There’s nothing quite like Chapell’s The Underground Music Show in the modern musical universe.

I assert that this is a good thing. We don’t need any more cookie-cutter singer/songwriter fare full of quavering sensitivities. Nor do we need paint-by-numbers noise merchants peddling oh-so-indie guitar albums that wear their oddities on their sleeves. Chapell is, unashamedly, himself and nothing more.

The Stamford, Connecticut-born performer and songwriter discovered initial notoriety as a fifteen-year-old prodigy working with Dirty Dancing producer Jimmy Ienner. He later led the East-West fusion outfit Kalki. His tenure with that band served notice that Chapell wasn’t content with finding fame as a garden variety song and dance man. He had bigger fish to fry.

The peak of his musical journey so far comes with the formation of the band bearing his name. Chapell’s 2016 debut, The Redhead’s Allegations, produced by Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison, illustrated Chapell’s mammoth growth as a songwriter and human being. Two successors, Soul Man and Love in the Summer of Trouble, solidified his direction and garnered him a loyal following.

 I believe it bodes well for the album’s remaining songs when an artist leads off with the title track. There’s a long tradition of this kind of track listing signaling a wellspring of self-assurance. It’s justified in this case. “The Underground Music Show” sets the stage for everything following it. One of its primary merits lies with the vocals. Chapell has an idiosyncratic voice, and further strengthens the singing with The Crush Boys’ backing vocals. Marrying thoughtful lyrical content with the pop predilections of this opener establishes a template that Chapell won’t desert.

However, I’m glad to report there are ample variations. He doesn’t follow a single path. The bright piano-laced pop balladry of “The Space Between Us” is an excellent follow-up to the opener. He builds the song from relatively restrained beginnings into a robust march that simmers with energy. Chapell continues indulging in anthemic pop with the album’s third cut, “When the Music Plays Again”. Violinist Lorenza Ponce is one of the underrated musical forces driving many of these cuts and plays with great confidence throughout this track.

I wondered going in if Chapell was covering John Lennon with the plaintively titled “Grow Old with Me”. However, it’s another outstanding original. He pursues a jaunty trajectory that eschews the anthemic tendencies of the preceding songs in favor of an irresistible pop bounce. “I Used to Say This Could Never Be Me” steers The Underground Music Show into different textural waters. He scaffolds his lyrics about the ironies of getting older around a loping tempo with a surprising amount of swing. It’s one of his best vocals on the release, and he tosses in several understated moves into the imaginative arrangement.

The relaxed gait of “When Sally Left” juxtaposes nicely against a nuanced and often vigorous Chapell vocal. This tune packs an unexpected punch and comes at an ideal place in the album’s track listing. “Like We Just Met” is The Underground Music Show’s penultimate tune, and its hypnotic piano motif supplies an important musical hook for the song’s success. It’s another of the vocal high points with a strong central performance from Chapell and astute multi-tracking scattered throughout the cut. Chapell’s The Underground Music Show harbors a bounty of rewards that listeners won’t readily exhaust. I advise you to check it out today.

Skyler Voss