The Ultrasounds

Chicago’s The Ultrasounds will always keep Ann Arbor in their hearts – This is where the trio (Patrick Conway, Christopher Gilbert, Sara Kay) got started four years ago. It’s here, between the Elbow Room, Blind Pig and Woodruff’s, that they honed their shimmering, atmospheric electro-dashed pop/rock signature, and its where they recorded their first two albums (at the White Lodge and Pretty Suite Recording, respectively).

Armed with guitars, drums, synth, and lots of dazzling pedal effects, Ultrasounds take the mesmeric aesthetic of dream-pop’s drifty ballads and boost it with layered sheets of feedback and fuzz, accelerate it with thundering (and at times danceable) rhythms and clash the airy poignancy of new-wave flourishes with the fiery flares of space-rock. This was all starting to come to a head with 2010’s Give Up The Fight, but it seems to be fully realized here on Phases.

The sonorous chime of the keys lingers around the edges of those buzzy-stabbed riffs, giving some warmth to “Knowing You” before the drums start punching things forward. But you get to that 3-minute mark (of “Knowing”) and the guitars start twirling off into more psychedelic, 2001-star-gazing-odyssey flares, a characteristic flare for them, often angling to add that head-swimming, reverb-swirls to an otherwise sturdy, hook-heavy rock track. Their strong suit is their musical interplay, intertwining the intricate rhythms and propulsive marches, the fuzzed furls of the keys and the celestial spitfire of those guitars – which shines particularly on tracks like “All the Things We Did Today…”

The album is built around the two title tracks, (in two movements “Stray” and “Lights”), a nearly 8-minute piece that serves as a fine demonstration for developed sensibility for song structure, pulling back and pulsing forward, blending ambient b-sections to tumultuous crescendos; all of it augmented by their eerily matching of tones, there’s subtle charm in the way their comparably warmer human vocals compliment the synthetic purr of the electric instruments. But back to those structures, much like Broken Social Scene or Explosions in the Sky, they’re able to craft rock songs that spill beyond the typical 4-minute mark while a.) not making it seem like too heady of a ballad or some day-glo-splattered jam-out, while b.) holding your interest throughout… Like, really? That was a six minute track? I didn’t even feel it… - iSPY Magazine

Lately, I’ve felt as if my shindigs have been becoming increasingly more and more successful but I have to level with you, my parties very well might have reached their pinnacle of awesomeoness with the New Year’s Ultraparty. It was named as such because of the featured band The Ultrasounds and boy, let me tell you that this was most certainly, at many times, the party that we all thought would never happen. Planned specifically around the fact that our Chicago friends The Ultrasounds were in town, our private, speakeasy-themed New Year’s bash was plagued by last minute venue changes, personal drama, and all sorts of other craziness but when the proverbial clock struck twelve, all of my friends and I rang in 2012 at the most massively successful party ever.

There’s a lot I can tell you about New Year’s Eve. I can tell you how great Nora’s cleared out living room was as a makeshift stage. I can tell you how amazing it was to be surrounded at all times by my friends, a handful of which are very talented musicians who were there specifically to play an awesome house show for all of my friends that aren’t very talented musicians. I can tell you how we were loud and young and stupid and drunk and I can tell you that the cops did not get called a single time. What I can’t tell you, however, is the one thing I’d love to tell you: How great The Ultrasounds were. I mean, by the time the band actually started playing, I was totally peaking, a term which here has nothing to do with drugs whatsoever. Thankfully, however, I’ve seen The Ultrasounds a number of times in the past, dating back to just over a year ago when my friend (and co-party planner) Matt forcibly made me listen to the band because they were “just so rad.” Thankfully, Matt is one of those people whose taste can be trusted, especially so far as music is concerned so it was only natural that I loved The Ultrasounds. Before long, the band became my friends too. When the opportunity arose to plan my New Year’s party around an Ultrasounds live show (the band was in town to play the Michigan-themed bash, Mittenfest), I was super stoked because I knew it wasn’t going to be my usual party. It was gonna be much more epic.

See, the thing about me that you might have picked up on is that I’m a pretty big folk music fan. Naturally, this means “Amber party” bands are usually much more in the vein of past party players The Appleseed Collective than, you know, Pantera. This is all well and good but nothing livens things up like a change of pace and I was pretty gung ho about making n.y.e. rocking enough to put Dick Clark to shame. Naturally, what I’m getting at here is the fact that there’s nothing folky about The Ultrasounds. I mean, there might have been a smoke machine in their living room show! I say “might” because I know there was going to be a smoke machine but I don’t remember if it happened or not. Regardless, nothing says “rock and roll” like a power trio of jean-clad Midwestern kids with a smoke machine and a tight, psychedelic sound.

The Ultrasounds – After You Close Your Eyes

The Ultrasounds hail from Michigan but have since emigrated to Chicago. Funnily enough, I lived in Chicago while they were doing time in the live circuit of Michigan basements and dive bar venues so I didn’t get hip to the band until after they departed the mitten. This bums me out because The Ultrasounds have sort of got a Black-Keys-in-1960s-Britain feel about them that is basically impossible to hate on. In the time since their debut album was recorded, The Ultrasounds have cultivated a much expanded sound with spacey guitars from Patrick Conway, beastly drumming from mega babe Sara Kay and some seriously atmospheric keys from frontman Chris Gilbert. Give Up The Fight, the three piece’s debut, is a solid album but it pales in comparison to what you can expect from the forthcoming release Phases, to be released digitally on February 1. Honestly, if you can keep from developing a megacrush on Gilbert after listening to “Stray,” you’re a stronger person than I.

Oh, did I mention that “Stray” is available for free download on the band’s website? Because it totally is. And it’s a jam so you should all make like Donna from Parks & Rec and get it.

After The Ultrasounds played and we all toasted 2012 with swigs from various bottles of classy beverages, The Appleseed Collective got out their gear and played some old timey tunes that aided and abetted our loose speakeasy theme (Hey, I mean, like five of us dressed up. That’s something!). As if an encore performance from my favorite Michigan band wasn’t enough, afterward DJ Paw Paw danced us in to 2012 and I literally boogied until my feet bled and I felt like I was having heart palpitations. But what did I care? It really was the best party ever. - Hearingade

Local band spotlight
The Ultrasounds bring eclectic approach to music
By Michael Hintz | THE EASTERN ECHO
Added October 18, 2009 at 6:27 pm

The Ultrasounds, an Ann Arbor band that played at the Blind Pig last Saturday, said people often think their name represents a pro-life sentiment.

“I came up with the name and made the logo, this baby fetus with a guitar, and people often think we’re pro life,” said Patrick Betzold, who handles guitar and theremin for the band.

EMU student Chris Smith of The Ultrasounds playing bass and keyboard last Saturday at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor.

“It’s really awkward,” Sara Griffin, the band’s drummer and vocalist, said.

“We aren’t pro life,” said vocalist, keyboardist and bassist Christopher Smith, also a senior at EMU studying music. “People think we’re Christian rockers and we’re like, ‘No, we aren’t.’ It’s a baby playing guitar. We’re not a political band. We don’t have any music about abortion.”

The three band members are actually tight-knit and good at rocking live. Their show Saturday night was vibrant, classy and a little bit eccentric, with all three dressed in vintage-looking suits — a very professional approach.

And the approach they take to their music isn’t far off — professional, but also collaborative.

“I think that one thing that characterizes us and our song-writing and makes it fun to be in The Ultrasounds is that we’ll have songs, like for instance Sara’s new song,” Betzold said. “It’s just a normal progression, like a pop-rocker, more straight forward, but then we also have songs that have more complicated chords or more obscure progressions.”

“The best part is that there’s a big variety because we all write,” he said. “I’ll write all the parts and then we’ll rearrange it, and then Sara will kind of take that and mold it into her drum parts and Pat’ll take ideas and mold it to one he’s already got.”

Smith, who is studying music at EMU, said he has found excellent support in two of his teachers.

“I’m a jazz nerd,” he said. “That’s what I do at EMU. We don’t have a major for it yet, so I’m a music major. But I take the jazz combo and jazz ensemble classes with Mark Pappas, who was here tonight. And then there’s Joel Schoenhals who teaches piano. Both of them are examples of faculty excellence at Eastern.”

The Ultrasounds’ first album, “The Way Things Were,” consists mostly of a unique mix of Betzold’s rock and blues, Griffin’s more indie style, which the other two band-mates said reminds them of The Cranberries, and Smith’s jazz influence. They also said they sound like Kings of Leon before they were famous, The Strokes, The White Stripes and Eliot Smith, and fans tell them no two of their songs sound alike.

The band is currently working on recording their second, yet-to-be-titled album at Wiard’s Orchard outside Ypsilanti with Brandon Wiard, owner of Pretty Suite Recording.

“We’re recording in a freezer,” Betzold said.

Smith said: “The freezer has these huge metal doors. And so the doors close and obviously if you were in there and the doors close on you that’d be fucking scary, so they have a big sticker on both the doors that says, ‘You are not locked in!’”

“We’ve been working on [the new album] since March,” Griffin said.

The band will have a CD preview on the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, at the Heidelberg in Ann Arbor.

Their next show is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, at the Elbow Room in Ypsilanti.
- The Eastern Echo

The Ultrasounds
Good times, great newbies

by Katie Whitney

posted 8/1/2008

As I was skimming through the Ultrasounds' press release, a refreshingly frank quote caught my eye. "People don't want to hear songs about how bad things suck all the time," says lead guitarist Patrick Betzold. "Sometimes people just want to dance." And that's exactly what I wanted to do when I saw them a few weeks back at the Barn. Their retro vibe and dead-on pop sensibility had me thinking, "I can mashed potato!" But I knew I'd be sorely out of place among all the cool kids bobbing their heads with amazing restraint.

During the appropriately surf-rock opening act, a demure-looking girl listened with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie. When the Ultrasounds' turn came, I was surprised to see her sit down to play drums. I was even more surprised to see Sara Griffin go at it with such fervor and even, on occasion, take the lead vocal as well. Although her mike wasn't quite loud enough at the show, I got a chance to hear Griffin's sweet voice on their new album, The Way Things Were. Her girlish vocals are almost twee in their precious leanings, but their peppiness fits right in with the band's flashback aesthetic. Matched up with Betzold's catchy, slick riffs on songs like "Why Don't We Leave?" Griffin's voice almost makes one wonder why she isn't the lead singer.

But Christopher Smith's versatility shines through on the album, proving that he's right where he belongs. On "You Don't Even Know" he sounds like a less whiny Ben Folds. And if it weren't one of the biggest clichés in music reviews, I'd say he occasionally channels a young Paul McCartney, especially when he puts a bit more force into it and lets his voice crack a little. (At their show, he even wore a jacket that wouldn't be out of place on the Sgt. Pepper cover.)

Get ready for another faux pas: "The Easy Way Back," my fave track on the album, is downright Beatlesque. It occurs to me, as I listen, that The Way Things Were is an apt title, not only because it conjures the sounds of the sixties but also because it acknowledges its own nostalgia.

Much as the Ultrasounds encourage virtual time travel, I'm reminded of the great cultural critic Fredric Jameson's injunction to "Always historicize!" To put these musicians where they belong — in the twenty-first century — perhaps it would be more accurate to say they're British-Invasion-meets-early-aught-years-indie-pop: think an edgier version of the Strokes, or the Libertines' first album. The aesthetic may be old, but it's still hip, man — and totally cravable.

The Ultrasounds are at the Club Above on Saturday, August 2, and at TC's Speakeasy on Saturday, August 30.
- The Ann Arbor News

The Ultrasounds were formed in 2003 by Christopher Gilbert (vocals/bass/keyboard) and Patrick Conway (guitar). Initially a four-piece made up of friends from Ann Arbor, Michigan’s experimental Community High School, they played straight-up throwback rock n’ roll. By 2006, however, graduation and life had scattered The Ultrasounds across the country. The remaining members decided to keep the band alive, streamlining their lineup and adding drummer/vocalist Sara Kay. As the new membership played together a new sound began to emerge, a sound that was more forward thinking but still based on roots rock. Incorporating influences as diverse as the Strokes, Elliott Smith, and Phoenix, and sharing songwriting duties, The Ultrasounds have developed into a powerful indie rock trio with psychedelic leanings. Voted Most Underrated Band by the readers of Ann Arbor’s Current Magazine in 2008 —and Best Rock Band in 2009—they’ve played over 150 shows throughout the Midwest.

In 2010, The Ultrasounds released their second full-length, Give Up the Fight. The record reveals a band in its peak, with an eminently accessible, epic arena-rock sound that has been compared to the likes of Kings Of Leon and Pink Floyd.

"I think the biggest thing we learned on the album is how to use the recording studio almost like another instrument to help us accomplish things we couldn't do live with the three person set up," said Conway.

Gilbert agrees, "The whole sound just got a lot more sophisticated...Everything sounded a little darker. We wanted to push what was going on harmonically with extensions and how the voices were interacting between the piano and guitar, but it's still pop accessible."

You can check out The Ultrasounds for yourself with "After You Close Your Eyes" only on JamLegend.com. - JamLegend

Full disclosure—I know The Ultrasounds personally. But lest you think this is just shameless promotion of my friends' project, let me assure you that I know a lot of people in a lot of bands, and a lot of those bands suck. In fact, of all the bands that I've hung out with, I think I've only gone out of my way to see Lightning Love as many times as I have The Ultrasounds. If that doesn't tell you something, I suggest you get your hands on a copy of Lightning Love's November Birthday. It rules. (Editor's Note: Lightning Love was Radio Free Chicago's first "RFC Thinks You Should Know" band. They really do rule.)

I genuinely miss seeing The Ultrasounds every other week. You see, it was only a few months ago that they relocated from Ann Arbor—my current home—to Chicago. Here in A2, they've steadily risen from a wide-eyed trio of townies to a local underground treasure. Their early efforts were straightforward roots-rock, but over the years their sound has developed both a strong pop sensibility and a touch of psychedelia. In 2008 and 2009 they were voted Ann Arbor's Most Underrated Band by the readers of Current Magazine, and, in 2009, were also awarded Best Rock Band. And man, they've worked their asses off for it. To date, they've played over 100 shows across the Midwest.

And it shows—the live show is outstanding. Lead vocals are split between bassist/keyboardist Christopher Gilbert's affected tenor and drummer Sara Kay's crisp, twee-tinged alto, giving the band the versatility to craft a very wide-ranging sound. Combined with Patrick Conway's extremely flexible guitar work and an unabashed love of rock n' roll, this makes for a dynamic and engaging performance.

You owe it to yourself to check out the Ultrasounds while they're still new on the Chicago scene. They're playing Wednesday, November 10 at 8:30 at the Double Door, 21+, $5. Go now, so someday you can say you saw them "back in the day."

Actually, you know what? Go download the entire album.
- Radio Free Chicago

The Ultrasounds are a new Chicago-area indie rock band that came to us via Ann Arbor, MI and is made up by Patrick Conway on guitar, Christopher Gilbert on bass, keys, vocals and Sara Kay on drums, vocals. The band has been busy with not only getting the hang of being in a new big city like Chicago, but also promoting a brand new album 'Give Up The Fight' which has seen radio airplay in 5 Michigan stations so far and an active performing schedule with over 150 shows in the last few years.
The band recently stopped over and we had the opportunity to chat a bit about their history and their future. Here's what they had to say. Interview and Photos by Mario Salazar.

Chicagosrock: TELL ME ABOUT THE BEGINNINGS OF THE BAND. HOW DID IT ALL START AND HOW DID YOU ALL COME TO BE THE ULTRASOUNDS? PATRICK: It started right after High School.. Chris and I and some other guys wanted to start a band. Chris played drums originally and we played together in the basement for some time before we started going thru lineup changes. A couple of years later, we got together with Sara and cut things down to a trio, which I think was really good for us.

CHRIS: Yeah, it really just started as a garage band between friends. Some ended up going to college so things went on to the backburner for a year or two. We played together after that and tried to play out more. While in school, we all grew musically so when we came back, we moved things around and instead of playing drums, I played bass and started singing. The drummer at the time, ...there was some tension so he left and so did the other guitar player. He's a firefighter now, I think. So, Patrick and I stuck it thru and Sara joined about 3-4 years ago. Now there's 3 of us completely dedicated, plus she's so talented too. It's awesome.

Chicagosrock: FOR THOSE WHO ARE OR MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE ULTRASOUNDS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC, YOUR STYLE? The Ultrasounds (2010) PATRICK: I think the original concept was kind of a 'futuristic-retro-rock'.

CHRIS: Yeah, it grew out of this retro rock, a desire to make music like y'know, I really like & grew up listening to music from the 60s & 70s like the Hollies, Beach Boys, Zombies, Beatles...

PATRICK: Also Motown, since I'm originally from Detroit, I was really into that. But it's got a more modern feel now and we've grown from that. There's one thing when you're making music and trying to make it sound like something from the past but when you start getting confidence in the way that you sound, then you start coming up with your own style. So it's a modern interpretation of classic song writing style.

CHRIS: It's like a desire to emulate that, with modern instrumentation. Chicagosrock: SO OTHER THAN 60s MUSIC & MOTOWN, WHAT ELSE INFLUENCES YOU NOT JUST MUSICALLY BUT LYRICALLY? SARA: It's interesting because we all have different backgrounds and influences. Chris is more 'jazzy'...

CHRIS: We all write. We write collaborativelly and independently. We then all arrange the songs. There isn't one lead songwriter.

SARA: So yeah, Chris brings a jazzy feel to our songs, Patrick is more in the classic rock vein and I grew up listening to bands like The Cranberries so it's more "poppy" stuff and mainstream.

PATRICK: It's not so much "classic rock" for me but more 60s and the Detroit rock scene from about 1999, 2000 when I was going out to concerts to see bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes, and so there's all these different things that we like but the common ground or what we all listen to would be bands like Phoenix... PATRICK CONWAY
GUITAR

Chicagosrock: YOUR CURRENT RECORD "GIVE UP THE FIGHT" IS ACTUALLY YOUR 2nd ALBUM ACCORDING TO YOUR BIO. SO HOW DIFFERENT IS THAT ONE FROM YOUR 1st ALBUM? SARA: Well, it is very different. It's actually hard to say from "the inside". I think we grew a lot. Our first record is a lot like we would think of a style that we wanted for a song and it would just grow out of that, and the new record is a bit more like we found our own sound...

CHRIS: There's still some work being done towards our sound. I think the next record we put out will be even more suited to us. See, a big change that happened is that I started playing piano in the band. I've written in piano before but not actually played it in the band. I think that has changed the sound in the band as there's all these time-piano sounds and 60s, 70s electric piano sounds....

SARA: ...and he sings and plays bass and piano, sometimes all at once (laughs)...

CHRIS: Yeah, I'll have the bass on the other end of the keyboard, split up.

SARA: ...so it makes the sound much bigger than other trios.

PATRICK: It also affects the way the songs develop. For instance, when he plays bass, the song can be faster and it's more of a guitar song. When he plays keyboard, the bass sometimes has to just sit there. You have to adapt to that and the guitar has to be the driving part of it. So it's like 2 different arrangements that you have to deal with and for me, I have to think differently depending on the context of what Chris is playing. If he's playing bass, then I just have to handle all the harmony but if he's playing keys then I can almost stop playing at certain points which is a luxury I didn't have before and appreciate now.

CHRIS: The songwriting has also evolved. I have a real interest in jazz as I studied that in college. A lot of the chord changes have extensions and a more complex sound. If I'm playing keys and Pat's on guitar, we can view the arrangements so that the "voices" between the 2 instruments are right. PATRICK: yeah, it's very important to us to not be playing the same thing. I mean, there's times when it's good to play the same thing but we try as much as we can, to extend our sound and make it interesting.

Chicagosrock: YOU CAME FROM ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN AND ARE NOW IN CHICAGO. SO, WHY CHICAGO AND NOT NASHVILLE, NEW YORK OR SOME OTHER PLACE? WHAT IS IT ABOUT CHICAGO THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE? CHRIS: ...well, it's close (laughs). I actually got a job. That was the main motivator.

SARA: Yes, it's a lot closer. We've been wanting to move to a bigger city for some time or at least I wanted us to. Then Chris got a job opportunity and we figured it would be good to move all of us together. Chicagosrock: SO OTHER THAN DOING WELL, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS [AS A BAND] GOING FORWARD? PATRICK: Well, right now we're just trying to gig out in Chicago and get our name out there. We're also trying to get into festivals and expand that way. We're also going to have a new CD soon.

SARA: ...I don't know about 'soon'. We're writing it.

PATRICK: Yeah, I..., yes, soon is a vague term (laughs). Sometime between now and forever. Right now, it's been sort of a slow start but we've been practicing quite a bit. We're going to be demo-ing songs very soon and just trying to move forward that way.

SARA: We've also been searching for record labels but we're being a little bit picky about it, 'cause there's all these guys that start 'Record Labels' from their basement which is a lot different than something a little more legit. Chicagosrock: ANY PARTING WORDS AS WE WRAP THINGS UP? CHRIS: I think with our songwriting going the way it is right now with the time-piano sound, y'know, kinda spacious but still has a modern sound, I think it's got a lot of appeal to it. There's a lot of incentive for you to be interested in us. Our band is cool y'know...

PATRICK: I think that I like the recordings a lot, I think it sounds very good. It's not an inaccurate representation of us but the live shows are different because there's only 3 of us. In some other way, I think we sound a lot bigger than that with the sparce instrumentation. We sound more intense than we do in the recordings.

SARA: We try to make it an experience.

PATRICK: I listen to the album a lot and I really think we are a live band. If people like the music, they will really like the show, ...way more. You'll be surprised.

CHRIS: Plus, with the new material we're playing...

SARA: Yes, and you can get our album online and pay what you want, which means you could get it for free or pay us whatever amount of money you want. Also, people should come to our show at The Double Door [in Chicago] on November 10th. You will not be dissapointed.

For additional information on the band, visit them online at www.facebook.com/theultrasounds
LISTEN to their new single 'After You Close Your Eyes'. - Chicago's Rock

“You wake up to a thousand lights”—my sleeping consciousness hears instead the words, 'a thousand lies'. It doesn't matter; her voice pulls me into the morning, past alarm clocks and my arms flailing at my electronics. I'm listening to the Ultrasounds, and Sara Griffin is singing the tune 'After You Close Your Eyes'. She's playing drums too, balancing the possibilities of noise and subtleties against Patrick Betzold on guitar and Christopher Smith on bass and piano. They're driving me out of bed with the words, “we are all we are,” and something that feels like energy is traveling up my arms in spikes.

This is a CD to wake up to. The second nine-track album for this Ann Arbor-based band, Give Up The Fight has a number of bold, almost distorted tunes that still hold a clear solidity at their center. 'For Elliott', a tribute song to Elliott Smith, is dark and brooding. Written about, and to, a man whose image fits into the mood of this song, 'For Elliott' shimmers with Christopher Smith on vocals, piano, and bass. It invites stillness, the kind where I sit down with my shoes halfway on and forget to tie the laces while inadvertently memorizing the lyrics.

Then there's another one of Sara's songs, called 'I'm Always Right,' moving along in an easy, almost rustic style. There's a certain innocence about her voice, and the way she sings the first lines, “Eighteen on the dot—you think that's a lot,” that puzzle-pieces right into the old, jangly piano and the violin provided by Mark Wallace. The simplicity of this short tune makes it instantly familiar, an old friend saying hello.

The album finishes off with the bonus track, 'All The Things We Did Today.' This is the last song—the song to leave on—the song that makes me late to work because I can't make my feet walk out the door before it ends. The drum-beat is electronic, but don't worry, Sara's still there, adding her voice to Smith's. They're sounding a little wistful, a little nostalgic—at odds with some of the earlier, more brazen tunes on the album, like 'Life On The Wire' and '1974'. The song isn't happy or sad, exactly—when it finishes I am moody and thoughtful, and wanting more.

The half-hour length of this album makes it perfect for my morning routine—or it would if I could refrain from stopping the process so I can listen to the next line, the next stanza, the next song. All of the tracks are worth taking the three or five minutes to hear them—but why not go listen for yourself? - Handful Of Notes Blogspot

I’m rejuvenated. Not by the sprouting sprigs or spring- break, but by two separate epiphanies of these two sepa- rate Ann Arbor bands in two separate genres. (Both have shows this month!).





Ghostlady (www.myspace.com/ghostladyghostlady) got started in early ‘07, formed by Renée Bertsch Hytin- en (vocals/far?sa/guitar) and Allison Stanley (drums/ bells/vocals). The bespectacled pair grew up in Michigan and both traveled to Chicago after school to play music. Renée met Allison at one of her shows at the No Exit Café in ‘01, hit it off and wound up collaborating on nu- merous projects. Years later, they serendipitously met up back in Michigan and decided that after playing together and establishing such chemistry, that it was time, the pair says, “to do something that we wanted to do, where the only rule is to have fun and make songs that we like.”

After Renée recorded solo with bassist/engineer Dave Niles at Evolution Helmet Studios, (on which Allison contributed), they decided to ask Dave, again, to help with Ghostlady’s full-length debut When the Sheet Hits The Fan. They self-recorded demos in Allison’s basement and attempted to capture that same kind of feeling — not musty, but a little dark, mostly cozy, a little fuzzy — the kinda pretty, melody-heavy pop you dance to in socks on the linoleum.

Niles joined the band after ?nishing Sheets. Quick and dirty reference points would be Broadcast, Stereolab and Yo La Tengo – but most of their songs are in?uenced by “our senses of humor and long-time friendship.” Mod- est plans include a tour and a new record by early autumn. They play the Elbow Room (Ypsilanti) Friday, March 12 – with Silverghost and Secret Twins.

The Ultrasounds (Christopher Smith-bass/vocals, Patrick Conway-guitars, Sara Grif?n-drums) started with Smith and Conway fresh out of high school in ‘03, then the line-up solidi?ed in ‘06. Since then, they self-re- corded/self-released The Way Things Were, and recently ?nished the Give Up The Fight, an EP with Brandon Wiard (Pretty Suite) and then later with Tim Patalan (of Sponge, at The Loft). “2009 was a very emotion- ally intense year for all of us,” Grif?n said, noting that the EP push came from different California-based labels who wanted more, “and the new tunes de?nitely re?ect that.”

Current readers awarded/praised them as “most underrated” band in ‘08 – and they’ve since grown consider- ably from earlier perceptions of a Kinks-ian ‘60s psyche pop-negotiating-a-Strokes-ian-art-punk revival. “This record is a bit darker,” noted Conway, “the songs are denser and more intricate than before. Chris’ piano has a more prominent role, Sara has stepped forward to sing on almost half the tracks and her harmonies are present throughout.” Grif?n said their friendships’ duration and closeness shines through in writing/recording/performing, they’ve gotten more meticulous at sound-sculpting and used live performance as a means for a song’s evolution. Conway said he’s gained adaptability through playing in numerous nuanced line ups – and that together they’ve learned to be wary of how to measure their respective intensities for optimum sonic results. Sensibilities are shining through on the new writing: be it an electronic vibe from Grif?n, or a jazz in?uence from Smith or more echoing/fuzzed-out guitars from Conway. “Recently,” Smith said, “these things have been melding to form a uni?ed sound.” Expect much more than just “driving melodies and rhythm parts,” Grif?n said, there’s “more texture” but also a con?dence to utilize space and mini- malism. For more info on forthcoming recordings, visit www.myspace.com/ultrasounds or see them live at the Blind Pig on Thursday, March 25 with Scarlet Oaks, The Wall Clocks, the Ben Daniels Band and ask them all about it. - Current Magazine