What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, Grammar front man Brent Pulse was more likely to be found MCing a show in Chicago’s rowdy hip hop scene or writing graffiti on the El than making the kind of tight, accessible bedroom pop that's currently generating buzz for this harmony-laden five-piece. But when he wasn't running from the transit cops, Pulse was quietly absorbing the most fundamental elements of pop music in his own way.

It was a long gestation period with a few fits and starts, including six years co-fronting Chicago funk staple Bumpus with Rachael Yamagata, but in Gramma... (+) expand

What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago, Grammar front man Brent Pulse was more likely to be found MCing a show in Chicago’s rowdy hip hop scene or writing graffiti on the El than making the kind of tight, accessible bedroom pop that's currently generating buzz for this harmony-laden five-piece. But when he wasn't running from the transit cops, Pulse was quietly absorbing the most fundamental elements of pop music in his own way.

It was a long gestation period with a few fits and starts, including six years co-fronting Chicago funk staple Bumpus with Rachael Yamagata, but in Grammar Pulse has finally found a point where his pesky pop sensibilities and exhaustive study of music theory intersect. “I’ve always heard the most attractive qualities in any kind of music I listen to,” he says. “That’s what ‘pop’ means to me – it’s the element of any song in any style sets off the ‘awesome’ receptors in the brain.”

There are four other voices in Grammar to make sure those receptors are always flipped on, and their backgrounds are no less diverse that Pulse’s. Bassist/vocalist Lizz Kannenberg and drummer/vocalist Jon Sarmiento may have packed away the rough-and-tumble post-punk of former group SND ON SND for poppier pastures, but the duo continues to develop their tight, concise rhythm section relationship in Grammar. Monocled professor of atmospherics and acoustics P. Griffon Baron handles the odd coupling of electric guitar and finger cymbals, while utility infielder Dan Moulder shoulders keyboards, melodic, and glockenspiel duties.

If Pulse and company have learned anything over the last decade, it’s that there is a weird, intricate balance of ingredients in a deceptively simple result. “Pop music is like a really fantastic mixologist’s cocktail,” he points out. “It may taste like one cohesive flavor, but it takes a lot of bizarre ingredients and a ton of patience to make it truly great.” (-) collapse