World Cup by Webb Chapel

Webb Chapel operates on impulse, chance, and what sounds right. Since 2022’s Moverama, the project’s freewheeling approach to tape recording has yielded an enigmatic collection of raw art rock and guitar pop unattached to any one specific sound or idea. Thus far, primary songwriter Zack Claxton has taken a singular approach to Webb Chapel by binge-writing in seclusion and steering clear of anything resembling a press photo. Now reimagined as a full band, Webb Chapel enters the studio for the first time; World Cup is the sound of a rapidly evolving project leaning into collaborative trust and doubling down on creative instinct.

Recorded and mixed over six days with engineer Dan Angel, World Cup was beholden to fate and changes in both scenery and personnel. “Alone at the Fair” was reworked after studio soundcheck, as listening back gave the song more context. “There’s something about hearing people playing things in a room,” Claxton explains, "Sometimes you’ll listen back and be like ‘What’s going on here?’” The immediate challenges of recording with a full band forced Claxton’s hand in more deliberate arrangement decisions while entrusting the band with making creative decisions themselves.

Rachel Gordon (Nine of Swords, Greg Electric) takes vocal duties for highlights “Black Car” and leadoff cut “Springtime,” pushing Claxton further into the directorial role of “background lead.” A cruising intro prefaces the latter track’s crushing percussive backbone, capturing the full band’s urgency to let listeners know Webb Chapel is alive. Gordon’s restless wail is passionate and instantly gripping, setting the tone of side A beside thrilling uptempo cuts like “Pretty” and “Shipping Containers Anonymous.” With Josh Lesser (Blue Smiley, TAGABOW) on guitar and Christian Mailloux (Sweepers) on drums, World Cup finds Webb Chapel rounding out their live roster with some of Philly’s finest.

No stranger to a speedy recording process, Claxton was right at home with World Cup’s one-week turnaround. Webb Chapel’s home recordings were often written and recorded in one day, but World Cup marks the band’s fluid evolution from bedroom afternoons to coordinated studio sessions. The intentions Webb Chapel set with World Cup lay the foundations for the city’s best new secret; an unpinnable project, faceless and shapeless, cemented in trust and intuition.

All proceeds benefit The Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society
https://phillypaws.org/
"A non-profit organization dedicated to saving Philadelphia’s homeless and at-risk pets. PAWS is the city’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable, basic veterinary care for pet owners and rescue organizations that cannot otherwise access it."

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