On Tuesday's Afternoon Shift, The Break Room features Chicago-based musician Chris McDuffie and his project Whitejacket with the song "Those Are Pearls." It's from his debut solo album Hollows and Rounds. A former keyboardist for the indie-pop group Apples In Stereo, McDuffie has been more-or-less absent from the music scene for over a decade. He returns now with a decidedly Beatles-inflected release that features both the piano and brass arrangements, along with vocal harmonies - all of which were mainstays of the baroque pop sound from the '60s and '70s. Chris McDuffie and Whitejacket will be in the studio tomorrow for a live performance on Afternoon Shift.
The Break Room also features R&B artist Nick Waterhouse with the song "Is That Clear?" off of his debut album Time's All Gone. With his seven-piece onstage band the Tarots, Waterhouse plays R&B the old fashioned way, recalling classic groups like Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm, but succeeds in creating a sound that is both vintage and entirely of its time.