The Chicago Sound

Office and Walter Meego represent a diverse Windy City

By Althea Legaspi
Published: Dec 01, 2007

office Chicago is a haven for diverse and emerging talent, from hip-hop to indie rock and all points in between. This fall, two Chitown bands from opposite sides of the spectrum mark their national debuts after making plenty of noise around these parts.

Office originated in 2000 as an art project by band singer-songwriter, Scott Masson. After creating sculpture installations utilizing Xerox paper, cubicles and other such office material, his project morphed into a musical one as a means to reach more people and push his artistic endeavors. Early band performances included stenographers onstage and suit-wearing members, along with lyrics containing office buzzwords. While unsigned, the group was handpicked by iTunes as the weekly download. In that week they received 300,000 downloads and charted in the Top 20 for iTunes. Office was signed to Scratchie/New Line Records directly by James Iha, and its forthcoming A Night At the Ritz drops on September 25th.

A Night at the Ritz’s power-pop stylings are chock full of male-female vocal interplay and hooked-up melodies sure to make a mundane day spent at the office a head-bobbing affair.

Walter Meego inhabits the space where club heads and indie rockers might find common ground. The duo formed in 2004, and comprises songwriter Justin Sconza and beat purveyor Colin Yarck. While its dance-driven electro-pop may sound more an engineering feat than organic, when seen live keyboards and guitars mingle with computers and synths. Frequently clad in odd ‘80s sweatshirts, high tops and stonewashed jeans at its shows, the pair is joined by touring guitarist Andrew Adzemovic to round out the sound.

Its self-titled EP in 2004 was followed up in 2006 with its Romantic EP, which garnered praise for its slick production, jaunty keyboard struts and grooves. After stints at Iceland Airwaves and SxSW, Walter Meego signed to Almost Gold, a subsidiary of Sony and home to Peter Bjorn and John. While its full-length debut will not hit until late this year, the early demo of “Through a Keyhole” indicates more bounce, bigger hooks and some haunting vibes, atmospheric touches buoy “Forever” and “More Than I can Say” is a funky, naughty stroll on a flashy dancefloor. Until then, Walter Meego can be heard during its North American tour with VHS or Beta this fall.

Althea Legaspi writes for Chicago Tribune; Paste, Stop Smiling, and Chord magazines, among others, and can be heard on-air during NPR-affiliate Chicago Public Radio's "848" program. If she isn't devouring music, she consumes copious amounts of wine and cheese. Actually, she is often found doing both at the same time.

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