National Photo Committee (Record Release) / Lifeguard / 2w33dy

Doors: 8PM / Show: 9PM / 21+Friction can be unwanted the unintended clash of things not built to interact. It can also provide the grip necessary for energy and movement. Friction can abrade, but it can also propel. For Chicago quartet National Photo Committee, friction serves as both an irritant and a power source.First, theres the frayed-denim baritone of singer/guitarist Maxwell Bottner, which resembles the wry drawl of David Berman channeled through the froggy gusto of Calvin Johnson. Its not always a smooth process, that channeling. Collisions occur; bumps are hit; sparks fly. But the resulting dissonance carries a strange frisson, if youll pardon the French. Bottners dog-eared yet nimble vocals exude a longing thats simultaneously innocent and jaded, ironic and earnest. Is he trying to fool us, or himself? Maybe hes just delivering the kind of wisdom that you cant reduce to a lesson -- or offering up some foolishness we can learn from. Rollicking ballad The Bishop, for instance, begins with a mystifying parable about a man turning into cheese (I think) and goes on to include cocky declarations like Loves a sexy puzzle, and Im the devils best masseuse, and thats a fact. Bottner sings it all with fuck-it-bucket conviction but leaves a sneaking suspicion that hes not entirely on the level.And then theres the music. Check out If I Wait, a springy number that bounces along like vintage Halo Benders but harbors something murkier beneath the pep. Henry Moskals sprightly pedal steel guitar and Will Carrs bobbing bass say one thing, while the jittery drums and barbed riffs suggest something totally different. Bottners voice splits the difference, somehow sounding both worn out and fired up, which suits his lyrics about the pleasures and perils of procrastination. Adelaide, meanwhile, is a chugging shit-kicker that features a howling sax outro and a honky-tonk breakdown. The rootsy Its Hard packs a couple rave-ups into its doleful blue-collar lament (and finds room for