Echo Son's hard rock sound shines on latest EP
The year started off pretty well for Echo Son.
In January, the Chicago hard rock band recorded with producer Niko Bolas in Nashville. It was a big deal, considering the man has worked on records with Neil Young, Warren Zevon and Frank Sinatra, just to name a few.
For a band that has only been together for a couple of years, it was a lot to be excited about.
"It really was thrilling," said lead singer Bryan Robinson. "There is no other way to describe it; we were working with a guy who is at the top of his game."
Bolas' work shines through on "Novella," the band's latest EP, which will come out sometime this spring. In addition to a very down-and-dirty sound, the vocals are clear and audible, in contrast to a lot of hard rock bands that hide behind the screaming and distortion.
Still, Bolas said his role wasn't to shape a sound, but rather to bring out the best in the group.
"If there's a communication problem within the band, I rearrange the people on the floor," Bolas said. "Whatever makes it more efficient; the more they just think about playing and the less they think of recording, the better we are."
Robinson's voice helps set the band apart from the rest. His voice is not as deep as most of his peers. He's goes for the higher range, like one of his heroes, Chris Cornell.
"Where I was coming from, I grew up with a lot of grunge stuff," Robinson said. "I learned to sing listening to Soundgarden albums."
The vocals on the final product were hard-earned, with Bolas pushing him.
"With Niko, it was instant feedback," Robinson said. "He focused on wanting the band to get a take. It was going take after take after take. Kind of painful, but it maintained the groove with the song. When he said 'What do you think?', that meant it was close."
At its core though, "Novella" is the work of an unabashed rock band. And that's what attracted Bolas to Echo Son in the first place.
"I love them," Bolas said. "They sent me their demos, and I dug the songs, the voice and the velocity."
"A lot of the things that have been successful in Chicago have been quirky pop groups, and a lot of the indie groups," said bassist Ian Palmer of Palatine. "What we're doing is more rooted in the framework of heavy rock and roll; we're doing that, and not making any apologies."
Palmer said the band is attempting to get money so they can go back down to Nashville and record a full-length album with Bolas. Other members are drummer Chris King of Lombard and guitarist Alex Clark of Plainfield.
In the meantime, the band has been playing shows as often as they can, including a stop at Durty Nellie's in Palatine on Friday, April 3. While Echo Son plays a lot of stuff from their EPs, the show also gives the band time to show some of their other colors, some of which they didn't want to record their first time around.
Palmer said the band is waiting to catch people's attention before they show all sides of Echo Son. That's not to say their progressive-rock colors don't get noticed, though.
"We have a song called 'Runaway' - and it ends in three minutes of instrumental," Palmer said. "It is the, wackiest, most out-there thing we do. Last Saturday, we got some of our biggest applause (with it). It's hard to see what people will like or what they won't like. We have to guess what they will like."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Echo Son</p> <p class="News">With A Birdsong Valentine, Moxxy, 3 Years Hollow and Heavy the Fall</p> <p class="News">8 p.m. Friday, April 3</p> <p class="News">Durty Nellie's, 180 N. Smith St., Palatine</p> <p class="News">$6; <a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com" target="new">ticketmaster.com</a></p>