Divide and dance at the Bishop

At the bottom of Lechuguilla Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Carlsbad, N.M., lies the Chandelier Ballroom, named for the shimmering crystals suspended in the air.

Bloomington band Chandelier Ballroom lives up to its namesake.

“There’s this notion that caves are so unexplored relative to other things around Earth,” member Sean Armie said. “It’s a great metaphor for what we’re trying to do with music.”

Chandelier Ballroom is composed of Cameron Thompson on bass, John Concannon on drums and IU seniors Steven Elmlinger and Armie on vocals, guitars and synthesizers, along with a piano and sampler.

Their EP release show will begin at 9 p.m. Thursday at The Bishop, with an entry fee of $5. The show will also feature Indianapolis-based bands Everything, Now! and Slothpop.

“They’re both really good bands,” Thompson said. “They’re established, and they know what’s going on.”

Junior Mckenzie Earley, founder of the IU organization Audio Scenery, has long attended Chandelier Ballroom’s shows. Earley booked Chandelier Ballroom for the Audio Scenery music festival series soon after first seeing them and has been a fan ever since.

“Their style is something you have to experience to be able to describe,” Earley said. “And it is most definitely worth experiencing.”

Earley described their style as body music because the listener can feel all the rhythms throughout his or her body. This quality quickly draws a crowd into dance mode.

“Although they made up the trend, it’s pretty accurate,” Earley said.

Armie described their music as increasingly more minimalist and dance-able as they distill it to the most basic elements and build from there. Among their influences are David Byrne, David Bowie and Mogwai, Elmlinger said.

“We’re finding our niche,” Thompson said. “We’re about to reach a really nice plateau in the best way.”

The show will celebrate the release of the band’s first EP, “Long Division.” Consisting of four long, self-produced songs, the album was recorded with reel-to-reel tape to give it an “old vintage style,” Thompson said. The EP will sell for $5.

“It gives it a warmer tone,” Armie said. “I think it comes off well and creates some unexpected moments.”

The band was pleased to find an album and poster artist with “a vision that fits ours” in Amanda McCullough, Thompson said. Armie found her lettering for the upcoming show’s poster to be a perfect combination of art deco meets psychedelia.

The EP release show will be especially suitable for dancing, Armie and Thompson said.

“It’s a communal experience,” Armie said. “You get out of it what you put into it.”

Now, after their first release, Chandelier Ballroom’s goals are to tour next summer and to have a full-length album out next fall.

“We want to see how big of a family and fan base we can create,” Elmlinger said.

As for the upcoming release show, Armie said the band hopes to give an experience where the audience will let their guard down and have a good time.

“We want to give you something you can relive,” Thompson said.