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Chisel

Chisel surfaced in Washington, D.C. in the early ’90s, releasing several singles, an EP, and two albums with New Jersey independent label Gern Blandsten Records. Led by Ted Leo, Chisel married substance to style, enriching its literate, heady tunes with vocal harmonies, frenetic guitar, dynamic bass lines by Chris Norborg, and the colorful drumming of John Dugan. A power trio designed for maximum impact, the band presaged the ’00s garage rock revival, mixing elements of mod, power pop, and soul to its post-hardcore heritage.


 


Chisel made its live debut in 1990 as a punk cover band at a Notre Dame football tailgater. The trio’s line-up solidified that year with guitarist/singer Ted Leo, drummer John Dugan, and bassist Chris Infante playing Leo’s original songs—an organic blend of idealistic punk, New York noise, and sparse underground pop—on campus and off. While studying for degrees, the band embarked on short DIY tours of the East Coast and Upper Midwest, and recorded a debut single at Virginia’s Inner Ear Studios for release on Assembly Records.


 


Chris Norborg replaced Infante on bass in Fall of 1992 and the band continued touring. In 1993, it documented its evolving sound at Chicago’s Idful Music with engineer Casey Rice, and at Washington, D.C.’s WGNS studio with Geoff Turner and Charles Bennington producing.



In 1994, having fully relocated to Washington, D.C., Chisel pulled at the melodic, mod-leaning threads in its music, enriching its power pop with Norborg’s vocal harmonies. The band released Nothing New, a compilation EP culled from the Idful and WGNS sessions and a 1994 session at Pirate House helmed by Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. From its D.C. homebase, Chisel toured with Velocity Girl, The Van Pelt, Blonde Redhead, and Fugazi, often sharing bills with fellow Washingtonians The Make-Up, The Warmers, and Slant 6.

In 1996, Chisel released 8 A.M. All Day on Gern Blandsten. Recorded at Mulberry Lane in Maryland with Archie Moore of Velocity Girl engineering, the album channeled the band’s high-energy live approach through Leo’s increasingly varied songs. Ranging from the brittle and immediate “Hip Straights,” to the exuberant “Theme For A Pharmacist,” and reflective “Breaking Up With Myself,” 8 A.M. All Day captures a band finding its sea legs on the Potomac, and offering a streetwise response to the Britpop boom on the other side of the Atlantic.



Chisel released Set You Free in 1997. Working with Nicolas Vernhes at his Rare Book Room Studios in Brooklyn, the band constructed a sprawling 17-track exploration of sound and style, with Norborg contributing a trio of songs and some lead vocals. The propulsive agitprop of the opener “On Warmer Music” gives way to “All My Kin,” an angular rocker with brass flourishes. And the minimalist, organ-driven soul of “It’s Alright, You’re O.K.” subtly contrasts with the acoustic textures of the White Albumesque “The Mutable Mercury” and the soulful counsel of “River High.” Set You Free finds a balance between wistful and dynamic on “Oh Dear Friends,” winds up the tension on “Privileged and Impotent,” drifts into a daydream with “In Our Time,” before finding its way to the conclusive “The Last Good Time.” The LP finds Chisel conquering new territory with multifaceted songwriting, savvy arrangements, sharp performances, and warm-yet-immediate production—while somehow never repeating itself. Set You Free sets the stage for the constant growth that distinguishes Leo’s output with Ted Leo and The Pharmacists and solo.


 


In 2022, Numero Group announced a series of remastered releases from Chisel including a reissue of Set You Free.
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Discography

13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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