Alsace Lorraine

Alsace Lorraine emerged from Chicago's Hyde Park music scene and issued their first recording, "Dreams I Can't Control," on Darla in 2000. Hewson Chen, previously of Vitesse, teamed with Paul Francke to produce synth pop that carried over the atmospheric textures of Chen's earlier group yet shifted the material toward a more overtly pop direction. Ruth Welte supplied the melodic lead vocals on that opening track, after which Caitlin Brice assumed the group's singing role. Building on the positive response to the debut single, the band placed "Chalk Marks on the Ground" on the Little Darla sampler series the following year. Their full-length debut, Through Small Windows, arrived in summer 2001. A tour mounted after the album's release ended abruptly when Francke entered a coma. The band entered hiatus during his recovery and managed only occasional recordings across the subsequent years. Alsace Lorraine reconvened in 2006 and, aided by Entre Rios vocalist Isol, completed their second album, which appeared as Dark One in spring 2007.