Almost 25 years after he helped start Nation of Ulysses, every subsequent project involving singer Ian Svenonius (The Make Up, David Candy, Weird War, etc.) has been consistently defined by his oversized, agitprop-fueled personality. His current band, Chain & the Gang, is an interesting chapter in his storied career, as the band’s singing duties are now shared largely by new co-vocalist Katie Alice Greer. Even so, Svenonius’ voice, whether literal or figurative, dominates throughout. So, if you’re put off by Svenonius’ hyper-earnest, politically-obsessed, punk-R&B posturing, then C&tG’s third album In Cool Blood is not likely to be your bag, even when he’s not singing. But even if you’re not a fan of Svenonius, C&TG is worth a listen if only because the band focuses on some of Svenonius’ most tried-and-true talents: namely, he’s a pretty funny guy who gets the biggest laugh when you can’t tell if he’s being funny or not, and his pained political platitudes work pretty well on top of a straightforward 60s-rock backbeat. In Cool Blood (get it?) finds Svenonius reaching a comfortable groove that’s equal parts humor, cultural criticism, and boogie.
Svenonius’ last group, the sci-fi/psychedelic/subversive Weird War, was the most out-there of all his projects, in terms of concept and musicality. With Chain & the Gang, he’s reigned it in quite a bit. The band’s playing is much more along the lines of the Make Up’s just-learned approach (remember that band’s guitarist and drummer had just taken up their respective instruments upon starting the group). The combination of In Cool Blood’s unadorned musicianship and witty, sing-songy vocals gives the album a kind of “Schoolhouse Rock against society” vibe.
“I’m Not Interested (In Being Interested) Pt. 1” is a satirical and bouncy ode to solipsism while “Free Will” is a surf rock-esque call to live independently and eschew pre-determined societal definitions. If this sounds ridiculous, that’s because it kind of is. But that’s where Svenonius’ shrewd sense of humor comes into play. If you’ve seen his “talk show” Soft Focus, you’re familiar with Svenonius’ half-knowing grin when he belts out a line like, “if I had a brain, I would love you all the time / if I had a brain, I would make you mine.”
There are tracks with bite and emotional resonance as well. “You Better Find Something To Do” dictates to find love around you in the face of impending apocalypse, and the pulsing kick drum and bluesy twang lend the song an energy that might have been lacking on previous Chain & the Gang albums. On that note, “(Living in the) Panther’s Cage” (interesting use of parenthesis in a song title) features a welcome return of Svenonius’ signature caterwauls, and even some animalistic growls from Greer.
When listening to a band that contains a member with a long history, you don’t want your first impression to be completely overshadowed by a central figure. Avoiding this has been impossible for any band featuring Ian Svenonius, and Chain & the Gang is no exception. Still, In Cool Blood succeeds at distilling the qualities that brought him to prominence and even show a newfound collaborative spirit with the addition of co-vocalist Greer. It’s an album that knows its strengths and when it doesn’t employ them, it knows to be funny. Not a bad touchstone for a pseudo-revolutionary lifer going into his fourth decade.
