Califone Roomsound CD

Essentially Red Red Meat reincarnated, Califone offered up a strikingly different vibe on its full-length debut, ROOMSOUND. On this 2001 album, the Chicago-based ensemble ventures into the post-rock sound that the city's indie scene is known for, but it retains the lingering strains of RRM's country/blues-tinged aesthetic, resulting in a fascinating sort of rural minimalism. Led by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Tim Rutili, the group unveils dreamy sonic landscapes such as the twangy "Trout Silk," the chiming "Bottles and Bones," and the gently percussive "Tayzee Nub," skillfully setting the stage for lauded later outings such as QUICKSAND/CRADLESNAKES. Tying the wandering threads of ROOMSOUND together is the inventive production of band member Brian Deck, who would become renowned for his studio work with Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine.

Califone includes: Tim Rutili (vocals, guitar, piano, organ, bass, percussion); Brian Deck (vocals, synthesizer, bass, drums, percussion, loops); Ben Massarella (bass, drums, percussion).

Califone: Tim Rutili (vocals, guitars, piano, organ, synthesizer, bass instrument); Gillian Lisee (vocals); Eric Johnson (guitar, banjo, percussion); Rick Rizzo (guitar); John Rice (violin); Brian Deck (synthesizer, drums, percussion); Ben Massarella (bass instrument, drums, percussion, electronics); Matt Fields, Douglas McCombs (bass instrument); Randall Thomas Henry (upright bass).

Spin (6/01, p.154) - 8 out of 10 - "...A Bizarro-world revision of early Rod Stewart, grumbling the ghostly gospel in constipated groans....[It] cuts like a feather across the flesh..."
Uncut (p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[D]ownhome narrative is replaced by haunting lyrical obfuscation and an engagingly organic, field-recording feel that encompasses banjo, synthesizers and rudimentary electronics."
Magnet (6-7/01, p.82) - "...Califone's music is about as complex as it gets....It's the soundtrack of the human condition..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The eight musicians here contribute to a house style that's just the sensuous side of ramshackle."
Mojo (Publisher) (9/01, p.96) - "...This comes close to Tim Rutili's fixation with producing the perfect fusion of trad American folk-blues and hi-tech electronica..."