POP MUSIC REVIEW : A Stunningly Soporific Band

The British rock press calls bands like Chapterhouse “shoegazers,” a crop of neo-hippie, crypto-pop bands whose dreamy, guitar-drone music might be better suited for star-gazing. True to form, the members of the Reading, England, group stared intently at their feet throughout their set Monday at Bogart’s, occasionally looking up in the midst of the viscous music they were making to mumble an unintelligible lyric or two.

If the sameness of the material had the audience a bit confused as to when one song ended and the next began, the band members were apparently only slightly more enlightened. “This is a new one,” whispered one of the group’s three guitarists to introduce a foggy, circular tune that recalled the Cocteau Twins. “No, this is the new one,” countered his bass-playing bandmate before the next number, a foggy, circular tune that recalled the Cocteau Twins. It’s a good thing the musicians had to stop playing every once in a while to change instruments or no one would have known when to clap.

But, despite its somnolence, Chapterhouse deserved the enthusiastic applause it received. The KROQ favorite “Pearl” and the rest of the mesmerizing tracks on the group’s debut album, “Whirlpool,” are soporific, but in the comforting way of a lullaby, not like a boring book. Listening to Chapterhouse might well put you to sleep, but at least you’ll drift off with a smile on your face.