WEDDING DRESS – LOOM (RSD)

Made up of various members of Maps & Atlases, Suns, Joan of Arc and Gypsy Blood, Wedding Dress are about as Chicago as it gets. Dreamt up as side-project/outlet for Maps & Atlases guitar player Erin Elders, songs were written between tours and slowly released during his “math-pop” band’s fleeting downtime. Wedding Dress is a distinctly other affair – it’s more layered, plaintive and measured than anything in Elders’ previous catalog. The songs are textured narratives. The instrumentation is restrained and, in many ways, the project stands as a perfect counter-point to the sometimes spastic Maps. That’s not to say its a dull affair. The songs are beautiful in their sparseness, the palate is selectively lush, and the rotating set of players – both recorded and live – patiently flesh out Elders’ haunting vocals and evocative lyrics. As Elders’ primary project comes out of a busy record cycle – including over 9 months of touring – he is shifting gears to Wedding Dress. The band itself has been firming up and now features Mike Russell & Matt Lemke (Suns), Bobby Burg (Love of Everything/Joan of Arc) and Christian Dawson (Gypsyblood). The 7″ is a limited edition teaser for a full length due out in the Fall. The band has been playing out as much as possible and expects to be touring a lot through out the Summer and Fall.