La Scala

It has been said that La Scala is a rock n' roll band that lives eternally in the brief moment of the death aria, moments before the knife is plunged. Their songs bring into the rock vein a tradition of conquest and tragedy, hope and despair, passed down for centuries by the verses of the forlorn street singer haunting the freezing alleys and dark passageways of the world. Theirs is a driving music, rhythmic, drenched in a thick blanket of reverb, which finds itself at home in the smokey rooms frequented by the unmoored, wherever they may be.



The group formed in early 2007, in a city with myriad dark corners, Chicago. Vocals and guitar are provided by Balthazar de Ley, whose childhood split between Paris France and Champaign USA taught him the art of melancholy and the art of song, both of which he honed in his previous endeavors with bands such as Menthol and Hum. The urgent rhythms are provided by drummer Joshua Lohr, formerly of The Dirty Things, and bassist Ryan Jewell. Rounding out the lineup is Kirk McMahon, responsible for the tremolo guitars.



La Scala's debut EP, The Harlequin, recorded and mixed by renowned producer Brain Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse, etc.), was released in 2008 by Highwheel Records. During much of 2009, La Scala retreated from public performance in order to pen a full length album.



Here is what the lovelies at the Chicago Reader have said:

Highwheel Records.is releasing a four-song EP, The Harlequin, by this energetic and buzzy local quartet, on both seven-inch and CD. The band’s sound sheathes a core of shameless New Romantic-grade Bowie worship in retro-Euro duende that reeks of Serge Gainsbourg’s cigarette ash. Why does this mix work so well for them? Mainly because they rock: they leave in the melodic melancholy of cafe music while cutting out nearly all that draggy ennui. —Monica Kendrick



La Scala

The Harlequin



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