Spectreview: Stef Chura – Midnight

-DEEP PINK-

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“So much pressure in every direction”

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest produced this newest album by Detroit indie mainstay Stef Chura and it definitely shows. We’ll never know how integral he was in the creative process (besides dueting on one song, the climatic “Sweet Sweet Midnight”) but Midnight, Chura’s Saddle Creek debut, certainly sounds like nothing else in her catalog, all distorted snares and staccato guitar breaks, surging wildly like a wire with too much electricity. It’s a moderate but significant step in a logical direction for Chura, who displayed her considerable songwriting talents on 2017’s enjoyably-unpolished Messes. She’s got tight, creative riffs and a distinctive voice, an amalgamation of Angel Olson caution-to-the-wind ululations, Patti Smith’s classic-punk bottle of flames and Dan Bejar’s feathery lyrical cornucopias. Here, you can add Toledo’s own voice to her repertoire, and even if his production robs her somewhat of the originality of her previous works (listen closely for his signature “get out of my head” vocal processing on tracks like the unravelling ballad “Sincerely Yours” or the excellent power-pop-punk bounce “Method Man”), it does make for a seriously compelling listen. Mirroring the album’s newfound vibrancy, Chura writes from a place of action; whether writing of herself or of a distinct character, her subjects refuses to take what they’re given lying down. They resist pressure on all sides (“3D Girl”), run circles around hangers-on (“Method Man”) and reach out to burning infatuations (“Scream”). The energy is palpable, with Chura throwing herself into her performances that clearly demonstrate another level of confidence. This might end up being a crucial breakthrough for her, one that will perhaps let her project her pure spirit, free of outside influences, into the upper echelons of indie rock.

Recommended for driving to your place of education.