Silkworm

Silkworm is making the most of its recent relocation from Seattle to Chicago, which is where the 15-year-old band's current label, Touch and Go, is located. It's also home to studio console legend Steve Albini, with whom Silkworm has enjoyed a fruitful working relationship for ten years running. The group's core unit of guitarist Andy Cohen, bass player Tim Midgett and drummer Michael Dahlquist welcomes a pair of Windy City scene veterans into the fold here, too. Kelly Hogan lends her sweet voice to a number of tracks, including the lead vocal on "Young," while the New Year guitarist Matt Kadane has effectively cracked the Silkworm line-up on keyboards. Simply put, Silkworm doesn't make bad records. Rather, the band consistently creates challenging and dynamic recordings that would constitute career-defining masterworks for most of their contemporaries. Italian Platinum is no exception, as it maintains Silkworm's heavy distinction as keeper unit of the American Midwest flannel-rock flame. There are some decidedly lower-key moments here too, like the sparse, Pavement-ish "Bourbon Beard," and "The Old You" and "LR72," both of which are infused with a twangy Western lilt.