architecture

As 2011 draws to a close, we asked some of Chicago's experts in style, music and art to share their favorite places, people and things of the year. After compiling an awesome list in 2010, Pete Zimmerman is back this year with his list of Chicago's best albums, bands and songs of 2011. As a CHIRP Radio DJ and producer for Chicago radio legend Steve Dahl, Pete knows his stuff -- and if you want him to introduce you to even more great music, tune in to CHIRP Radio Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

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TOP 5 EPS

1. Architecture - When We Were Young (Mirror)
2. Tiny Fireflies - Change (Little Treasure)
3. Cains and Abels - The Price is Right (Self-Released)
4. yourfeetstoobig - Hunter/Gather (Self-Released)
5. Yourself and the Air - Who's in the Zoo (Lujo) - Huffington Post

s 2011 draws to a close, we asked some of Chicago's experts in style, music and art to share their favorite places, people and things of the year. After compiling an awesome list in 2010, Pete Zimmerman is back this year with his list of Chicago's best albums, bands and songs of 2011. As a CHIRP Radio DJ and producer for Chicago radio legend Steve Dahl, Pete knows his stuff -- and if you want him to introduce you to even more great music, tune in to CHIRP Radio Wednesdays at 3 p.m.

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TOP 5 EPS

1. Architecture - When We Were Young (Mirror)
2. Tiny Fireflies - Change (Little Treasure)
3. Cains and Abels - The Price is Right (Self-Released)
4. yourfeetstoobig - Hunter/Gather (Self-Released)
5. Yourself and the Air - Who's in the Zoo (Lujo) - Huffington Post

The gentle dream-pop of Architecture reminds me slightly of a female version of Campfires, and this band is releasing their debut ep, When We Were Young, on April 9th. Architecture is primarily the duo of Melissa Harris and Rebecca Scott of Panda Riot and together make a beautiful psych-twee sound. - The Deli Magazine

We talked about Chicago duo Architecture last August when we got our hands on their cover of R. Kelly’s “Pregnant.” Since we last talked about them, however, they have expanded to a three-piece, and they are set to release a six-song EP on April 9th. When We Were Young is a dark, melodic EP – a bit of a different take from the original duo’s work with Panda Riot. As Architecture, they sound more closely akin to Warpaint, harnessing a more gloomy take on 60's girl pop, replete with haunting harmonies.

When We Were Young will be available on 12? vinyl through the group’s website, and I assume digitally as well. Their website is still taking shape as we speak, so if you click on too many things, you’ll find yourself on pages filled up with garbled, nonsensical text. If you’re around their home city of Chicago, the band is having a listening/release party at The Whistler on April 9 from 5 until 9. Make the trip out and support them. - Tympanogram

Architecture’s debut EP When We Were Young is a solid entry into the dream pop, 60’s chick rock sound that has had such a popularity surge (see: Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls) over the past few years. It’s an interesting sound – melancholy and atmospheric, without turning into drag-you-into-the-depths-of-my-despair emo. It’s also dead sexy. The vocals drip off the tongues of co-architects Rebecca Scott and Melissa Harris like honey from an overflowing beehive.

These Chicago lasses are both connected to indie rockers Panda Riot. Scott (who’s also going for her Ph.D in philosophy) still fronts for them, while Harris is an ex’er. The creative process for When We Were Young was very collaborative. According to Scott: “One of us starts with an idea, then we work together to figure out the structure and details of the song.” Technology is a wonderful thing, and as many albums are these days, this one was recorded right at home. They used Scott's loft space as a recording studio, and along with the help of Scott's boyfriend and Panda Riot bandmate Brian Cook, they’ve created a terrific debut. Erin Dorr has recently joined this now threesome on bass.

The When We Were Young EP is a mere six songs, but that’s OK, because it’ll leave you wanting more. We’ve included a couple of standouts below: the fuzzy, love-lorn “Tomorrow” and the delicious “In the Morning”. Good stuff to the right too!
- In Your Speakers

Words like “haunting” and “atmospheric” are used all too often in music reviews, but in the case of the debut EP from Chicago duo Architecture there’s really no way around it; When We Were Young, the six-track introduction from Melissa Harris and Rebecca Scott (also known for their work in Panda Riot) is undeniably both. But unlike a great deal of dreamy, arty pop, Architecture’s music avoids the pitfall of ever fading into the background and sounding nondescript. There’s something special at work here.

One of the most ear-catching things about When We Were Young is that it sounds simultaneously dark and light, both playful and sad. For every gray-day vibe and nostalgic sentiment there is an bright, girlish vocal or sing-songy chorus to balance it out.

Opener “The Chant” sets the scene, doing just what its title promises as Harris and Scott deliver a sweetly hypnotic refrain over a dramatic beat and melody. “In the Morning” and “Tomorrow” take the light-dark combination even further; the singing and melodies have a simple, childlike innocence and memorable hooks, but all the while there’s something a bit spooky and strange creeping through. “I’m With You" is the most upbeat, optimistic offering on the EP, featuring more straightforward lyrics and a chorus that could have come straight from a '60s girl-group. In contrast, "Paper Ashes" and closing song "Empty Bones" learn toward the sadder, darker side of the Architecture spectrum; the latter is particularly affecting, beginning as a cold slow-burner before building into a lilting, acoustic-led finish that serves as a satisfying finale.

Just as they mix dark and light, the duo manage to come across as both electronic and organic. Keyboards and technology-based sounds play a significant role, but still, it wouldn't be quite right to classify Architecture in just this way. There's something very natural about the way this music is delivered, which adds a great deal to its strength.
- Windy City Rock

Architecture is dreamy and nostalgic, organic and electronic. They are a female electronic/dream pop trio from Chicago and on their first east coast tour. They just self-released their debut album, ‘When We Were Young’ on April 9. I dig it. - The Honey Comb

Chicago dream-pop project Architecture caught our attention last year with the release of a soft and sweet cover of R. Kelly’s “Pregnant”, and then turned our heads again a few months ago when they teased us with a couple new singles from their upcoming debut EP, When We Were Young. Now, nearly six months after recording the EP, they’re finally ready to share it.

The 6-song EP mingles electronic and live instrumentation with delicate, vocal harmonies for a sound that’s both flirtatious and eerie. “The Chant,” for example, opens the album with a steady, hypnotic melody before layering on buzzing synth, chanted vocals and some playful tambourine and maraca in the background. But Architecture saves the best for last. The album’s closing track, “Empty Bones,” begins gloomy and slow, builds up into a drone wall of sound, then changes course and ends with a refreshing frolic of acoustic, keyboard and choral “la di das.”

The project began as a duo spawned from Panda Riot - Melissa Harris was once a member and Rebecca Scott still is. But When We Were Young shows them departing from Panda Riot’s dreamy, danceable electronic pop and moving instead toward subtly menacing experimental pop. Since recording the EP, the 2-piece has transformed into a trio with the addition of bassist Erin Dorr. This clearly won’t be reflected in their upcoming release, but it may add a new dimension to their live performance and future material.

You can catch the band perform live April 22 at Subterranean, along with Very Truly Yours, Calm Palm Vapor, Eula, and North by North. You can also sample When We Were Young at Architecture’s listening party next Saturday, April 9 (its release date) at The Whistler. Along with playing the new EP, they’ll be DJing and giving away some free gifts.


- Chicagoist

There’s so many pleasant surprises in life. From the five dollar bill you find in the parking lot to all the comp tickets you have to awesome concerts, there’s so many things to enjoy in life. I’ve been accused of floating through life but that’s in part because I want to enjoy life. Some of the things I like the most are the pleasant surprises that come out of the blue. I think that’s why I like random texts, they’re just mini presents–someone has something to say–funny, irreverent, stupid, dependent, caring–to you. It balances out the days that drag on and the tasks that we might not really want to do.

One of those things I might not really want to do is going through emails. Some days I come up just short of dreading having to dredge through a bunch of offers from Nigerian princes and increasingly music that I’m indifferent to (I’ll let others call it bad, good, or any other qualitative argument). I guess on some levels it makes me a bad blogger but I still make my best efforts to get through. I’ve said in the past that when I find a gem, it makes it all worth it.

That still rings true.

As a blog that posts ecletic mix of music, there’s no limit to the genres that we receive and that I listen to. It’s quite a variety but speaking for myself, I go through listening cycles that tend to favor one genre. If something isn’t in the same genre or style as what I’m obsessing over, it has to really stand out.

When that occurs, I know it’s one of my new favorites. I get excited. I write a long, rambling intro before introducing the song/album because of my excitement. I get excited to share it. I’m like a teenage school girl wanting to share the latest gossip.

That’s what occurred when I got an email from a Chicago band highlighting their EP, which is now one of my favorite EP’s of 2011.

The EP is When We Were Young by Architecture. Check it out completely at Bandcamp. The six song effort from Melissa Harris and Rebecca Scott (Erin Dorr has since joined the duo) is 60's girl group pop reimagined in 21st century haze and electronics. Decided to feature I’m With You off of the EP. Hope you all enjoy Architecture as much as I do. - 1146 Miles

I sometimes go through phases with music, I’ll listen to a particular style or even a single album, and that’s all that interests me for a few weeks, and then I’ll hear something that’s on a totally different wave-length and the spell will be broken. My ears lately have been filled full of indie dance (thanks Friendly Fires), but I woke up today and felt like a change of pace, and Architecture seemed like the perfect solution.

Architecture are a three piece band from Chicago. They band started off as two, Melissa and Rebecca, and became three with the addition of bassist Erin shortly after their debut EP was complete. The title of that EP is When We Were Young, which was released on April 9th.

When We Were Young is a 6-track album filled to the brim with electronic dreamy-pop songs. On first listen, comparisons to Au Revoir Simone immediately came to mind. Architecture are quiet similar with their vocal harmonies and prominence of keyboards throughout. That said, I think Architecture are a bit more chilled tho, and their songs have a more dream-like nostalgic quality to them – the EP is a perfect album for Sunday listening. Right now my favorite tracks are Tomorrow, Empty Bones and I’m With You. - The Clink

What is it about dream pop and, especially, dream pop bands with female vocalists? Genres come and go in my appreciation, but not dream pop. Whether it was Lush in the ’90s, Broadcast in the early aughts, or Beach House today -all great bands with disconsolate songstresses – my interest never wanes.

Of course, a long-standing appreciation can make one critical of new comers. It’s difficult to impress. Enter: Architecture, a two-piece consisting of Rebecca Scott and Melissa Harris. Their debut EP When We Were Young is a study in the genre.


Both women are no strangers to dream pop. Scott is the voice of the beat-heavy, sonically assaulting Panda Riot and Harris was also once a member. But rather than being an addendum to that band, Architecture is a significant detour into darker, more haunting territory.

Like Beach House, slow keyboard drones paired with chiming guitar lines feature prominently through out the record’s six tracks. The record opens with “The Chant,” a great sampler of Architecture’s palette paired with a steady one-two bass drum beat, doubled vocals, and lovely harmony splits.

When We Were Young begins in earnest, however, with the record’s second track “In the Morning.” With polyrhythmic drumming and dissonant noise cacophonies, it’s a rare gem that blends complexity and abstraction while still delivering a great song.

The record’s solemn centerpiece “Paper to Ashes” opens Side B and it’s on this track, and the equally enthralling “Tomorrow,’” that great melodies become the focus and the fuzz and buzz garnish. This is the point where I really fell in love with this record and came to think of it as an important entry to the dream pop genre.

Album closer “Empty Bones’s” funeral-procession bleakness ends in a haze of jet-engine noise, cresting into an accordion-backed, acoustic guitar-driven la-de-da chorus, as if to say “you could strip away all specters and still find great songs underneath.”

It’s a powerful ending to an amazing EP that sports more solid tracks than some bands’ full lengths. When We Were Young is year-end, best-of material, and Architecture is an up-and-coming Chicago band to keep an eye on.

When We Were Young will be released on Saturday, April 9, at an album listening party at The Whistler.
- Loud Loop Press

What is it about dream pop and, especially, dream pop bands with female vocalists? Genres come and go in my appreciation, but not dream pop. Whether it was Lush in the ’90s, Broadcast in the early aughts, or Beach House today -all great bands with disconsolate songstresses – my interest never wanes.

Of course, a long-standing appreciation can make one critical of new comers. It’s difficult to impress. Enter: Architecture, a two-piece consisting of Rebecca Scott and Melissa Harris. Their debut EP When We Were Young is a study in the genre.


Both women are no strangers to dream pop. Scott is the voice of the beat-heavy, sonically assaulting Panda Riot and Harris was also once a member. But rather than being an addendum to that band, Architecture is a significant detour into darker, more haunting territory.

Like Beach House, slow keyboard drones paired with chiming guitar lines feature prominently through out the record’s six tracks. The record opens with “The Chant,” a great sampler of Architecture’s palette paired with a steady one-two bass drum beat, doubled vocals, and lovely harmony splits.

When We Were Young begins in earnest, however, with the record’s second track “In the Morning.” With polyrhythmic drumming and dissonant noise cacophonies, it’s a rare gem that blends complexity and abstraction while still delivering a great song.

The record’s solemn centerpiece “Paper to Ashes” opens Side B and it’s on this track, and the equally enthralling “Tomorrow,’” that great melodies become the focus and the fuzz and buzz garnish. This is the point where I really fell in love with this record and came to think of it as an important entry to the dream pop genre.

Album closer “Empty Bones’s” funeral-procession bleakness ends in a haze of jet-engine noise, cresting into an accordion-backed, acoustic guitar-driven la-de-da chorus, as if to say “you could strip away all specters and still find great songs underneath.”

It’s a powerful ending to an amazing EP that sports more solid tracks than some bands’ full lengths. When We Were Young is year-end, best-of material, and Architecture is an up-and-coming Chicago band to keep an eye on.

When We Were Young will be released on Saturday, April 9, at an album listening party at The Whistler.
- Loud Loop Press

What is it about dream pop and, especially, dream pop bands with female vocalists? Genres come and go in my appreciation, but not dream pop. Whether it was Lush in the ’90s, Broadcast in the early aughts, or Beach House today -all great bands with disconsolate songstresses – my interest never wanes.

Of course, a long-standing appreciation can make one critical of new comers. It’s difficult to impress. Enter: Architecture, a two-piece consisting of Rebecca Scott and Melissa Harris. Their debut EP When We Were Young is a study in the genre.


Both women are no strangers to dream pop. Scott is the voice of the beat-heavy, sonically assaulting Panda Riot and Harris was also once a member. But rather than being an addendum to that band, Architecture is a significant detour into darker, more haunting territory.

Like Beach House, slow keyboard drones paired with chiming guitar lines feature prominently through out the record’s six tracks. The record opens with “The Chant,” a great sampler of Architecture’s palette paired with a steady one-two bass drum beat, doubled vocals, and lovely harmony splits.

When We Were Young begins in earnest, however, with the record’s second track “In the Morning.” With polyrhythmic drumming and dissonant noise cacophonies, it’s a rare gem that blends complexity and abstraction while still delivering a great song.

The record’s solemn centerpiece “Paper to Ashes” opens Side B and it’s on this track, and the equally enthralling “Tomorrow,’” that great melodies become the focus and the fuzz and buzz garnish. This is the point where I really fell in love with this record and came to think of it as an important entry to the dream pop genre.

Album closer “Empty Bones’s” funeral-procession bleakness ends in a haze of jet-engine noise, cresting into an accordion-backed, acoustic guitar-driven la-de-da chorus, as if to say “you could strip away all specters and still find great songs underneath.”

It’s a powerful ending to an amazing EP that sports more solid tracks than some bands’ full lengths. When We Were Young is year-end, best-of material, and Architecture is an up-and-coming Chicago band to keep an eye on.

When We Were Young will be released on Saturday, April 9, at an album listening party at The Whistler.
- Loud Loop Press

Eyes and ears have reopened as we finally have the chance to breathe life back into this, our favourite little spot for music. In making a belated return to MML, we've found an appropriate track that just so happens to belong to an amazing EP release from earlier this year. Architecture is the Chicago, Illinois based duo of Rebecca Scott (vocals, guitar, etc.) and Melissa Harris (vocals, keyboards, glockenspiel, etc.) who were first mentioned here almost exactly one year ago, in August 2010. The debut EP, titled When We Were Young, delves gently into a near chamber-music mood from the very beginning, with understated instrumentation and the perfect spark of electronic beat that leaves us scurrying to adjust our year-end "best of" list straight away. Have a listen.

MP3: In The Morning - Milk Milk Lemonade

Architecture, a three – piece band based in Chicago, specialize in crafting an organic-electronic sound that merges ’60s girl-group stylings with an ambient mixture of dream pop. Their self-released debut album, “When We Were Young” (April 9th), is sure to make fans of Au Revoir Simone and Slumber Party rejoice! Originally a two-piece made up of Melissa Harris (vox/multivox/Nord) and Rebecca Scott (vox/guitar/glockenspiel) during the recording, Erin Dorr has since joined the band, contributing vox, bass, tom, and tamborine, respectively. With shared harmonies reminiscent of the vocal stylings of Slumber Party and Warpaint, they construct a haunting, hushed narrative exploring the realms of loss and dreams.
Highlight track “In The Morning” balances out the etherealness with a certain dark, “Twin Peaks”-style ambiance. Rambling rockabilly guitars ring over tinkling chimes. Architecture are at their finest when creating their own unique blend of one-part fairytale, one-part nightmare. They are able to conjure up the perfect mood music for a night lost in the woods. A fine line between the visceral and the magical is expertly woven. There are times when an exciting and unexpected collection of found sounds will swell, then peter out, being left as a promising sketch of an interesting idea. It would be nice to hear them push those exploratory elements a bit more. It is highly evident in some tracks that these girls have strong vocal abilities, which makes it slightly frustrating that sometimes the vocals tend to fall back on sing-song elements that at times can be problematic.
“Tomorrow”, a particular stand-out track, fully embodies the feelings of nostalgia for lost youth as well as the perfect environment for psychedelic musings on Sunday afternoons. It succeeds in weaving the sense of vulnerability, with an edgier, darker aftertaste. The gorgeously unexpected refrain of “I wonder/ I wonder/ I wonder/ If he’ll be there tomorrow/ tomorrow/ tomorrow/ tomorrow” strikes a place somewhere between United States of America and Little Peggy March! This mixture of dark edges with a soft core is what carries their sound. It is evident that they are still exploring their sound, and this exploration is an addictive adventure to follow along with as a listener. The ladies of Architecture are prone to falling down compelling and intriguing rabbit holes, bringing the listener with them to a dark and heady Wonderland.
You can download both “In The Morning” and “Tomorrow”. See what you think! - Listen Before You Buy