Tall Grass Captains of Greater Chicago
She Moved Through
Ubique

Once a while a disc pops out of my mailbox unveiling shimmering pearls, tickling sercets, and staggering beauty. She Moved Through by the Tall Grass Captains of Greater Chicago is a disc like that. A true pop gem.

Tall Grass Captains of Greater Chicago (TGCoGC) is a one man project and the captain's name is Mark Mattson, a part time (?) member (guitarist, producer) of punchy indie-rockers Grenadier, whose debut album Hand Offensive is well worth checking out. Mattson has formed the Ubique collective along with comrades Craig Swafford (drums, percussion, keyboards - as well as, according to the press sheet, providing devil's advocate services) and Jeremy Heroldt (Grenadier enfant terrible). Apart from a line of bass-buddies joining in, and Swafford handling sticks, Mattson seems to have done everything else. Which means, besides playing a bunch of instruments, he's written a damn fine album. As he says:
"For this records I was thinking of song-cycle-type records like the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle with its majestic melancholy, or the Unicorn album by Tyrannosaurus Rex, before they became T-Rex--so serious and fantastical at the same time. I admire artists like the Circulatory System, Neutral Milk Hotel, or the Flaming Lips who do such an ingenious job of taking an almost baroque approach to rock music while still creating work that's timeless, hard-driving, valiant and moving."

She Moved Through is an impressive album. "Her Love Has Time Defied" is a blast of a pop song. Fabulous! And the ambitious ballad "World Exploding" is a treasure, even though it's a balancing act outfighting (referring to the press sheet) the AM pop Mattson never got over listening to in his early 70s childhood. Treading water over cliche reefs. And surviving. "Queen of a Million Blinking Eyes" is another grandious pop song. The majestic, 6 minute long "Our Lady of Perpetual Motion" ends the album in the best way. Making you sit back, quite relaxed, even though the album's happy-sad feel. Some perfect melancholia. Giving you this urge of wanting to go through She Moved Through from the top again. Ace. Visit, and buy the album. File between Built To Spill, Grandaddy, Olivia Tremor Control, Posies, Zombies. It's a great album by Capt. Mattson. File at will!

Copyright © 2005 Håvard Oppøyen