POSTCARD ELBA

The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.

There’s something churning in this flavorful stew of hard rock. Flashes of silver, like the steel of guitar strings, pulled out of the icy depths. Thrown onto a crackling fire, hot as the electricity in those amps. And sitting around it, cooking up what they’ve caught and created, a group of good-timers enjoying it all. That group is Arctic Char, and the stew is their self-titled debut. It’s an album that hauls out many sizes of rock and roll, from classic sounds to modern, and there’s no mistaking that midwestern heart from these Indiana boys. Groovers reminiscent of the 60s and 70s pioneers. Screechers cut from the hair of 80s and 90s metal. Even a blues number, or indie rock ballad here and there. You can hear the patience in the production process. Tight and polished. The instrumentation mostly speaks for itself, but also with help from some studio seasoning, to keep it spicy. Things get pretty wild in the lyrics. Adventurers, giants, and even cannibals pop up in these stories. But there are regular people, too, with regular people problems. The ingredients of great rock tunes. When the songs are biting, the stew is plentiful, and it’s ready for your consumption.