Ris Paul Ric

Dischord, the hallowed post-hardcore imprint, has been getting all kinds of folky lately. First, members of Lungfish released a haunting, bare-bones disc under the name Pupils, and then label founder and Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye formed the Evens, a hushed, strum-laden combo. Now that Q and Not U -- Dischord's most popular signee of the past few years -- has broken up, guitarist Chris Richards has resurfaced under the pseudonym Ris Paul Ric. And guess what? It's a mostly acoustic affair, suffused with Richards's cryptically catchy songcraft. The act's debut, Purple Blaze, is due out shortly, the result of a collaboration with Tim Hecker, who sculpts minimal electronica as Jetone. On stage, though, Richards is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Dan Caldas, formerly of old Dischord labelmate Black Eyes. Whether Ris Paul Ric is a one-off project or Richards's new full-time gig remains to be seen. Either way, it's good to see him making a racket again -- even if it is kind of a quiet one.