So, how do you take your drink? For ten men from Bloomington, Indiana, they prefer it straight. You might remember them from December 2007 and their sensational rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” from YouTube. They call themselves, Straight No Chaser. Formed in 1996 as the first a cappella group of Indiana University, the group released their first album with Atlantic Records in December 2008, titled “Holiday Spirits.” On April 13, 2010, they released their fourth album, With a Twist.
This time the group focused on taking pop songs and putting a new spin on them. There are 12 tracks that include, “Tainted Love” by Ed Cobb, “Fix You” by Coldplay, “Wonderwall” by Oasis, “Under the Bridge” by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, “One Voice” by Barry Manilow featuring Barry Manilow, and a mash up of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” by Harold Allen and E. Y. Harburg and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. For those of you who are not familiar with a cappella, I highly recommend it.
The basic philosophy is to use only your voices to recreate the feel of a well known song, and Straight No Chaser is one of the best groups out there. Their interpretations and changes to each song create a sound that while different at first is equally beautiful as the original. I especially enjoyed “Fix You” and “I’m Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Their musical ability is shown in the composition of the mash up and the subtle slowing of the tempo in “Fix You” is perfect. Yes, the boys from IU did it again.
Want to hear them live? Go to www.sncmusic.com, and check out their cross country tour dates!
