Chicago-based Canasta explores ‘orch pop’

“When we started out, we thought we’d sound more old-timey — like a band your grandmother played,” Crown Point native Elizabeth Lindau says about her band.

For sounding like something your grandmother would play, Canasta has gotten a great deal of attention from the indie-pop world.

Comprised of six rapidly changing members, several of whom were trained classically, Canasta features a spattering of classical and popular instruments, including, in its current form, violin (Lindau), piano (Kyle Mann), trombone (Matt Priest), keyboard (Ian Wilson), guitar (Jeremy Beckford) and drums (Josh Lava). Most members also contribute vocals.

Straddling the line between hooky pop and orchestral quality has put Canasta on the forefront of a rapidly growing genre dubbed “orch pop” (orchestral pop) or occasionally, “chamber pop.”

Compared to the soft-voiced musical polyglot Sufjan Stevens, historical troubadours The Decemberists and fellow Chicagoans Wilco, Canasta sets itself apart, Lindau says, through its emphasis on each instrument.

“It’s more integrated into the band,” she says, “Instead of having a separate orchestral accompaniment — each instrument is a voice.”

Releasing their first album in 2005, titled “We Were Set Up,” Canasta’s music has since been featured on several commercials for Mission Federal Credit Union, in the trailer for upcoming Matthew Broderick film “Diminished Capacity” and in a number of on-line campaign videos for Barack Obama.

Canasta’s susceptibility for commercialization comes from its emotive instrumentals combined with lead singer Matt Priest’s subdued vocals.

“We try to be somewhere in the middle,” Lindau says about Canasta’s music. “Have really interesting harmonies, but not just be commercial rock. We don’t really fit in one box or the other.”

Overall, Canasta’s music can best be described as simply interesting. “We Were Set Up” rewards replays by revealing new layers of sound each time; after listening to the soft and silky “Shadowcat” numerous times, the brass or keyboard or lyrics might suddenly shift into one’s consciousness.

Similarly, each replay of the album means a different song catches one’s attention and becomes easier to appreciate. It’s reminiscent of reading an excellent and complex novel; there’s always something new that reveals itself in the same lines.

The band started when, fortunately enough, Priest was laid off from his job and decided to start a band in his free time. Lindau was one of the first to join, and the only other one from the first incarnation still on board.

“It’s hard to have a band with six people because there’s always somebody who’s getting married or going to school,” Lindau says.

Created out of a group of friends, the band grew backward from its inception, with an emphasis on the people and then fun of it rather than professional playing, and with all instruments invited.

“We thought, ‘Well, we know someone who plays keyboard,’ ” Lindau says. “And the band became a line-up of instruments.”

The songwriting process for a band of six is often time-consuming and difficult, but it ultimately brings a variety of flavors to the table.

“It’s changed a lot with a lot of line-up changes,” Lindau says about the process. “It’s a lot of figuring out. We all write pretty collaboratively — everyone will contribute an idea for a riff, or a couple of chords.”

It is partially this complexity of composition that gives Canasta a feeling of identification with their home base, Chicago.

“There’s a lot of collaboration in Chicago,” Lindau says. “And it feels like there’s a good community here as far as what we’re doing. Chicago’s always been known as a hardworking city, and we’re very meticulous. At the same time, the city is a little more humble than some others.”

Canasta’s joyful opus “Slow Down Chicago” is a testament to the city’s never-ending, bustling atmosphere.

Chicago also was the band’s ticket to getting involved with Obama’s campaign videos.

“I have a day job in a big office building,” Lindau says. “Their campaign office moved into our office, a floor above. I sent them an e-mail saying, ‘If you ever need music, I’m in a band, and we’d be happy to contribute.’ ”

The offer eventually landed them in several of the Obama campaign’s YouTube videos, and gave them a chance to meet the then-candidate.

“We talked about ‘Check Please’,” Lindau says and laughs, referring to the program that interviews people about their favorite Chicago-based restaurants. (Both Lindau and Obama had been guests on the program in the past.)

Currently playing intermittent shows in the area, Canasta also is working on a new album, set to be released later this year, tentatively titled “The Fake Out, the Tease and the Breather.”

— Emilie Shumway, South Bend Tribune, August 20, 2009