The Chamber Strings ‎- Gospel Morning (2020)

The Chamber Strings was the brainchild of the late Kevin Junior who passed away in 2016 at the age of 46. Junior grew up in Akron, Ohio and moved to Chicago when he was 16. After stints in the Mystery Girls and the Rosehips, he collaborated with Epic Soundtracks and Nikki Sudden in England. When he returned to Chicago, he started the Chamber Strings. The Chicago-based band would cement his legacy as a striking and luminous talent. Junior was influenced by artists like Marc Bolan, Johnny Thunders, the Faces, and the Flamin' Groovies. Not nearly enough people got the chance to listen to the music Kevin Junior made during his short lifetime. Those that did will never forget what they heard. Considered a pop masterpiece in many circles, Gospel Morning was originally released in 1997.

Chamber Strings is the creation of Kevin Junior -- a songwriter with plenty of indie and Euro rock credentials, and the distinction of having been the last collaborator with ex-Swell Map, Epic Soundtracks, before Soundtrack's death in 1997. By hybridizing Memphis soul and glam rock, you could call Chamber Strings one gigantic homage to the Faces and the Stones, but Junior's fey vocals separate his band from becoming the next best thing since the early Black Crowes. "Dead Man's Poise" is all boogie swagger; there's a spirited drinking song, "Telegram," and the gothic '60s/Doors/Love sound of "The Race is On." "Cold Cold Meltdown" relies on the Stax sound Big Star once appropriated. The derivative Chamber Strings are full of unique contradictions: the band is whiskey-fueled yet fragile and Junior's wispy approach packs a serious rock and roll punch.