Chicago junk-rockers return from hibernation with a snarling new single.
While they haven’t played a show together since 2013, or had a formal release since 2012’s Rock and Roll Monsters, the five members of Windy City rock band Rambos have been awfully busy. Bassist/vocalist Jeremy David Miller and his wife Bekah Rae released a gorgeous folk record titled Songs Literally under the moniker The Millers. Vocalist and guitarist Ryan Joseph Anderson drifted down to Nashville and recorded The Weaver’s Broom, a stunningly warm collection of Southern-tinted americana. Not to be outdone, vocalist Julie Meckler used the downtime to craft QueensHead, an dreamily eclectic LP that she took on tour to France, with fellow Rambo Anderson sharing the bill.
The sheer talent of all five players is what makes their collaboration fascinating. When they come together to form the Rambos Megazord, their wide range of styles and influences gets boiled down to a stock of crunchy, groove-heavy garage rock. The group’s new offering, a music video and 7″ release for “Uh Huh”, picks up right where they left off. A cool, bubbling groove rolls out a path for some blistering lead guitar work, while the tandem vocals border on mantra as they hum and swell.
“Uh Huh” is maybe Rambos’ most satisfying jam to date- feeling refreshingly untamed while also hypnotically locked in. And as if we needed further evidence that it’s an impossible amount of fun being a Rambo, their new video (directed by Nick Rush) is a three and a half minute Michel Gondry-esque food fight/impromptu jam.
You can next catch Rambos having a blast on Friday, February 27 at The Hideout (9pm, 21+, $10). Julie Meckler will also play a solo set, and Tom Musick opens.