brings to the table a sound that is very welcoming that could be easily accepted by a wide range of music listeners, and they are already drawing a lot of critical praise from both indie rock and punk critics. Because of their unique sound, the band was recently signed to UK-based Big Scary Monsters (Kevin Devine, Anathallo), and their upcoming record The Echo & The Light will be the label’s first US release. After just completing a short Midwest and East Coast tour, Castevet will be holding a record release show for this forthcoming album January 30th at the Subterranean with Into it. Over it., Native, and Bob Nanna & Lauren Lo. Keep a look for this band because I have a feeling that are going to be getting a lot of press following the release of The Echo & The Light.

Listen to two tracks off their forthcoming album, The Echo & The Light here.

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