City Newspaper Archives - 9/2007
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir "Scotland Yard Gospel Choir"
Bloodshot Records
Published by Jen Graney on Sep 19, 2007
They may be called Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, but this isn't gospel and it isn't a choir. In case you've any doubts, the band has scrawled a sign: "We are not religious. We are vegetarians."
Billed as a collective - more than 50 musicians come and go on this self-titled album, the Chicago-based group's second - the project is kept together by its lead-singer Elia's songwriting. Of the nine songs, "Aspidistra" is the strongest; it tells the story of Elia's drug-buying days, back when he knew all the cops by name.
On "In Hospital," cellist/bassist Ellen O' Hayer sings sleepy and sad about the hospital stench and the singular pain of a loved one's death. Her vocals match Elia's: tender, delicate. Later in the album, she observes a Bible sitting next to books on punk rock and poetry. Found your gospel right there, Scotland Yard.Article Photos
