To my relatively uncultured ears to the sounds of instrumental progressive rock fused with the intricacies of technical jazz, CHON are a reasonably new band on my radar. However, with their first full length album, they grew (haha, geddit?) in my estimations. CHON are pioneers of their style of playing; complex chords and erratic chops up and down their seven-stringed guitars' necks never seem out of place with a classic hooking riff, their single-coil sound shining through an otherwise bass-driven and dense mix. Songs like Perfect Pillow and the re-recorded Knot stand out as the most interesting musically, while the songs featuring Matt Garstka (Animals As Leaders) are the most experimental. CHON are experimental in all senses. Their guitars range from ridiculously quick to catchy to almost classical; the drums ride the odd time signatures and tempo changes with ease; even the bass is a legitimate instrument by itself. The album mix is also another scientific test - there's more headroom to the songs, meaning the drums can breathe, the low-end can growl and the guitars can really sing. The album concept is also worth a penny for your thought. While some instrumental bands just enjoy the freedom of no vocals, there can be a lack of cohesiveness behind their albums. Not so with CHON. Their natural theme (Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Nitrogen, in case you didn't know) is apparent in this record, with the band exploring the imperfect side of the natural world, songs like Splash and Fall conjuring images of the ever changing and sometimes erratic ways of nature. However, the band still doesn't seem sure of what direction it wants to move in. During their EP years, CHON's bassist also took the role of vocalist on a few songs, and in their full length album, their new bassist Drew Pelisek dons the mantle to stretch his vocal chords on Can't Wait and Echo. It seems strange for a typically instrumental band to put vocals to their intricate playing, and it puts a dampener on what the guitarist have to play with - think Intervals with the A Voice Within album.Â
While I don't dislike the vocals, and actually, Can't Wait is one of the catchiest songs on the record, I think CHON would benefit from a solid musical direction. Unless they want that to be unpredictability, which they have in abundance.
