Not knowing Edith Frost personally, it’s unclear what forces propelled her to trip out the loveably icy roots tinglings of her “Calling Over Time” CD into the mushy, psychedelic fuzz on her subsequent follow-ups. Thankfully, the Chicagoan has returned to form, releasing her trebly, bare-bones early demos as “Demos,” a CD available for full download at www.comfortstand.com. Hear them in person with Manishevitz, Sarah Dougher and Graham Travis at 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, at Graceland, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., (206) 262-0482.

No matter how hard it tries, St. Louis will always suffer from Chronic Little Brother Syndrome, forever in the shadow of its hipper, savvier older bro, Chicago. For St. Louis music fans, this fact is driven home by the number of great bands living and working in Chicago. This Friday finds two of that city’s finer acts sharing the Creepy Crawl stage, as Edith Frost and Manishevitz kick off their fall tour in our humble little town.

Edith Frost, a native Texan, started her career with the help of Chicago luminaries in Gastr del Sol, The Sea and Cake and the High Llamas, a fact that can obscure how talented she is taken on her own. Often corralled in the alt-country stockade, 2001′s Wonder Wonder broadened Frost’s sonic spectrum and contains the standout track "Cars and Parties." With the recently released Demos (a free download available at comfortstand.com), listeners can hear pared-down sketches that often sound as haunting and resonant as some of her studio works.

Conversely, Manishevitz rarely sounds pared down, instead opting for the full, clamorous sound of well-orchestrated post-punk. On last year’s City Life, the band (led by former Virginian Adam Busch) veered more toward the grandiose, providing a wall of sound for Busch’s snide, punctuated delivery. Roxy Music comparisons are inevitable (given the use of the mighty baritone saxophone and flighty synthesizers alongside the standard guitar/bass/drums lineup), though Busch sounds like what the Fall’s Mark E. Smith might sound like if he was raised in Virginia, moved to Chicago and led a new-wave band with a faux British accent. And that’s a good thing. Chicago may have us beat in architecture, culture and mass transit, but we still have one thing in our favor: Missouri hospitality. So get that Sears Tower-size chip off your shoulder and go show some little-brotherly love to two of Chicago’s finest.

Tracks:

01 Who
02 Cars and Parties
03 Temporary Loan
04 On Hold
05 One-Chord Complaint
06 Dreamers
07 Walk on the Fire
08 Pony Song
09 Wonder Wonder
10 I Get the Craziest Feeling* (Floyd Tillman)
11 Look What Thoughts Will Do* (Lefty Frizzell)

* With Ryan Hembrey, Jim Becker and Jim White

All songs written and (c) by Edith Frost / (p) Marfa Music (BMI) except where indicated

Artwork by Davina Pallone

I also have some extra blatherings I did for this, that I didn’t bother including on the Comfort Stand page, only because Rian Murphy’s intro seemed to say everything that was really necessary. But I don’t suppose it would hurt to put them here.

Tracks 1-9 were written and recorded at home in Brooklyn and Chicago between 1996 and 2000. I sang, played guitar (a blue Stratocaster and a red Washburn acoustic), and added a bit of keyboards here and there using a Farfisa, a Roland SH-101 and a cheap Casio. The sound effects on track 7 are from the Willard Grant Conspiracy album 3am Sunday @ Fortune Otto’s.

Studio versions of these songs can be found on my albums Calling Over Time (1997), Telescopic (1998) and Wonder Wonder (2001), plus the Drag City Supersession album Tramps, Traitors and Little Devils (2001). All are available through Drag City.

Tracks 10 and 11 don’t appear on any of my albums. I recorded them in various apartments in Chicago around 2002, with the help of Ryan Hembrey on bass and piano (he of the bands Manishevitz, Central Falls, Boxhead Ensemble and Pinetop Seven), plus Jim Becker of Califone on guitar, dobro and violin, and Jim White of the Dirty Three on drums.

Here’s a Pitchfork review

Download @ Archive.org