The New York Times: [Bound Stems] plays brisk, tightly wound guitar rock that works through pattern after pattern behind the fractured storytelling of Bobby Gallivan's lyrics. There are touches of the band's fellow Chicagoans Wilco and Tortoise in the music, but Bound Stems have their own impatient timing and oblique revelations. -Jon Pareles

Rolling Stone Hot List: These Chicago indie rockers build on Modest Mouse's quirky poppiness with low-fi samples and a bouncy groove all their own.

URB: From leftfield samples to odd interludes, there's enough going on here to make Appreciation Night one of the most rewarding repeat listens of the year.

Harp: Chicago's Bound Stems drips with Midwestern charm. Frontman Bobby Gallivan sings like a possessed hybrid of Conor Oberst and Isaac Brock, while the rest of the band supports him via jittery guitar interplay, swirling synths and unorthodox arrangements. -Jonah Bayer

Anthem: Deliciously cerebral and unashamed to proclaim their love of literature, Chicago's Bound Stems are also, lest we forget, a ballsy outfit that spins brainy melodies over raging swells of noise and bombast. - Scott Indrisek

Chicago Tribune: [Appreciation Night] is beyond intricate: Tricky time signatures, fragments of songs and studio dialogue grafted into Frankenstein pop collage, nine distinct cello parts crammed into a 15-second space, even a bit of text borrowed from novelist Kurt Vonnegut (who is credited). Yet it's easy on the ears, with strong melodies, surprise hooks and the voices of Bobby Gallivan and Janie Porche turning complex mˆ©tiers, and rhyme schemes into conversational patterns. - Greg Kot

CMJ Monthly: [Appreciation Night] is a record that bounces between complex, Animal Collective-esque weirdness and Pavement-inspired grooves. - Matt Pullman

V Magazine: With Appreciation Night, the Chicago five-piece certainly hasn't shed any of its quirky ways, but it's wrapped them up in catchy pop songs that adhere to its own crazy logic: herky-jerky tunes full of wild narratives that start, stop, and occasionally dissolve into chaos before erupting with jubilant melodies and the kind of sidelong guitars that are equal parts Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah! and Modest Mouse. -T. Cole Rachel

San Francisco Chronicle: [Bound Stems] weaves tight melodies with lyrics both mournful and proud into guitar parts that lift patiently, irresistibly above faraway vocals and pulsing bass. -Daniel King

Houston Chronicle: The best indie rockers you've never heard of. -Andrew Dansby

Entertainment Weekly Download This: A woozy triumph featuring quivering vocals, ragged distortion, and train-track drums, the song follows its haphazard trajectory to arrive at a blissfully imperfect indie-rocking whole. - Ryan Dombal

Alternative Press, 4 out of 5 Stars: Quirky indie pop that's experimental yet strangely accessible...if you're a fan of [The Flaming Lips]-or adventurous pop music in general-Bound Stems are right up your alley.