| Avclub |
 The five Chicagoans in Bound Stems sound both too innocent and too mature to cheapen their clever, jumbled pop songs with self-awareness. Most of the songs on The Family Afloat jump through their share of hooks and phases, few of which seem honed for maximum catchiness. Instead, they leave generous breathing room for Bobby Gallivan's free-associative, episodic lyrics. When Bound Stems do rear back for a punch, it lands with cutting clarity, as when Gallivan interrupts "Palace Flophouse And Grill" to shout, "Don't you try, I can see from your face you've been crying tonight." "Clear Water And Concrete" celebrates "a lucky afternoon" with a pure taste of the optimism at the album's core. Over the gentle banjo of "Winston," it's clear that the optimism doesn't come easily: "Oh, we're in a puzzle now," Gallivan sings, yet his voice offers a tug of hope. Even though it's less rousing than the album's closer, "Sugar City Magic," "Winston" is the key song. Like The Family Afloat as a whole, it reminds that a warm, ultimately mild-mannered band can strike with naked courage....full text |
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| Lostatsea |
Finally, a moment of clarity for these previously too-busy-for-their-own good Chicagoans! Touted prior to their first release, Appreciation Night, as the next evolution of Pacific Northwestern groups like Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, and highly tipped as the next "important" band to emerge from Chicago's diverse music scene, the group's debut played out like a hodgepodge of interesting ideas mixed with overly busy and hook-less arrangements that almost killed their buzz on arrival. Fortunately they soldiered on and have delivered one of the finest indie-pop records of the year.
Better late than never, 2008 finds Bound Stems finally living up to their comparisons: The Family Afloat plays like the Fiery Furnaces recreating Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antarctica from memory. I mentioned their chops right? Whereas the last album came across like the more muddled and aimless moments of Fiery Furnaces or Frog Eyes/Wolf Parade songs (all bluster, arrangement - nothing memorable even if expertly played), this record comes across like the more finely tuned pop songs from any of the aforementioned groups....full text |
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| Pitchforkmedia |
Since their inception, Chicago's Bound Stems have shown that they have the ability to write great guitar pop, but they've always wanted to do more, to add layers of complexity and tension to their catchy songs. The band's first full-length, Appreciation Night, mined a lot of charm from the clutter, though its few more linear songs stood taller than the rest. Follow-up The Family Afloat is more earnestly committed to making pop out of these tricky, occasionally incongruent parts. It's in the same carefully-cultivated messiness of their debut, but it seems to strike a better balance: The production shines, the transitions are more careful and the interludes more purposeful, the vocals are fuller and more confident, the hooks swing harder, and there's even a distinct theme. The opening track makes a trip to San Francisco sound better than Disney World, but the rest of the songs come to terms with putting down roots.
That opener, "Taking Tips From the Gallery Gang", puts Bobby Gallivan's voice right up front, with ephemeral layers of guitar fading in and out underneath. It has a typically unpredictable arrangement, but with a newfound anchor. "Happens to Us All Otherwise," meanwhile, might be the group's catchiest and most direct pop song yet, bursting with jangling guitars and innocent, pleading vocals. "Passing Bell" and "Palace Flophouse and Grill" return to the lurching, unpredictable rhythms of their previous album and EP, but Gallivan and singer Janie Porche are far less tentative vocalists and can better carry the song. (Porche only gets a bewildering, borderline angsty solo spot on "Palace"; she steps up when needed on Family Afloat, but mostly avoids the spotlight.)...full text |
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