“Creeper” by Satchel Grande | New Release

 

   

words by Chance Solem-Pfeifer

If what she wants is many things, one had better be new Satchel Grande.  

"Creeper" is the first salvo from the Omaha funk band's forthcoming album, What She Wants. Across the four-minute jam, they're dialed into the discoball funk the ensemble (a longtime nine-piece, now listed as an 11-piece) has rallied around for most of the last ten years.

In both the technical mix and the general priorities of "Creeper," the horn section appear out front of the pack, one groove to rule it all. Lead vocalist Chris Klemmensen's voice is somewhat further back in the mix, a smooth tenor stretched nearly out of its natural range, almost acting as a kind of puncutation. The relationship between the song's vocals and main melody line is something reminiscent of George Benson — let the instruments do the heavy lifting while the vocals sprinkle in the omnipresent feelings of love and dance. 

And yet, this is not irreverant dance music which wishes only to turn in a ciricle with its arms open. One of the discernable choral lines from Klemmensen — "… I never get to sleep without your love" — surely invokes romance, but with an endgame of vulnerable admission to the aforementioned "she." On this their fourth album, Satchel Grande's party music might represent more of a vessel for a broader emotional landscape. Call it a party that knows that it's ending, and is grooving, fingers crossed, toward its bed, hoping for some slumber. 

Satchel Grande will release What She Wants on April 18 at The Waiting Room and in Lincoln at Vega the next night. Listen to "Creeper" here: 

Chance Solem-Pfeifer is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. Reach him at chancesp@hearnebraska.org.