The Polyphonic Spree

Hear the concert on NPR.

With two-dozen uniformed members, The Polyphonic Spree is more like a small army than a band. True to its image, the Dallas-based group makes grand, symphonic rock with the exuberance of a heavenly choir. The band brings its epic sound to Washington, D.C. for an evening of music, originally webcast live on NPR.org Jun. 30, 2007.

When The Polyphonic Spree first emerged in 2002 with its debut album, The Beginning Stages of…, the band seemed like some sort of strange, vaguely religious cult group. Its rotating cast, which included as many as 50 members, wore matching white robes and sang in unison with their arms raised as though they were reaching nirvana. Their music was unambiguously upbeat with Beatley harmonies and catchy, hymn-like melodies.

Despite critical praise, The Polyphonic Spree was slow to pick up an audience. In 2003, they were dropped by their label because of poor sales. Around the same time the band’s music began appearing on TV in ads and programs like Scrubs and Las Vegas. The Polyphonic Spree later appeared on the soundtrack for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and provided most of the score for the 2005 movie Thumbsucker.

For their latest CD, The Fragile Army, the Polyphonic Spree has traded the white robes for matching black uniforms. The military-inspired pants and jacket feature a heart, a red cross and gold pin with each member’s name on it.

“We wanted to capture a whole lotta light and a whole lotta dark on the same page,” says Julie Doyle, one of the group’s principal songwriters. We really hit the nail on the head this time; this is the Spree at its finest.”

Group leader Tim DeLaughter formed The Polyphonic Spree in 2000 following the breakup of his previous group, Tripping Daisy. That band’s run as one of the ’90s more popular alt pop groups ended abruptly when its guitarist, Wes Berggren died of a drug overdose in 1999. DeLaughter formed the Polyphonic Spree partly as a reaction to Berggren’s death, in his search for light in the darkness. DeLaughter was also inspired by psychedelic vocal groups from his childhood like the Fifth Dimension and Electric Light Orchestra.

DeLaughter and Doyle wrote the songs for The Fragile Army at their Dallas home. They then took the songs to the studio where the two dozen band members took over. “It was weird, because it seemed like they had heard the songs before,” Doyle says. “It came so easy to them, but then again that’s part of the magic of The Polyphonic Spree… intuition.”