Somewhere, once, and I don’t remember where I read a review of Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and I was immediately interested. However, I was not able to get my hands on an album and they didn’t have any music online (this has changed… they now have a great website with wonderful links and a lot of media at sygc.com). So they have been on my back burner for a long time. Luckily, the band is local to Chicago and they played last night at The Empty Bottle. As an added bonus it turned out to be the record release party for their new single “Then and Not a Moment Before” (also “In Hospital” and “Lamppost”, a demo, on the single). Even better it turns out that a friend knows about the band and between shots of Makers Mark (him not me) related some back story. Apparently they have had some rough times and member of the band left for other venues but now they are playing better than ever (or so the story goes). They also recently shopped deals with some major record labels and if the show was any indication it won’t be long.

I am not the first and I certainly won’t be the last to compare SYGC to Belle and Sebastian. They have the same plaintive frankness and “slice of life” type lyrics. The sound is similar ranging from jazzy swing to an odd country western twang on the guitars here and there. They orbit between quiet and mournful voice with faint backups to jaunty choruses backed up with several voices, horns, rich cello, and well done percussion. One of my favorites on their LP is I Know A Girl which is equal parts funny and fun. The song that stands out as obviously different is Tear Down the Opera House which is just a touch rowdier than anything else. I won’t give away the single that was just released but it is well worth the buy. It has been in heavy rotation on my speakers recently. I wish I could give you direct links to everything but the java on their website is not very link friendly, but they do have more music samples and available merch on their website. Definitely check it out.

Now as for their live presence… wonderful. They sound even richer and more imposing live. They were not the headliner when they played but they definitely drew the biggest crowd of the night. Submarine Races, the headliners, were great but Scotland Yard was just more captivating. They have a compelling energy that is very easy to pick up in their playing. They also have a great range of sound. They have a great array of instrumentation and bring all of it to bear from the Cello to the drum kit. I would definitely put SYGC in the “keep an eye on” column. They don’t have any upcoming shows listed but you can join their mailing list for updates. It was definitely a good night for Chicago music at the Empty Bottle.