Logan Square-based folk-rock band Thompson Springs, which recently shot a video partly in the neighborhood, will release its first album, after nearly four years of hard work. The band expects to debut the record in early June.
With influences like Neil Young and Kurt Vile, the four-piece band mixes folk, rock and psychedelic sounds. All four members live and practice in Logan Square. Singer-songwriter Matt Smith founded and fronts the band, also playing guitar. He said the band’s sound can be hard to pin down.
“The sound [of the band] seems to be up to the people that are listening. Every time we ask someone, they say something different,” he said.
Smith and Jacob Bicknase, who plays drums and keys and also sings, started the group after playing in a different band in Madison, Wisconsin, while still in school. The other two members of the band, Jeff Sullivan on guitar and David Thrift on bass, joined later.
“We were pretty loose for a while,” Smith said. “We had a couple of members that were in and out. We didn’t even live in the same city. [Bicknase and I] got back together and moved to Chicago in October.”
New Singles and a Logan Opening
Photo: Erin Dickson
The band debuted “Deadly Stare,” a single off the upcoming album, during a performance at Sleeping Village (3734 W. Belmont Ave.) on Jan. 18 and will tour parts of the U.S. at the end of the month.
Joe Martinez Jr., who has directed other acts in the local music scene, directed the video. They shot it in one day, here in Logan Square and in Pilsen. Putting the video together gave the band a new creative experience, Bicknase said.
“It was intense but fun … it’s a long day,” he said. “It’s another artistic avenue that you can be involved in.”
On top of the new releases, the band recently played the grand opening of Logan Square’s Necessary & Sufficient Coffee (3624 W. Wrightwood Ave.) and toured the East Coast in December for three weeks.
“This is the first tour that all four of us were together for. Overall, there were no disasters and a good number of small victories,” said Smith.
Pat Sansone of iconic Chicago band Wilco produced a couple songs on the upcoming album. Thompson Springs expects to release another single, “Sirens,” within the next few weeks.
Smith said working with Sansone was helpful because the band was able to see the process of creating an album from someone who has successfully done so already.
March 22 at The Whistler
During Thompson Springs’ upcoming run, the band will perform in Chicago on March 22 at The Whistler (2421 N. Milwaukee Ave.), with another Chicago-based band, Burr Oak.
Through the touring and the recording, the band has continued to work well together, Bicknase said.
“One of the coolest things about being in this group versus being in any other groups is that it isn’t competitive as far as ideas go,” he said. “That’s a lot of the battle.”
Featured photo: Erin Dickson
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