| Scrappy, catchy 6-man band runs the full gamut of styles between pop/punk and caribbean metal drum party tunes, featuring a bunch of nifty instruments including -- among others -- the autoharp, euphonium, and lap steel. The songwriting and complex arrangements are quite promising, but it's difficult to replicate perfectly live. In their new CD, Giant Redwoods, they ramble from clever They Might Be Giants imitation (as on the title track) to killer punk ("Candy Coated Cyanide Bomb"), and through soul and off-kilter country, as well. I suppose the rough edges are part of the charm -- and often part of the bargain with larger groups --, but they do themselves no favors by leaping genres between tunes. 
Here's their press release, which is pretty accurate as those things go: Lucas Hackett: vocals, cornet, keyboards, euphonium
Vince LaConte: keyboards, organ
Jeremy Morse: autoharp, vocals, lap steel guitar
Mike Sturgess: guitar, vocals
Andy Swindler: drums
Nate Vanek: bass guitar If there is a beat combo in Chicago today that can match the range, the verve, the sheer hookiness of The Complacents, we'd sure like to hear them. Maybe we could open for them. In all seriousness, "pop" is a scarce commodity in Chicago these days, and we may well be shooting ourselves in the foot by even mentioning the word. Our unusual instrumentation might be easier to sell than our songs -- no less than six pieces with cornet, organ, euphonium, lap steel, and various synths complementing the traditional guitar/bass/drums/autoharp nucleus. (Really, the autoharp's not a gimmick, nor is it unprecedented -- check out "Summer In The City" or Bowie's "Five Years.") But pop we are, and the scrappy uptempo hooks of our self-titled EP might recall such female-fronted independent pop groups as Heavenly and The Fastbacks if any of us were girls. To one stepbrother's grandma, it sounds more "like the group from England in the 60's," while a friend's co-worker offered "sounds like a cross between Squeeze and The Banana Splits." But with three frontmen and six wildly different record collections, the "Complacents Sound" is an elusive and ever-changing phenomenon best captured live. Witness the sophisticated whimsy of Hackett's "Gem City" or "The Hunt," the soulful lyricism of Morse's "Gonna Take The First Thing That Comes Along" or "The Hobo Song," or the ominous and violent turns of Sturgess's "Fi reproof Storage" or "The Truth About a Lot of Things". We can't find adjectives for LaConte's epic instrumental compositions, but until Hal Hartley designs a video game, there is nothing quite like them. And yes, there is nothing quite like The Complacents, but we eagerly provide pleasant and familiar sensations for those who appreciate the constant nagging of a chorus that refuses to leave the skull.
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