Rachel’s

An Indie Rock band with a near-Classical approach (think lots o’ strings) to composing and arranging, Rachel’s have released four full-length album’s for pioneering Chicago Indie label Touch and Go Records. The group’s album’s contain beautiful soundscapes of atmospherics, but there is also a distinct grounding that keeps the music from sounding pretentious. The group’s latest effort is a collaboration with San Francisco-based experimentalists Matmos, which adds a little more guitar-grit to the Rachel’s arsenal. Fittingly, Matmos is touring with Rachel’s, so this local stop could be full of spontaneous, creative collaborations.

At the Southgate House on Thursday.

— M.B..

This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2000.