Tiny Rebels

Recorded in a week, Tiny Rebels—a 2013 mini-LP from Chicago’s Cairo Gang—is perhaps the best way to experience the ever-maturing works of Emmett Kelly. Like his fellow collaborator Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Kelly enjoys the confusion between himself as an individual and his musical project. These six songs capture Kelly creating a retro Byrds-like pop, right down to the thick electric bass lines and the heavily compressed harmonies and 12-string jangles. Except where The Byrds worked with a carefully measured approach, only occasionally finding the room to experiment, songs here such as “Tiny Rebels,” “Take Your Time,” and “Father of the Man” give an idea of what The Byrds post–“Eight Miles High” might have sounded like had they not wandered toward country-rock. The drums emerge to drive “Shake Off” into its garage-rock roots. “Find You with a Song” takes a lighter folk-rock approach, though the sudden sirens add a touch of chaos.