ABOUT

Chicago synth-pop band Course is known for crafting an enchanting mix of dream-pop, 90s new-wave, alt-electronic, and indie rock. Their unique, ethereal-meets-industrial sound weaves together lush electronic instrumentation and polished production, drawing sonic inspiration from a wide spectrum of genres and artists: from Canadian indie-pop act Alvvays to genre-bending cult favorite Radiohead. Fronted by lead singer and songwriter Jess Robbins, who established herself as a popular solo artist with her acclaimed 2018 synth-electronic release Lightfield, Course was officially formed in late 2019. The band features contributions from a rotating cast of top-tier local and national musicians, most notably vocalist Jamie Semel. Like their sound, the name Course invites a range of interpretations, playing with all possible meanings of the word: “A race course, a life path, a series of classes, of course… There are so many ways to hear it. It’s open-ended yet simple. That suits us,” says Robbins.

Course’s 2021 debut self-titled album offers a dreamy, synth-pop collection of intricate, collaborative narratives pulled from both imagination and real life experiences. Recorded in part in the rural Texas desert town of Dripping Springs, where producer Dan Dusinsky (drummer for Subpop’s Loma) runs a small studio among airstream trailers, the record was finished remotely when the 2020 pandemic forced band members to return home to Chicago mid-recording. Course features several songs co-written with fellow Chicago artist Kevin Prchal, showcasing a folky, electronic-atmospheric approach that evokes singular, enigmatic acts like Julee Cruise and the Cocteau Twins. While writing lyrics for the album, Robbins also created a collection of short fiction stories to accompany and elaborate each track on the album. A clear departure from her more subdued solo work, Course is bright and elegantly upbeat, though not without its somber moments—the song “Henry” narrates a friend’s suicide by train from a mother’s perspective,

Now poised to release sophomore album Tight Feathers in October 2023, Course presents a more ornately developed, atmospheric sound to accompany their characteristically narrative anthems. The album was produced remotely by Nashville indie-electropop wizard Kyle Andrews via weekly Zoom sessions from his Wisconsin studio. Andrews later met the band at Chicago’s Jamdek Studios to record the understated, harmony-rich vocals in-person. “It was a perfect synergistic match: We all danced, laughed, and ate a lot of tacos,” says Robbins. Each track on Tight Feathers features carefully layered instrumentation (modular synths, analog drum machines, acoustic and electric guitar, bass), blooming with new textures as each musical line unfolds. The song “I Called You Late Last Night” which was the first song written on the album, Robbins states “This song is a vibe. You feel that calm, and everything is good. You're with your best friend in a club. Or sitting at home. There’s also a sense of teetering on spinning out of control. But the whole world slows down and everything feels ok.” As a whole, the album balances a series of delicately contradictory emotions, both buoyant and foreboding.. More intricate than past Course releases, Tight Feathers is laced with sharply written reflections on the busyness of modern life. For example the song “Too Busy For Feelings” incorporates the frenetic energy of everyday life with the idea of feeling emotionless from so much input constantly from the world around us. In the song “Back of the Car” Robbins says “Sometimes in complicated moments of life, you tune out. I remember a breakup I had where they were talking to me about getting back some records or being friends. But the whole time I was staring at a tiny hole in their shirt. I wondered when they would buy a new shirt, but then thought to myself - I won't be here to see it.”

The resulting album demonstrates a particularly relatable kind of existential anxiety—hovering tone-wise between carefree and swamped, happy and overwhelmed, light-as-a-feather and unavoidably ominous. At times, the album drifts into nostalgic territory in the vein of acts like Best Coast or Tennis, but these songs are never saccharine: There remains a familiar hint of anxiety at the root of each track, grounding the music firmly in the modern confusion of the real world. The last track on the album “Fur Coats in Bars” an eight verse song with no chorus, Robbins reflects “Life doesn't always have beginning or ends. Good memories can be fleeting moments, and anyone you meet can be important. The song reminds me of the simple moments of life whether painful or joyful all mark memories that are meaningful.” Overall the new album Tight Feathers is about embracing the chaotic onslaught of life, savoring its complexities, while protecting your inner self.