Messes

By the time Stef Chura released her first full-length, Messes, in early 2017, she had been a longtime fixture of the Michigan independent music scene. Since moving from her upstate origins to Ypsilanti in 2009 (and Detroit a few years later), she played countless shows at houses and small venues, played with a few bands and started a few more to play her own compositions, and released several demo tapes. Following the death of a close friend, Chura felt it was necessary to immortalize her work with a proper studio album. Messes contains songs that appeared on earlier cassettes as well as newer material, and while they date from different points in her life, the album achieves a consistent sound, as Chura is backed by drummer Ryan Clancy (Jamaican Queens, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.) and multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me), who recorded the album at his studio. Like Thomas, Chura's songs are visceral snapshots of feelings and particular points in time, and they're often anxious and a bit angular rather than straightforward, hook-filled tunes. That said, she also has a knack for writing driving, powerful rock songs, particularly the fantastic lead single "Slow Motion." Songs like "You" and "Spotted Gold" carefully balance calm, dreamy verses with loud, fractured choruses, while others such as "Thin" and "Human Being" are slow and yearning. "Faded Heart" is more upbeat and slightly leans toward '50s rock & roll, and it showcases her fingerpicked guitar style as well as her sharp, twangy voice, which recalls elements of Neko Case, Stevie Nicks, and Patti Smith, but couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. The album's darkest, most detached moments are saved for the second half; the title track is slightly distorted, hazy, and unsettling, "Becoming Shadows" is shifty and distant, and the slow-burning "Speeding Ticket" is sadder and more reflective. The songs are all about stressful experiences, conflicts, and struggles, and this uneasiness is felt throughout the record, but all of this cathartic energy is harnessed in a highly skillful manner. Messes almost seems too accomplished to be referred to as a debut album. ~ Paul Simpson