Formed in Chicago in 1999, Lying In States have always had a love/hate relationship with the city that’s surrounded them. They love the abundance of music, but they hate the glut of bands. They love the Summers, but they hate the harsh abysmal winters. They love the cost of living, but they hate the cost of drinking.

All that being said, the ebb and flow of their hometown has never deterred Lying In States from establishing themselves as one of the city’s seminal acts. The band’s singular song craft has been making serious inroads since the 2003 release of Most Every Night. The record undulates with the kind of raw textural passion oft-saved for the avant leanings of Chicago’s post-rock past, but Lying In States have an uncanny knack for taking those more sensitive sonic elements and infusing them with a healthy dose of... errr, balls. Not timid in the slightest, the band is as informed by their mid-west heritage as they are in opposition to it; the end result is a compelling mix of everything that makes Chicago such a hotbed of indie-culture without any of the surrounding pretense.

Now a full 7 years wiser the band is priming to launch a second aural assault. Tentatively slated for an early 2006 release on hometown label Flameshovel and recorded by local hero Mike Lust [Tight Phantomz, Lustre King], Wildfire on the Lake finds the band upping the ante considerably, coupling all the piss and vinegar of their previous outputs with a more refined sense of dynamics: loud is louder, while soft is well… louder.

Only time will tell if this release will launch these good natured gents into a more national spotlight. But no matter how conflicted the band is about their hometown, Chicago couldn’t be more proud. Wildfire on the Lake is the kind of record every band dreams of making, replete with huge riffs and a thundering sense of achievement, a success by its very design.