Stef Chura’s voice is simultaneously modest and singular, with an emotive vibrato that brings to mind a cross between cult folkie Victoria Williams and Rilo Kiley-era Jenny Lewis, another artist not afraid to reveal her fears and frustrations in song. A native of rural Michigan, Chura moved to the Detroit area in 2012 and started kicking around the music scene, recording songs on her own and playing live with various friends.
Chura’s full-length debut, Messes, inspired in part by the unexpected death of a friend, surfaced via the tiny Urinal Cake Records in 2017, and it wasn’t long before the venerable indie label Saddle Creek Records took note and rereleased it in early 2018.
Car Seat Headrest frontman Will Toledo was a fan, so when it came time to record the follow-up, last year’s Midnight, Chura approached him to produce. The result is tighter and more dynamic than her debut, an ebb-and-flow album moving from the noisy Garage Pop of “Method Man” to the plaintive, piano-backed “Trumbull” to the Psych-tinged “Sincerely Yours” with equal aplomb.
“I definitely want to work with a producer again, I really liked that,” Chura told Stereogum when the album dropped last June. “It was amazing working with Will since he has such a dexterity with all instruments. I definitely want to have that again, or have people playing who I can work with in that way. I really like the band I have right now… It’s cool to get different voices and opinions and styles on stuff.”
Stef Chura is coming to Cincinnati for a free show on Sunday, Jan. 19 at MOTR Pub. Local faves Leggy will also perform. Showtime is 8 p.m. More info: motrpub.com.
