Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

Wisconsin band Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts are a delightful find, but I’m still searching for a halfway decent romantic comedy

By Dan Ochwat

Since the fourth issue of this magazine, which is just shy of two years ago, I’ve called out readers to send me their DIY-music, their self-recorded albums to be reviewed. The goal was to alert Chicago of area talent.

Now, I get barraged with PR reps pushing signed groups all the time, but the focus, to reiterate, was on the unsigned, and there have been some good finds (most notably, the act that started the search to begin with, Calvin Marty, who is now with a full band called Calvin Marty and the Sunken Ship, playing a show March 20 at Matilda). However, since then, I can say I haven’t found another band that I could wholeheartedly rally behind (cue thunderous drums) until now.

Hailing from Mequon, Wisc., Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts mailed me their debut album, “Visions and Revisions,” a solid debut of Americana songs, an album that mixes up tempo and throws at you occasional ethereal headphone effects to offer up an indie feel and also freshly complement the banjos and folk guitar. It’s an album Paste Magazine would love.

For whatever reason, most of the albums sent to me are in this genre of Americana and alt-country (perhaps it’s just the audience of the magazine), but they come off more as bar bands, whereas Phalen and the Addicts definitely play a mature, well-rounded sound. To be sure, this is a first effort, and at times sounds like it, but my excitement can be pinpointed to early on in the album and a string of slower guitar ballads that, in some ways, slightly recalls Beck’s brilliant “Sea Change,” one of my favorite records. These ballads are good examples of the album’s mixture of folk with some ambient touches: “Thankfully” and “Can’t Come Down Yet,” with bouncing and bubbly effects, and the more sullen “Book” and “How I Am,” are flat out great songs.

The rest of the album fills out with satisfaction, hitting a high note with the song, “Electronic Folk/Digital Voodoo,” a rebel offshoot that sounds just like its title. Even the low points, because of the vocal effects, “I Come From the Ocean” and “Lazy Sundays,” do provide a nice tempo change.

Phalen, who wrote, arranged, recorded and engineered all of the songs, will only get better, will only grow to write even better songs, which is why Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts are a band to watch. As for right now, there is no reason this band shouldn’t be playing more of the Chicago circuit, playing Schubas or opening for Okkervil River at the Logan Square Auditorium.

You can catch them March 15 at Martyr’s, and on May 9 at The Note. To buy the album, visit www.willphalen.com or download it on iTunes.

Romantic Bludgeonings
For a quick movie note, I’m finding two disturbing trends in the romantic comedy genre. No 1: Couples are physically attacking each other for laughs. In the trailer for “Fool’s Gold,” Kate Hudson whacks Matthew McConaughey in the head with what looks like a golf club, and in the trailer for the upcoming May release, “What Happens in Vegas,” Cameron Diaz hits Ashton Kutcher in the head with some piece of fruit and levels his midsection with a baguette, while Kutcher drops her on the floor and secretly removes the toilet seat on her. The second trend: Romantic comedies really suck lately.

My guess for the two trends is the success of the somewhat grating, but admittedly funny at times, two-hour argument called “The Break-Up” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. Movie studios must think we want to see couples battling it out, but really we just want to see Vince Vaughn.

As for the failures that came out this February (the premier romantic comedy month), “Definitely, Maybe” was definitely terrible, and maybe the most overrated film of 2008. What were the critics thinking? I felt like I was watching Ryan Reynolds tell his daughter (Abigail Breslin) the longest, most uninteresting bedtime story ever told. Seriously, when they would come back from flashbacks, I half expected to see Breslin a grown woman. And to me, Ryan Reynolds looks as if you took a real film star like Brad Pitt and did the Adobe Photoshop “Twirl” feature on his face: I don’t understand the appeal. His character in the film also reached new heights of cowardice.

The screenwriting books all say that movies require conflict, and this is where romantic comedies have been failing. Every romance is based on some level of deception, and we go along with the romance, until the lie is discovered and sends the ad exec running through traffic trying to catch the girl to win her back. “27 Dresses” falls for the deception play. So, in short, here’s my plea to the readers: What is a cheesy romantic comedy I would enjoy?

Concert Recommendations
My favorite album of 2008 so far is “Real Emotional Trash,” the latest from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, and we get to relish his prize guitar solos live at the Vic on 3/21. Other top recommendations are a ticket to see the soulful strummer Bon Iver play the Lakeshore Theater on 4/10, and a little known experimental folk band called The Dodos at The Note on 4/17.

For other shows, on 3/18, The Raveonettes visit the Double Door. The next night, New York rockers Parts and Labor play AV-aerie with rockers The Big Sleep. On 3/20, French Daft Punk-esque Justice blasts the Riviera.

On 3/25, my favorite tap-dancing band Tilly & The Wall play Subterranean. A soothing double bill of Beach House and Papercuts play Schubas on 3/26, while Black Moth Super Rainbow brings on the vocoder at the Empty Bottle on 3/29.

Swedish crooner comedian Jens Lekman plays 3/31 at the Logan Square Auditorium. Rowdy pop band Born Ruffians play with an excellent hip hop act, Cadence Weapon, on 4/2 at the Empty bottle. Sure to sell out on 4/4, Spoon, The Walkmen and White Rabbits play the Vic Theater, while new “it” band Vampire Weekend expects to sell out the Metro with the underrated Yacht on 4/6. (Can you believe VW is already playing “Saturday Night Live?”)

Caribou will be drumming at the Empty Bottle on 4/11, and Tapes ‘n Tapes play the Metro that night. Two great live acts, Yeasayer (who were brilliant at Schubas in February) play with carnivalesque Man Man on 4/16 at Logan Square Auditorium, and two more pinnacle live acts team up on 4/20 with The New Pornographers and Okkervil River at the Riviera Theatre.

Keep sending me your music or anything else on your mind at danochwat@hotmail.com. I’ve also joined the MySpace army, so give The Real Chicago some love at http://www.myspace.com/danochwat

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