Loading details…
Artist
Jeffrey Altergott
12+ albums
poprockacousticsinger-songwriterqueer
about
Some describe Chicago music scene veteran Jeffrey Altergott as an “Indigo Boy”; others trot out phrases like “funky folkie” or “acoustic space cowboy.” Yes, Altergott sounds as singular as his supple tenor, or his sweet mix of rock, folk and jazz rhythms. And though he loves Aimee Mann, Duncan Sheik and Andrew Bird, he’s truly his own melodic, infectious invention-confection. How appropriate that his fifth and latest disc bears the title “Balloons.” From the much-lauded 2000 LP “Icarus Grounded” (featured everywhere from the Chicago Tribune to the Discovery Channel) to this cloud-skimming new disc, Altergott always aims high. He yearns to break free, transcend boundaries … and take listeners with him for the ride. Produced by Chicago drummer extraordinaire Chuck Harling and engineered by Mike Hagler (Wilco, Neko Case, Lloyd Maines), “Balloons” gathers 11 songs, played by the crack trio The Whole Fantastic World. Harling and Nashville young-’uns Daniel Sherron (guitars) and Craig Hamilton (bass) are joined on “Balloons” by prominent guests including horn deity Paul Von Mertens (arranger-bandleader, Brian Wilson) and Chicago folk chanteuse Heather Perry. On the glorious title track, Jeffrey captures the contradictions we feel as soaring souls stuffed in flesh-and-blood cages: “Maybe if I can embrace/ things about myself I hate/ it would be less a coffin and more a womb.” Altergott sounds meditative and hopeful on “Dandelion,” a post-Paisley trip that blends electric piano an
