Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Nobody will ever confuse Pit Er Pat with a reggae band (though they do toss in a fractured digital dancehall riddim on “Trod-a-Long”), but on High Time drummer Butchy Fuego and bassist Rob Doran have chilled way out, at least compared to the occasionally somewhat spastic, overbusy rhythms of the group’s earlier work. And primary vocalist Fay Davis-Jeffers spends more time weaving airy electric-guitar lines into the mix than she does hammering down her usual keyboard riffs–when she does play keys, as on “My Darkers,” it feels much calmer and more atmospheric. Album closer “The Good Morning Song” presents an unlikely marriage–the most beautiful and layered wordless vocal harmonies the group has ever attempted, lovingly cradled by a swirling loop of marimba that’s anchored to a surprisingly powerful descending bass lines–and it’s a total knockout.
I haven’t seen the group play live in a while, so I can’t say how much of this they’re able to pull off onstage. You’ll have a chance to find out tonight, when the group opens for DMBQ at the Abbey Pub. The show kicks off Pit Er Pat’s U.S. tour and will probably be your last chance to catch them here for a couple months.
