Last week, Plug Research released D.C. electronica duo Chessie‘s latest, Manifest, a full-length that San Francisco’s influential Aquarius Records says is both “very highly recommended” and “one which will no doubt be on [lots] of folks 2008 top ten lists!”

Mark Jenkins wrote a City Paper feature on the train enthusiasts in November 2001.

Here’s an excerpt:

Chessie’s new label, Plug Research, calls the duo’s music “a swirling, indistinct realm of sonic abstraction with influences ranging from the Beach Boys to My Bloody Valentine and Satie.” My Bloody Valentine is a longstanding model, and anyone looking for Satie need only play Meet‘s “Katy (For Satie).” The Beach Boys, though, are less immediately evident in Chessie’s style.

It’s “more in theory than in sound,” Gardner explains. “Sure, Pet Sounds is a big influence to me—and everyone else in the freakin’ universe making records at the moment. It’s not particularly interesting or revealing to say that. Except that I really am still profoundly moved by the care and detail devoted to sound beyond the composition and lyrical content. I feel like that record opened up a whole new dimension of pop music. I’m still inspired by that.”

At the duo’s MySpace page, you can hear what Stephen Gardner and Ben Bailes are up to now.

‘Snice.