Leave it to Fever Marlene, perhaps Milwaukee's best band at the moment, to take an unusual approach to its second disc. If fans expect "White China," which is officially released next week, to be more of the same, they will be sorely disappointed.

On the other hand, "White China," which follows last year's acclaimed "Civil War," isn't disappointing in any way. Melodic and at times melancholic, "White China," is built around engaging arrangements and three-dimensional mixes.

A lot of what makes it unique says Scott Starr -- who is 50 percent of Fever Marlene -- is the way in which it was created.

"The album was written and recorded at The Chelsea Hotel in New York about four weeks ago," Starr told me last week. "Kevin and I brought a minimal recording setup and went out to see what we could come away with under such limitations."

The 10-track record, which is varied, yet coherent and cohesive, shows no sign of any limitations. Despite being recorded in a setting not entirely conducive to recording a band, Dunphy and Starr thought ahead.

"Notice no live drum kits," he said. "We sampled Kevin's drums before we left and used the individual hits to shape all the beats. We also used things we had in the room such as chairs, the sink, the window sill and glass breaking ... as you can hear on the last song ("Check for Pulse").

"White China" and "Oh Berlin" are almost acoustic numbers, but "Won't Let You Down" rides the frontier between rock and roll and electronica. Sweet and warm, it's also spacy and mysterious and is -- if this is even possible -- subtly anthemic. "Lemon King Mahoney" is simmering power pop.

Starr says that a lot of the feel that "White China" possesses also comes from the situation.

"Cats and dogs running around, people painting and writing in the hallways ... altogether it was a very inspiring place," he said of the Chelsea. "I think we decided to go for that reason alone. Kevin and I don't like recording studios very much and we recorded most of 'Civil War' in our loft. It didn't feel right to continue with a new piece in the same space. So, we just removed ourselves entirely and put ourselves somewhere that could possibly write the songs for us. Luckily it worked out. As taxing as it was. It could've been a huge disaster."

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Posted by Yield on March 4, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (report)

Scott and Kevin are swell guys. They're also pretty talented. Love, Yield