Part of what drew me to the young indie-rock bands of Chicago’s Hallogallo scene five years ago was the sense that they all approached their art with freewheeling creativity. Sure, they drew on sounds and subgenres from decades before they were born, but they weren’t burdened by anything that came before. No band in the scene captures that vibe quite like postpunk trio Uniflora. On their new debut full-length, More Gums Than Teeth (Shuga/Charm Co-op), Uniflora wrestle with snaggletoothed art-rock, sublime indie pop, and nasty noise rock. Sometimes they do it all in one song: the melody of the shaggy “Neighborhood Gourmet” bobs and sways like a dinghy in choppy water. Uniflora can convey disarray without sounding out of control. Ruby O’Brien drums with a firm, purposeful hand, and Theo Williams plays bass with slinky flair. Together they steer Quinn Dugan’s jittery, zigzagging guitars and dry vocals toward a focal point. The resulting songs have no singular sound, but an array of ideas that gel through youthful hubris and a sonic identity geared toward experimentation. Uniflora don’t share the distrust of hooks that sometimes seems endemic in postpunk, and sometimes they put the catchy parts front and center—the bare guitar riff on the too-short “From the City Circle” becomes the heart of an unexpectedly romantic melody.
Uniflora Feller and Lottie’s open. Fri 7/25, 7 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, $20, $15 in advance ($19.93 with fees), all ages
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
