The Ancient Greeks...

The math-pop quartet Ancient Greeks came together in 1998. Comprised of Chris Warland (vocals/saxophone), Nathaniel Braddock (guitar), Andy Rench (bass) and Timothy P. Stevens (drums), Ancient Greeks deliver a sharp, guitar-driven hook. They're rooted in post-bop Jazz, bossa nova and 20th century minimalism while also influenced by the ecletic worldbeat sounds of 70s African pop. Over the course of two years, the band gigged in and around their native Chicago. In summer 2001, Ancient Greeks began work on their debut album. They joined TV Pow's Michael Hartman and Jeremy Boyle of Joan of Arc for the recording of The Song Is You. Flameshovel Records also inked the Ancient Greeks a deal in early 2002. The Song Is You appeared in January 2003. ~Allmusic~

I was actually going to type up this big old post about The Ancient Greeks myself, but then I realized that there just wasn’t much I could add to what had already been described. Regardless, I think AMG does a fairly nice job and getting the idea across in just what The Ancient Greeks are all about. As most that read the blog can assume probably, I was interested in the band originally because of the inclusion of former Table drummer Timothy Stevens. Upon first hearing the band on their first album I was pretty much floored. It wasn’t what I was expecting, yet it didn’t quite take me by surprise either. The mixture of styles and influences that combine to make the bands sound just seemed so effortless and convincing that there wasn’t any point in first hearing them that took some sort of adjustment. As a matter a fact, I completely ate it up. Being a fan of Jazz, it came as a delight to hear it mixed with the traditional Chicago math/post-rock sound.

The one thing the excerpt at the very top fails to mention is the bands second album Departure Suite, which was released in 2005 through the Japanese label And Records. The album is a bit harder to find, however I personally feel it’s their best.

The Song is You:
The Ancient Greeks – Lay Up [MP3]
The Ancient Greeks – Transcontinental [MP3]

Departure Suite:
The Ancient Greeks – Moonface [MP3]
The Ancient Greeks – Departure [MP3]

The bands first album The Song is You is still available through Amazon. As far as obtaining Departure Suite, I suppose it’s worth checking out the And Records site…that is if you can read Japanese.

UPDATE: It was brought to my attention in the comments section that Departure Suite is available if you contact the band through their website. Thanks to whomever the anonymous person is that pointed that out!