Seaweed Jack, HIJK, Love is Chemicals May 3, 2007

Seaweed Jack is the product of four friends sitting in a basement playing obnoxious 20-minute long pirate shanties to any friend that would listen. After a small catalogue of songs was acquired, they decided to give themselves a name. And thus Seaweed Jack was born. They quickly jumped from basements, to garages, to BOB stages, and finally on real gigs throughout Spokane. In 2005 the band turned to Black Coffee Studios of Spokane to record their debut, independent album. Named for and dedicated to a dearly departed friend, The Captain (clocking in at just a hair under 75 minutes) documents the bands extensive material it’s accumulated since its days in the basement drinking grog. The CD is available now at SeaweedJack.com. Experimenting with elements of indie rock, jazz, psychobilly, blues, and reggae, mixed with an unexplainable raw charm found in bands like Modest Mouse, Seaweed Jack is a pleasure to listen to.

In The Pen and The Letter, HIJK's distinctive angular rhythms, double-barbed melodies, and dueling vocals are now accompanied by singing-saws, trumpets, scissors, violas, and a gin and tonic with ice. It's a BIG record that captures the A to Z of HIJK's live performance and highlights the unique interplay between Dave (vocals/guitar), Mike (vocals, bass, keys), and Trevor (drums/percussion). Although it has not yet been released, The Pen and The Letter is already garnering rave reviews from the people who've received advanced copies: "The Pen and The Letter is made up of dark, yet poppy indie rock. It's melodic and catchy...full of sudden twists and turns that make the listening experience somewhat addictive." - Nascent

Love is Chemicals' self-titled 2005 album has been described as "the delicious type of brainy bumblerock that indiebees will buzz about happily for hours" and "a harmonious sound that envelopes you in sweet sugary pop bliss". Formed in 2000 by Nate and Courtney Grover (guitar/vox and bass/vox, respectively), and eventually coming to include drummer Steve Galbraith and guitarist Nick Mirov in its lineup, Love is Chemicals' sound is rooted in the messy guitars and sunny melodies of mid-90s indie rock bands such as Pavement, Built to Spill, and Yo La Tengo. The band is currently at work on its next album, due out in the summer of 2007.