Biography
Emerging from Chicago during the mid-'90s, the Aluminum Group crafted a richly textured sound rooted in '70s soft pop and lounge while weaving in strands of new wave, chamber pop, and Tropicalia. Formed by brothers John and Frank Navin, the group gained notice toward the end of that decade through a pair of acclaimed Minty Fresh releases, most notably the 1999 standout Pedals, shaped under Jim O'Rourke's production. Continuing to refine their refined pop aesthetic across subsequent decades with input from assorted collaborators, the Navins completed a trilogy of albums that wrapped up with 2008's Little Happyness. Following a 14-year break, the Aluminum Group resurfaced in 2022 via their self-titled eighth album.
Longtime fixtures in the Wicker Park music community, John and Frank Navin first appeared in 1982 within the hardcore outfit Women in Love. Even while drawn to punk, the siblings maintained a parallel fondness for the gentler, meticulously arranged work of the Carpenters and Claudine Longet alongside new wave and post-punk outfits such as Marine Girls and the Monochrome Set. Initially testing ideas through a performance art venture called Bleak House, they established the Aluminum Group, borrowing its name from a furniture line by Charles and Ray Eames. After refining their blend of influences through the first half of the '90s, the band issued its debut, the self-released Wonder Boy in 1995. That record unveiled their polished chamber pop approach, with songwriting that at moments echoed Henry Mancini as well as the Magnetic Fields. Signing with the ascending Chicago indie Minty Fresh, they delivered their next effort, 1998's Plano. An international network of like-minded artists, including the High Llamas, Louis Philippe, and Momus, had by then coalesced around the sort of urbane, lounge-inflected art-pop the Navins pursued. Co-produced by Chicago's own Jim O'Rourke, the band's third album, Pedals, marked a peak, foregrounding the brothers' incisive and frequently wry songcraft along with their subtle orchestrations while incorporating contributions from Sally Timms of the Mekons and Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas.
Issued in 2000 on the fresh Chicago label Hefty Records, Pelo carried the Aluminum Group forward and added electronic textures through the work of Tortoise drummer and producer John Herndon. The 2002 release Happyness advanced further by merging expansive arrangements and electronics from the prior two records with echoes of earlier material. It also launched a connected trilogy that proceeded through 2003's Morehappyness and ended with 2008's Little Happyness, each installment probing distinct dimensions of the group's intricate, cinematic palette. Thereafter the Navins largely withdrew, suspending Aluminum Group activity across the 2010s.
In early 2022, after 14 years without new material, the Aluminum Group began issuing singles, among them the wry "Color My Lips Hot Pink," which revisited their signature style from a more seasoned vantage. The track later featured on the band's self-titled eighth album, released that April.
Longtime fixtures in the Wicker Park music community, John and Frank Navin first appeared in 1982 within the hardcore outfit Women in Love. Even while drawn to punk, the siblings maintained a parallel fondness for the gentler, meticulously arranged work of the Carpenters and Claudine Longet alongside new wave and post-punk outfits such as Marine Girls and the Monochrome Set. Initially testing ideas through a performance art venture called Bleak House, they established the Aluminum Group, borrowing its name from a furniture line by Charles and Ray Eames. After refining their blend of influences through the first half of the '90s, the band issued its debut, the self-released Wonder Boy in 1995. That record unveiled their polished chamber pop approach, with songwriting that at moments echoed Henry Mancini as well as the Magnetic Fields. Signing with the ascending Chicago indie Minty Fresh, they delivered their next effort, 1998's Plano. An international network of like-minded artists, including the High Llamas, Louis Philippe, and Momus, had by then coalesced around the sort of urbane, lounge-inflected art-pop the Navins pursued. Co-produced by Chicago's own Jim O'Rourke, the band's third album, Pedals, marked a peak, foregrounding the brothers' incisive and frequently wry songcraft along with their subtle orchestrations while incorporating contributions from Sally Timms of the Mekons and Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas.
Issued in 2000 on the fresh Chicago label Hefty Records, Pelo carried the Aluminum Group forward and added electronic textures through the work of Tortoise drummer and producer John Herndon. The 2002 release Happyness advanced further by merging expansive arrangements and electronics from the prior two records with echoes of earlier material. It also launched a connected trilogy that proceeded through 2003's Morehappyness and ended with 2008's Little Happyness, each installment probing distinct dimensions of the group's intricate, cinematic palette. Thereafter the Navins largely withdrew, suspending Aluminum Group activity across the 2010s.
In early 2022, after 14 years without new material, the Aluminum Group began issuing singles, among them the wry "Color My Lips Hot Pink," which revisited their signature style from a more seasoned vantage. The track later featured on the band's self-titled eighth album, released that April.
Albums
