CHAFT – 95
Music has healing properties. All clichés and platitudes aside, CHAFT‘s latest EP, the five-song 95, is evidence of this hypothesis – written and recorded during a life-changing medical diagnosis and subsequent surgery, songwriter Derek Miller channeled his raw anxiety into this powerful collection of songs. With themes of mortality, appreciation, and panic weaving their way across the music found here, CHAFT captures a vulnerable moment in time through a jangly, indie rock lens, sure to appeal to fans of Pavement, Pixies, and every jangly thing in-between.
Opener and title-track “95” is an excellent distillation of Miller’s sound – the wry delivery a la The Dismemberment Plan’s Travis Morrison; the punchy basslines of Kim Deal; and the lightly-psychedelic sound of late 90s pop rock make their way into this song. There’s a unique juxtaposition here between the generally upbeat-sounding music and the fact that these songs were conceived during a time of great peril. “They say it’s 95, and that makes me feel alright” is (ostensibly) about Miller’s chance of survival… And while those are good odds, it’s almost sardonic to hear those hard truths floating above the otherwise lighthearted psych-rock here. “Inside” is a perfect follow up – feeling a little more rooted in jangle pop instead of psychedelia, the acoustic guitar backbone here holds organically-true as the fuzzy electric guitars tear your speakers to shreds.
As you make your way through the latter half of 95, Miller’s willingness to explore a wide sonic territory becomes evident. “Life” is a warm-hearted acoustic ballad that splits the two halves of the album perfectly. “Years” is perhaps the most ambitious song here – and even though it’s sub-two-minutes in length, the abrupt transition from chiming acoustic guitar to woozy bedroom-pop (around :50) is one of the coolest feel changes on the entire album. Miller brings it all home with the slacker rock ender, “Drag” channeling his ’90s forebearers’ sound with the hyper-compressed guitar tones found in modern day lo-fi.
We’re glad Miller’s alright and even gladder that his latest EP exists. If you want to hear it for yourself, 95 is available now (March 11, 2025) via bandcamp (below) and Spotify.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna