Although recession and depression are sadly familiar additions to the pop culture lexicon, there is a long tradition of artists who create infectious pop melodies, rife with lyrical optimism despite any glum news. In Cleveland, that band is Afternoon Naps, and their latest album Parade offers the gleeful jangle and upbeat fervor many in the North Coast only dream about.
While many bands attempt to create the lush pop orchestrations of Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, or the creative group dynamic of the Zombies or the Left Banke, few actually do. Most bands’ creative repackaging attenuates the original’s luster, but Afternoon Naps, led by Tom Dechristofaro and Leia Hohenfeld, have created an inspired, polished sound all their own. “I really never thought I’d be making music so closely related to the music that I idolized growing up,” says Hohenfeld. “The Left Banke was my first favorite tape.”
Dechristofaro, a native of Niles, Ohio, and Hohenfeld, raised in Valley City, Ohio, met in 2005, when a mutual friend, who knew Dechristofaro was looking for a female vocalist to start a band, introduced them. “We both had some mutual interests in similar music, but what really was important was I thought that her giddy personality fit the type of music I wanted to make perfectly,” says Dechristofaro. “That was key.”
While Dechristofaro writes all the songs, plays guitar and pens the lyrics, Hohenfeld develops the arrangements, which comes naturally for the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and classically trained flutist. On Parade, the duo performed with drummer/guitarist Craig Ramsey (also of Bears), bassist Mike Allan and violinist/celloist Zach Smolko (also of Helper Tcells). “It’s always fun for me to hear a song I just have chords and lyrics for put to music for the first time by the rest of the gang,” says Dechristofaro.
Parade was recorded at The Mammoth Cave studio in Akron, where the group worked with Tim Gerak. “He’s a real good friend and likes pretty much all the same bands we like, so you can’t ask for a better situation,” says Dechristofaro. “He has a great ear for getting the sounds, feel, tones that we always want.”
The resulting record unites Dechristofaro’s breezy vocal delivery and innocuous lyrics about relationships, youthful concerns and escapism on songs such as “Beach Bums” (“Anything you want to say to me/just whisper into the breeze”), “Bubblegum 45” (“Jump inside a song/ where nothing can go wrong/chew bubblegum/as I sing for you”), and “Fall Companion,” Hohenfeld’s favorite track on the record. “Tom really blew me away when he came to me with that one,” she says. “I felt like it really helped set the tone for the rest of the album.”
The group’s collection of vintage gear also helped set the tone, with Hohenfeld swearing by a 1965 Ace Tone organ, and Dechristofaro relying on his Ampeg Reverb Rocket amp. Hohenfeld, who lends her irresistibly twee vocals to many of the tracks, including the infectious, should-be Top 40 hit, “The Day We Started.” Throughout the record, which shifts tempo from jubilant pop gems to lounge-y turns, flute solos, string arrangements, bells and tambourines create a refreshingly involved sound.
“I listen to all kinds of things: 60s pop-psyche, like the Yellow Balloon and Sagittarius, lots and lots of vintage soul, bubblegum, Motown… I’m sure it’s pretty obvious that I’m hugely influenced by lots of Eighties/Nineties indie pop, jangle, twee bands, too – the Smiths, Felt, Orange Juice, Heavenly,” says Dechristofaro. “They’re all in there in one form or another.”
Afternoon Naps play the Beachland Tavern as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival on November 13. Check out more Afternoon Naps here, and buy Parade at Music Saves.
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