Tenci

Tenci rose out of Chicago’s close-knit indie underground with a sound that fused textural, lo-fi experimentation with the languid melodicism and thoughtful lyrics of singer/songwriter Jess Shoman. While the band’s 2020 debut, My Heart Is an Open Field, quietly navigated past traumas, their 2022 follow-up, A Swollen River, A Well Overflowing, was a more adventurous, even joyful affair.
Shoman recorded Tenci’s debut in 2019 with producer Spencer Radcliffe and a cast culled from Chicago’s vibrant indie rock underground. Released in 2020, My Heart Is an Open Field bore a spare and atmospheric tone with echoing electric guitars occasionally aided by a rhythm section, woodwinds, or strings. Lonesome yet comforting, Shoman unspooled their grief and loss in a captivating pastiche of song and sonic mood building. As work began on their second album, Tenci developed into a more band-oriented project, with Shoman joined by guitarist/saxophonist Curtis Oren, bassist Izzy Reidy, and drummer Joseph Farago. With the 2022 release of A Swollen River, A Well Overflowing, their songs also took on a more expansive feel with imaginative sonic detours in a strong thematic element. ~ Timothy Monger