Spare time, a spare room, and spared smokes; like a cool-handed stage direction in a Sam Shepard play; like a grit-paced mood-swing in a Larry Brown novel, these are the elements to a truly American alchemy. These are also the ingredients that gave rise to a fresh blend of alt-country, indie rock and folk blues: The Additives, a band from Bridgeport, Chicago; with an uncanny ability to create visual narratives out of the alienation and the outsider braininess that are the makeup of today's Americana tradition.