Stephen Chambers returns to the Orlando music scene with the early-2000s indie goodness of Nazca Lines

The 2000s were a belle époque for Orlando indie rock. There were Summerbirds in the Cellar, New Roman Times, Mumpsy and the whole Post Records clan, to name but a few. The scene was propelled by a class of artists who understood “indie” as an underground ethos rather than a fashionable commodity. That indie perspective splashed a forward, alternative sensibility across much of the city’s music spectrum, from country to rap. It was a golden age. 

Now, from out of the random blue, local act Nazca Lines debuts to channel some of the sounds and spirit of that time. It’s a new project, but there’s a reason why it sounds like a time capsule. Nazca Lines is the solo vehicle of Altamonte Springs’ Stephen Chambers, who was the guitarist of So Help Me Rifle, one of the best Orlando bands of the 2000s indie-rock surge.

After So Help Me Rifle, Chambers stepped away from the scene to grow up and live life, like most of us do. But all along, away from the downtown lights, he was still writing songs. Now, he’s quietly reemerged on his own two decades later as Nazca Lines with a debut album. 

In many welcome ways, the 12-song Claw Shaped LP epitomizes the prime 2000s indie sounds that Chambers originally came from. But it also reveals a fresh, remarkably dimensional side of him as a leading man and multi-instrumentalist. Foremost, it’s a song-driven album of crystal melodies and indie earnestness, carried on balmy indie rock threaded with wisps of organic pop and light alt-country (“My New Country Mouth”). Soft and solo though it is, the record is gently plush with an expansive sound resplendent with piano, horns, bells, harmonica and vibes. The widescreen “Climb the Mound” even stretches out with sweeping veins of cinematic 1960s pop and Spaghetti Western atmosphere.

Nazca Lines is both a blast from the deep past and a novel look at a newly unearthed local indie veteran. His full-length debut is indie pop done with craft and integrity, and it’s a quiet revelation. Claw Shaped now streams everywhere, including TLU’s Spotify playlist.

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This article appears in Feb. 4-10, 2026.