At the forefront of the Chairman Dances’ forthcoming LP, Child of My Sorrow, is “Acme Parking Garage”. It’s a song whose sense of innovation lingers a considerable length past its title, featuring a composition that ebbs back and forth between low-key vocals and a tempestuous swirl of keys, percussion, and synth. A curiously cool piece of work that keeps listeners involved with its consistent shifts in pacing and tone, the tune is a perfect encapsulation of what makes the Chairman Dances a band not quite like any other.
On its music video, frontman Eric Krewson tells PopMatters, “I wanted to film in a grocery store. As it turns out, securing that setting is difficult. The first five stores I called turned me down, kindly but flatly. When I finally found a store, the video’s director, Bob Sweeney, and I made plans to arrive early Sunday morning. Bob wanted the shelves perfectly in order and for there to be as few customers as possible.”
“In an effort to win over the store manager, I told him we’d need just a half hour to film, which meant we needed to work quickly. Bob and I walked the length of the store once, turning down a few aisles. For the most part, we stuck to the narrative worked out ahead of time, though we improvised a bit based on what we found in the store.”
The Chairman Dances’ Child of My Sorrow releases on 7 September via Black Rd. Krewson says of the album, “It’s a relief to give up something I’ve clung to and considered for so long. It’s a relief to pack a bag and climb into a car with my bandmates, Dan Comly, Kevin Walker, Dan Finn and Will Schwarz, to perform this album on tour. We’ll see you out there.”