Stanhope - Static (2022)

Static is a funny thing. Mathematically it’s noise, typically random. The purists abhor it because it wasn’t there at the source. Yet it’s been shown to increase the perception of how real or genuine the recording is because, you know, nothing’s perfect. Chris Rawlins, the real-world name of Chicago musician Stanhope, applied that idea by adding emotional imperfections to his latest record and its collection of moments in time and the feelings that went with them. It’s called Static.

The CD starts with the title cut, a melancholy acoustic number about Rawlin’s grandmother’s Alzheimers, where “your memories escape you like static on the radio.” Scream Inside Your Heart adds a subtle electric guitar to the mix with a parable about relationships through a missive to Japanese roller coaster riders told to “scream inside your heart” so as to not pass along Covid. Things lean more to the folk rock sound on Angry At Strangers and its cynical observation that “no one’s as happy as you think they are.” Black And White Eyes is a lazy Sunday morning on the edge of a troubled relationship.

In addition to taking some style hints from 60’s and 70’s pop folk, Stanhope wears some of his 80’s influences on his sleeve. I Can Do Better drops staccato guitar chords and drum machine beats to tale of stubbornly giving a relationship more time. Fences takes keyboards into the pop music realm in a song that seems to balance perseverance and apathy. Bite My Lip lays down a cool vibe, made more interesting with its key changes.

All the songs are Stanhope originals, and he played every instrument and sang every vocal. With a little recording and production help from Old Town School of Folk Music veteran Steve Dawson, this comes across as a very personal album, whether intended or not. It has a lot of little musical hooks and lyrical turns that keep you coming back for more Static.