Chin Up Chin Up

Chin Up Chin Up is an indie pop band from Chicago, Illinois which formed in 2001. The band consists of Jeremy Bolen (vocals, guitar), Nathan Snydacker (vocals, guitar), Jesse Woghin (bass), Greg Sharp (keyboards) and Chris Dye (drums). Former bassist Chris Saathoff was killed in 2004 when he was struck by a van after leaving a Ponys concert.

Windy city avant-pop combo Chin Up Chin Up have just handed in the stunning master of their second proper full-length entitled This Harness Can't Ride Anything. Recorded by Sir Brian Deck [Iron And Wine, Red Red Meat, Modest Mouse] at his Engine Studios, the tracks are a joyful mix of shifting dynamics, stuttering riffs, and buoyant arrangements all held together by front man Jeremy Bolen's scratched up discourse on breasts, beavers, and Minnesota. The resulting record takes its cues from 2004's We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, but ups the ante considerably, weaving their hyper-literate song craft in with a new sense of melody and wit.

Chin Up Chin Up has been kicking up Midwest soil for a few years now, releasing records and playing together since 2002. Later that year, the band released a self-titled EP, which inspired MOJO's call for readers to "meet your new favourite Chicago art-pop band." Chin Up Chin Up then began touring incessantly and has yet to let up. Now joined full time by The Narrator's Jesse Woghi on bass, Chin Up Chin Up recently got off the road after playing an armful of shows with label mates Minus The Bear played the Pitchfork Music Festival this Summer before heading out again in the fall. The new album was released on October 10.