The Chapin Sisters

Two

mandy — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:00:00 +0000

I would not be the least bit surprised to learn that the ability to write a catchy pop song is a hereditary trait, in addition to being a skill developed over time. That definitely seems to be the case with Los Angeles sister duo Chapin Sisters. Their lineage is chock full of singer-songwriters, including their father, Tom Chapin, and their more well-known uncle, the late Harry Chapin, who wrote and performed “Cat’s In the Cradle.” With their self-produced second full-length release, fittingly titled Two, the Chapin Sisters prove themselves to be worthy predecessors, albeit ones in need of a bit more practice.

The pair has keen ears and seem to know something about what can make pop music truly transcendent. Remember a couple of years back, when it seemed like every indie artist and her mother was covering the Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy?” That’s because the song had a great beat with familiar yet poignant lyrics—a winning combination for any pop classic. Similarly, the Chapin Sisters were one of many groups in the mid-aughts to cover a song made famous by Britney Spears. They first garnered a bit of buzz in 2006, with their heavenly slowcore folk version of Spears’ “Toxic.”

Abigail and Lily share duties on songwriting, as well as vocals, guitars, keyboards, and percussion; separately, Lily is on banjo and Abigail plays the flute. The album also features performances from Louis Stephens of Rooney (with whom The Chapin Sisters have recently toured), and Jesse Lee and Josh Diamond of New York experimental band Gang Gang Dance. The lyrics are chock full of sweet deceptively simple language, and often skirt that very fine line between effortlessly crafted enduring pop and too-familiar schmaltz. Every song seems to start out basic, with either just voices or sparse instrumentation, then starts to build up, taller and bigger with more sound – more horns, more percussion, more harmonies. It works well, so long as you choose to block out the fact that almost every song is following that formula.

Despite Two having been recorded in the New Jersey woods, there is a very Fleetwood Mac quality to The Chapin Sisters. Let me explain: Fleetwood Mac started as a British blues/folk band then, with the addition of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, became known as the quintessential California band. As with The Mac, The Chapin Sisters combine tight harmonies, traditional British folk sounds, a vaguely haunted aesthetic and a gentle airiness. Excellent examples include “Sweet Light,” “Paradise,” and “Palm Tree.” Meanwhile, “Digging a Hole” sounds less Nicks-style “Gypsy” and more genuine world-music-style gypsy. The flute is put to good use on this track, which sounds like it should be sung around a campfire.

Overall, the songs on Two are the sort that make you want to stand in a the middle of a field or dark concert hall while wearing a long skirt that you grab at the corners as you swish and sway in place, set adrift on the ocean of sound.

Written by: M. Brianna Stallings, March 4th 2011

Oh, Hear the Wind Blow

brittany — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:00:00 +0000

By The Chapin Sisters

Lake Bottom Records

The West Coast, indie feel to the Chapin Sister’s album Oh, Hear the Wind Blow could easily have made it my pick for this year’s perfect summer album. Sadly, it’s September as I write this, and soon flip-flops will make way for boots. However, I suggest you squeeze the last rays out of summer with this album.

The Sisters are nieces of musician Harry Chapin and the daughters of Tom Chapin. Their musical family and the thorough musical training they received as a result shines in their pieces. Simple instrumentation, easy-going rhythms, and the sisters’ reedy and mellow harmonies carry on the tradition of American music while incorporating a modern-folk-pop flavor. On some tracks, Abigail and Lily are joined by their other sister, Jessica Craven. Their instrumentalists are The Brothers Brothers: Dan Horne on bass, Louis Stephens on the keys, and Aaron Sperske on the drums.

Their tambourines and “ooh wa’s” on “Left All Alone,” echo the style of Zooey Deschanel, currently in vogue as the lead singer of the band She + Him (with whom the Sisters toured this last spring). The lilting melody and Stephens’ stylings on the keyboard of “Let Me Go” and the slowly rollicking guitar progression on “Palm Tree” drew upon the sound of their uncle’s generation. The exposed melody and chant line of “Digging a Hole,” combined with the almost tribal percussion stands out as the most unique song on the album. The lyrics are worth a listen as well, drawing on an attitude of strength and folk-inspired images of the natural world.

From the lovely handmade appearance of the cover art to the familiar and familial bond of perfect harmony, this album carries the Chapin signature and fuses it with the new era of American music.

Written by: Cristin Colvin, September 11th 2010

Lake Bottom LP

admin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:44:00 +0000

By The Chapin Sisters

Plain Recordings

The strong and lovely voices of the Chapin Sisters offer a raw, deep-down quality to Lake Bottom LP. Listeners who have ever found themselves betrayed by a lover will relate; a theme of troubled love runs through all eleven tracks. The sisters sing about temptation, jealousy, promises kept and broken, loneliness, and longing. Of course, the approach is not feeble or helpless. Rather, honesty and courage abound as needs are identified and communicated, and true feelings and desires are brought to the surface and proudly declared.

The main message is not anti-man or anti-lover; it’s actually very pro-self. The variety of music styles makes this album especially fun to listen to. Lilting harmonies and heartfelt lyrics result in an ear-catching mix of songs. The desperate, begging pleas of “Kill Me Now” complement selections like the catchy (but still melancholy) “Shady River" - the chorus of which stayed with me for days. While this is a perfect post-breakup album, it will be equally appreciated by those not in the midst of heartbreak drama. If you haven’t had a chance to give the Chapin Sisters a listen yet, be sure to check out Lake Bottom LP for a thorough taste of their style.

Written by: Amanda Moss, July 26th 2008

Lake Bottom LP

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:07:00 +0000

By The Chapin Sisters

Plain Recordings

The Chapin Sisters are a trio of gifted recordings artists who have managed to reinvent the love song by incorporating a touch of irony into their modern interpretation of folk- and roots-inspired pop. On their first full length album, Lake Bottom LP, the sisters have created songs that are defined by beautiful melodies and inventive take on the subject of love and all of its consequences, in the tradition of Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, and the Be Good Tanyas.

The trio is composed of singer-songwriters Abigail and Lily Chapin, as well as Jessica Craven, and the album has a deceptively simple musical style. The lead song, “Let Me Go,” lets the listener know just what kind of treat they are in for, and “Kill Me Now” and “Can’t We Please” are other particularly memorable tracks. It is refreshing to hear an album of recorded music sung by talented singers who are capable of performing both lead vocals and harmonizing without the intervention of heavy-handed production (and choreography and light shows). I found myself singing along at the first listening, and every subsequent time I turned on the album.

Talented musicians, these women create an interesting contrast by pairing sweet and sleepy acoustic guitar with occasionally blunt lyrics that echo your thoughts after that date, that really bad conversation, that phone call that didn’t happen, or that run-in at the neighborhood coffee shop... You know the one I’m talking about.

Written by: Ruth Cameron, April 16th 2008