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Bound Stems' new album, "The Family Afloat", collects the time spent since the release of their last album, 2006's "Appreciation Night", and refracts it through dozens of characters, viewpoints, voices, instruments and sounds. "The Family Afloat" expresses a crucial personal transition and a collective one. While Bound Stems quit their day-jobs to tour relentlessly throughout 2006 in support of "Appreciation Night" (an album that garnered praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Alternative Press, URB and Chicago Tribune), the band returned home ready for new challenges, and made the communal decision to return to the more stable life of work weeks and strong roots. It was a choice that also ultimately made the concept of home central to "The Family Afloat". The songs sound like preparation: the family has grown now, to include new ones being formed in Chicago. But there's no settling down in these songs: family life is raw and confusing, as uncomfortable and unexpected and rewarding as crucial.