Chicago’s Bailiff garnered much attention in the past year or two with their desert blues guitar licks and tight Bonham-esque back beats, but with their debut full-length, Red Balloon, the muscular rock gets put on the back burner in favor of soulful melodies and punchy grooves. The result is an album that maintains its edge while not sounding aggressive. Instead of a pummeling guitar and drum attack, Bailiff stretch these new songs into layered journeys with contagious hooks.

It’s always interesting when a band plays to their strengths when taking a leap. On Red Balloon, Bailiff move away from the raggedness of rock and into more mellow atmospherics.

Beefy riffs are replaced with sultry organ and gritty bass lines. Drummer Ren Mathew still pounds the skins, but through the engineering work of Beau Sorenson (Death Cab For Cutie, Sparklehorse) and producer by Jon Alvin (Wax on Radio, Dr. Manhattan), the drums sound vast and misty. When guitarist-singer Josh Siegel does let loose with his tight fretwork, the guitars aren’t crunchy but crisp and glassy.

It’s quite intriguing hearing how songs evolved in such a short amount of time. In early 2010, “Out Of Bounds” was a raging rocker with a quirky guitar lick. Now on Red Balloon, the song has become “In The Reverie,” a darker, moodier piece. Echoing tribal drums keep the pace at a crawl before bursting into a melodic chorus section in which Siegel belts out, “I’ve been getting restless/I’ve been wreckless/Dream a little while/Slept through breakfast/Lay with me/In The Reverie.”

Meanwhile, other songs work with their powerfully mean grooves. “Eventually” slugs along with its marshmellow-thick low end riff. “Curtains” is a funky rocker with a nervy electro-jam at its conclusion, and title track “Red Balloon” is a dreamy, R&B-influenced number that features a soul-sizzling chorus.

The fact that Bailiff is already experimenting with the blues rock-rooted style that brought them some legit local buzz is both gutsy and refreshing. And Red Balloon, while not as guitar-focused as Bailiff’s earlier material, is still a very provocative listen that is highly rewarding in its melodic impression and fluid feel.

Red Balloon will be released Saturday, June 4, at Bailiff’s record release show at Lincoln Hall and can be pre-ordered at their Kickstarter page.

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BAILIFF
10:00 p.m. Saturday, 6/4
Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln Ave
18+ $10.
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PHOTO CREDIT: LENNY GILMORE

Bailiff front man and lead guitarist Josh Siegel contorted the strings of his Fender Stratocaster in the opening riff for their avalanche-esque take, “Out Of Bounds,” while drummer Ren Mathew completely disregarded the pocket and played huge rhythms that could easily be mistaken for John Bonham. Even new bassist Adam Schneider’s beefy bass thumped along with pure energy as he danced around the stage like a madman.

It was Saturday night at Lincoln Hall and the nearly sold out crowd were transfixed on every twist and turn of Bailiff’s gritty, progressive take on electric blues. The crowd, diversely comprised of Logan Square Hipsters, Lincoln Park college students and Wrigleyville 30-somethings, all head banged in unison and hooted and hollered at every short break between Bailiff’s powerhouse set.

Meanwhile, the band oozed a quite confidence on stage and performed more to the level of an arena rock band than local flavors of the month. They showcased a poise and instrumental mastery that will no doubt push them to the next level.

It was a little more than a year ago that Bailiff was stuck in local band limbo. They had released a great sounding EP in early 2008, but their bassist left the group due to creative differences in March of the same year.

Flash forward to November 2008, and the band was hole up in a studio apartment-sized practice space in an Ukrainian Village warehouse auditioning bass players they’d been in contact with through Craigslist.org. Auditions came and went, but Siegel and Mathew were unable to find that certain someone who they had a real rapport with.

But in January of 2009, Siegel and Mathew received a Myspace message from Adam Schneider, who had seen their bass player ad on Craigslist. However, Schneider admitted that he was only looking because he still had a full semester of school at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL – a three-hour drive from Chicago. But Schneider reiterated his goal was to move to Chicago to find a band once he graduated.

Even more intriguing is the fact that Schneider’s girlfriend, who was living in Chicago at the time, told him she had heard of Bailiff’s bass player woes, and he should get in contact with them. Schneider received her suggestion after he had already seen their Craigslist ad and was preparing to contact the band. It was this seemingly destiny-foretelling coincidence that spurred him to write Bailiff sooner than later.

“He wrote to us telling us that [the girlfriend story] had happened,” Bailiff front man Siegel said. “And he wanted to see what our goals were for the band to make sure we weren’t being casual and that we really wanted to make this our career. So, I wrote him a long reply talking about what we were looking to do, and he got back to us saying it sounds like we have similar goals.”

Bailiff frontman Josh Siegel leads the band through an electrifying set at Lincoln Hall

Shortly thereafter, Schneider took a train up to Chicago to jam with Siegel and Mathew.

“It all just kind of clicked right from the get-go,” Siegel said. “He was the best bass player that we had auditioned. And personality wise, we all just felt real comfortable like old friends.”

After Schneider headed back to Charleston, Siegel and Mathew talked it over and determined that this was their man. They called Schneider the very same evening informing him he got the gig. For the next few months while Schneider was finishing school, he would take the train up to Chicago on his free time to play. Finally in June, Schneider moved to Chicago, and all three members of the newly energized Bailiff took up residence in a Lakeview area home.

Once everyone finally got together in Chicago, Bailiff took Chicago’s live music scene by storm playing at all the major venues including Schubas, Subterranean and even opened for Poi Dog Pondering at the Vic Theatre. Additionally, the group slowly caught the attention from local press and write-ups on Bailiff appeared in the Chicago Tribune and The Onion’s AV Club.

But while the band’s popularity is increasing, they’re still grounded. Siegel understands that, especially for bands beginning to gain a following, it’s best not to over saturate the local market and possibly wear out your welcome.

“For me, even with bands that I love, I’ll see them and then you just need that two month break to recharge from the show, “ Siegel said. “And give the band time to make some new songs and change something and keep it interesting.”

Bailiff bass player Adam Schneider performs at Lincoln Hall

Now that Bailiff opened 2010 with a bang at Lincoln Hall earlier this month, the band is taking a quasi-break to focus on writing new material and recording their first full length album.

“We want to put out an album,” Siegel said. “Right now we’re just working on figuring out the funding and then where we want to record it. Once we have the album, the plan is to tour on it as hard as we can.”

Those in attendance at Lincoln Hall two weeks ago were the first to get a taste of the new material, which is quite groovy. From the bass-heavy, R&B-influenced rocker, “So Low (Timbagroove),” to the tribal vocals of romp-stomper “When I Leave You Will Stay,” which even features drummer Mathew on trumpet, the band’s sound is evolving.

Bailiff drummer Ren Mathew is a blur as he lays down big beats at Lincoln Hall

This new organic sound stems from a more collaborative writing process to which even Siegel admits was difficult for him at times.

“I used to think a song is done and then feel hurt if [Mathew and Schneider] think it could be better,” Siegel said. “I would think these guys are crazy. This is perfect. So, I’d say okay and try something else. Then something else would pop up while I’d be sitting and writing that was way better. Then I’ll look back and say I don’t know what I was thinking with that first idea.”

According to Siegel, Mathew and Schneider have been huge in the arranging process and backup vocal ideas. But even with this new collaborative way of writing, the basic writing process for Bailiff hasn’t changed much. Siegel will bring in a song idea, the band will jam on the idea and record it and then listen back to make changes from there.

If everything goes according to plan, Bailiff will have a new studio record out sometime this year and then will hit the road including a stop at this year’s South By Southwest in Austin. But don’t count on Bailiff resting for very long. Siegel says he wouldn’t be surprised to see Chicago or other Midwest shows pop up in the very near future as they now have a piece of equipment that’s a necessity for all major rock bands.

“Now we have a van,” Siegel said. “ So, we’re still anxious to get more shows under our belt.”