Tag: chicago

No Lonesome Share Am I What I’m Not EP

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Chicago’s always got a lot of solid acts that should be on your radar, and No Lonesome are just another in a long line of artists to adore; they released their Am I What I’m Not EP this past week, and here we are to revisit. I chose the tune to spotlight below as it has this broad approach, which is one you’ll find lurking in the release; it opens lightly, almost in a baroque pop fashion as horn arrangements swell in the background. You’ll find a marching pace that keeps the beat, though they don’t move in with the tension as one would expect, holding back just a bit so that the build feels absolutely huge. If that big swell doesn’t hit, then reach out to a neighbor as you might be in need of some help!

Ok Cool Announce Debut LP

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I have been missing really solid female pop rock, akin to my personal favorite Weakened Friends…they’re currently on the road (no Austin show?!), so OK Cool get to fill my need! The band announce their debut LP today, and do it with a classic pop rock fashion, though I love them the most when they really stretch the vocals to their most guttural intentions. In the recording process for their debut, they kept the production to themselves, which gave them complete control to bridge the melodic moments with the aforementioned bite, leaving us with these hook-laden rockers. tThey’ll release Chit Chat on August 1st, and hopefully hit the road with an Austin date!

Dianogah Release Massive Box Set & New Single

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Wild that this past weekend at the Austin Record Convention I spent some time latching onto the few vendors and locals who had the same sort of passion about the late 90s and early 00s emo scene. We tend to find each other. Now not to say that Chicago based Dianogoh are strictly in that genre, and I’d never try to corner them, but they surely were around during that time and have a few indicators of the sound – heavily instrumental, mid-west, etc. If that sort of thing is just as much your jam as it is mine, the legends recently announced a massive 5 LP box set featuring all 4 of their LPs along with another record of singles and B-sides. It is EPIC, and for any of you genre fans (and vinyl heads), this is a can’t miss.

Orders are now live for the very very reasonably priced box set via Landland Colportage. The box set announcement also comes with this BRAND NEW song called “Dreams of Being a King.” Dig it below and melt away.

Check Out Wildflower From Celebrity

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Relatively new Chicago based outfit Celebrity originated after band members Drew Brown, Kevin Maida, and Chris Mills had a bit of down time away from their main groups. This led to a self-titled EP in 2022, and now another 4 song EP entitled Automatic Charger which was released earlier this week. For a preview of the EP and what the band is all about, check out the A-side single “Wildflower”, with accompanying video, below. It’s a driving rock tune, with hints of garage, and a downright harder nature fitting for the band’s hometown.

You can stream the entire new EP over on bandcamp.

 

Dead Bandit Announce Self-Titled LP

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This Spring, Chicago outfit Dead Bandit will unfurl their carefully crafted self-titled LP; it’s an offering, from our first listen, that revolves around an expansive bit of negative space and the careful brush strokes that fill in the gaps. This first single dropped in with this heavy pulse that took on a bit of moodiness from the get go; it felt like some sort of opening to a post-apocalyptic landscape, as you could feel this sort of bleakness in the way it opens. From there, the duo gently play with expectations, letting light guitar notes fall in and out of step with that snare drum march. Nice little morning seance here; the self-titled LP is out on March 14th via Quindi Records.

Justin Sconza Releases Campire + Shares Been So Long

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In continuing with my Friday morning theme of running tracks by individual artists, I wanted to present you with new stuff from Justin Sconza. The singer/songwriter releases Campfire today, recorded entirely on his own. For many, that immediately feels like that thrusts Sconza into the bedroom pop camp, and for all intents and purposes, sure. But, listen to the opening track below and you’ll realize that these songs feel larger; they feel as if they carry the intimacy and try to lift it into a larger space, filling the edges of the track with a swelling that feels akin to a Tony Molina album. You can stream all of Campire HERE, or just sample the hit single below.

Immaterialize Share If Dinner Single

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That Chicago scene is so hot right now! Another act to keep an eye on is the new project, Immaterialize, who’ve shared their latest single that seems perfectly fitting for an eclipse world. Upon pressing play, you’ll find a deep beat that pulses and trickles throughout the tune; you’ll also hear a cloud of atmosphere pressing into the speakers, creating this dreamy blanket of anxiety that you’ll somehow find comforting. I think that owes to the drifting of the vocal work, almost operating as more of an instrument than a pure vocal piece, allowing you to kind of watch as the song moves in then out. Drift right into this one!

Meet the SXSW Band: Smut

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Smut caught my attention way back in 2020 with their Power Fantasy 7″, then followed that up with How the Light Felt, so rest assured, you’ve read about them before on this here site. But, I haven’t caught them live as of yet, so they’re definitely high upon my list for acts I’d love to see in an intimate setting. Read on to Meet the SXSW Band, with scheduled dates and such following the jump!

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Sleeper’s Bell Enchant With Corner

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Chicago based Sleeper’s Bell just shared this enchanting new track called “Corner” and I absolutely had to share it with you all today. The song is a slow building, crooner of a dreamy, folk genre with lovely vocals from both Blaine Teppema and guest vocalist Leo Peterniti. My only complaint is I wish it went on for longer so I could stay in the moment with the band all day.

This track is part of an expanded EP entitled Umarell, which is available to purchase now via Fire Talk Records.

Or Best Offer Announce Debut LP

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As we look back on the year, I realize that I started to seek out some stuff that went deeper into the realms of indie rock, digging down into the caverns of the stuff that truly feels left of the dial…like Or Best Offer. The Chicago outfit burrowed into their own space, crafting their own instruments out of used children’s toys and spare parts, allowing them to toy with our expectations. It’s interesting to me that the album’s title is Center, as that’s what Grace Schmidhauser provides here, a sort of pop gravitational pull allowing the noisy planets and moons to orbit and overlap and crash into one another, building this textured web of interstellar indie noise. It will be interesting to see how far they take it on their debut, which drops via Ba Da Bing on January 26th.

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