I really like the smooth sound of the indie rock group Chief Springs, based in Leicester and London. The music from their 2003 EP Time to Take Time is superb, and it was the glistening, expansive opening track Elastic that first captivated me. I listen to it regularly, and it remains one of my favourite indie rock tracks of this century.
Today’s track, Upping is more subtle and laid-back than its predecessor, but that doesn’t make it any less arresting by the end. Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing things, since these two songs have just 132 views and 38 views respectively.
Upping draws you in unsuspectingly, with its lush, gentle strumming and the lead vocalist Josh Coyne’s alluring baritone. The song coalesces instrumentally near the end where it shimmers like a dewy leaf in the early morning sun.
Upping is simply sweet – amiably romantic and thoughtful, yet quietly and melodically charming. Josh sings to his loved one with a quiet sense of devotion, ready to follow her wherever life might lead:
“Well I could move off this rock with you, build a house on the moon.
Make a state upon that star too, wait for the space plants to bloom.
Well I could fill a new home with you down on the bed of the sea.
Forge a life under ocean blue, cheap but it’s harder to breathe.
If I’m to do nothing, it’ll be with you.
Don’t see it as running, but a thing to do.”
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
“Shimmer” – indeed, as promised, there was the word you mentioned the other day! What an incredible song…. your description is so apt about how the song draws one in. I was completely there in that rich soundscape. The instrumentation and production are divine, and Coyne’s vocal is truly remarkable. He reminds me so much of the stately baritone sound of John Cale.
Thank you for the introduction to the band and song. It’s criminal that this doesn’t have a million views.
Hi Steve – feliz Saturday friendo!
I love how the instrumentals gradually layer as the song progresses, then finally converge at the end. That moment definitely shimmers to our ears—haha.
Your amazing praise for the track is especially appreciated, given how little attention it’s received here (and on YouTube, as you noted), even among my modest readership. The restraint and slow-building effect are exactly my kind of thing musically. I can also see what you mean about the comparison to John Cale’s vocals.
Thanks for tuning in as always, Steve – it’s great to get your thoughts.
Feliz Saturday to you, too, amigo!
It’s a truly remarkable song, right up my alley, too. The layering is indeed a beautiful feature. So many great songs out there to be discovered. Thanks for finding some of them!
Our appreciation of this song is definitely aligned. It’s always nice discovering great music from small indie groups whose work is often underrecognized.
Truly it is great to discover music like this. I’ll be giving that one more spins for sure.
As I was telling Polly, their more accessible song ‘Elastic’ is fantastic and I can’t get enough of. I’m thrilled you liked ‘Upping’.
I like that one, too. I’d say I’m more drawn to Upping, in which I get a touch of 1960s folk anthem vibe. It’s truly potent.
Apart from how much I love the song – Their lyric in Elastic -‘The Time to Take Time’ is one for the ages. I think it’s the best indie song I’ve heard in the 2020’s and there’s stiff competition out there like the Beths’ ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ which is just so good.
That is a pretty fab lyric, to be sure. Trusting your recs, I of course had to check out the Beths’ song… it’s got a great indie vibe with an uplifting sound. There’s a lovely kind of oddness in the lead vocal that I find quite inviting. They really rock the outro. Great video, too.
The lyrics in Expert are exemplary and a homenaje to the past which you don’t hear that much if at all in modern music. It’s so good.
Grows on you. I’d never heard of them before.
I miss listening to college radio ~ bands like this were a regular on those stations.
Yeh, definitely grows on you. I’d definitely recommend their standout ‘Elastic’ which has more variation and is probably more accessible.