Tag: chicago

More From The Hazy Seas

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After a promising close to 2016 with a couple of singles we loved, Chicago based The Hazy Seas finally delivered us a much anticipated new single last month. Much to our surprise, the band sent over this new single called “Old Clothes” over the Winter Break season and I’m pleased to share it with you today. As usual, the band’s name once again offers a perfect description of their music with this one again being seriously hazy while still offering some weird pop elements to keep the listener engaged. Could the band’s upcoming LP be one of our first favorites of the year?

The Hazy Seas will release their debut LP sometime this month.

The Hazy Seas Share Heavy Heads

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There’s a whole lot of alliteration in that headline, but there’s a whole lot of reasons to listen to Chicago’s The Hazy Seas too. For one, you can’t tell me that as soon as those guitars start dancing their way into the scene that you’re not just tapping your toes incessantly. The rhythmic pulse adds extra bounce too, giving this song great energy to push things forward. Interestingly, there’s nice juxtaposition with the vocals, coated and cloudy, kind of this dark solemnity, which matches up with the song’s lyrics taking on the subject of making tough decisions and feeling lost while others look on at your life. The group will release their debut LP in early January of next year, so keep your eyes peeled.

Surfy Rock Number From Graffiti Air

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Remember when I said earlier that I rather enjoy music that can’t be pigeonholed into a single genre or sound? Well I have another tune falling into this theme with this new track called “Lake Shore Drive” from brand new Chicago based outside Graffiti Air. The song starts out with some serious surf rock influence on the guitar, but also offers a bit of a post-punk theme as the bass really starts popping and the vocals offer some grit. It’s a promising new sound from a band fresh on the scene. Graffiti Air have a few more tunes over on bandcamp for those interested.

Fran Announce A Private Picture

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Some labels just get on a roll and top hit after hit, and this is very much the year of Fire Talk; today they announce the debut release of Fran, the musical project of Maria Jacobson. This first single is a doozy, bringing in this heavy riffs balanced out by the playfulness of the chorus, though the song’s subject matter might lean closer to the heavier moments; the video definitely attacks the realm of the “boys only” clubs, and deservingly so. Musically it reminds me a lot of Aldous Harding or Cate Le Bon in the way the song’s structured, building and then taking twists and turns that illustrate the power of voice and artistic flare that keeps listeners coming back for the experience. A Private Picture will drop on November 15th.

More From Future Silence

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About a month ago we helped introduce you to Chicago based band Future Silence and their take on dreamy, quiet, pop music. Today we have another new single to share entitled “Ealing Broadway” coming off of the band’s upcoming debut EP. While this single is again focused on dream pop, the band pumps in some quirkier elements with electronics and a sparse horn piece. This band stands firmly in an ever rising Chicago scene.

Future Silence will release their debut, self-titled EP on Friday via Half a Cow Records.

Future Silence Announce Debut EP

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The Chicago scene has been dropping some great tunes this week, earlier with Deeper and now this Future Silence track that comes with the announcement of their debut EP. There’s this sugary girl-group melody crafted by the vocals, though with just a hint of indifference to keep it cool. Musically, it offers this brooding version of dream pop…the rhythm section pushes the song forward, and the guitars seem solemnly muted, allowing the internal melody to sit in the vocals unit the chorus washes ashore. Really just in love with this song today, and if you’re feeling the same, look for their EP on September 13th courtesy of Half a Cow Records.

Deeper Announce New 7″

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Deeper dropped their stunning self-titled LP last year via Fire Talk, and we did a lot of coverage on that album; I even booked them at my super-last-minute SXSW show, where they killed it. Now, the band are back with the announcement of a new 7″, featuring a John Maus cover and this new track below. I love the immediacy of the rhythm section here, offering up an energetic bob of right from the get-go. They don’t stray too far either, bringing in some discordant angular guitar riffs to craft the contrast where they vocals can weave in and out. This tune’s super rad, and they’ll have the 7″ on hand when they hit the road with label mates Dehd this Fall.

Sorry I Slept on Alpine Subs

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Earlier this month Alpine Subs released their debut self-titled LP, and I’d like to personally apologize for giving you late notice of how great the LP is. It’s weird, it has this strange blend between the mid 00s college indie rock vibe and the omni-present power-pop; it uses these two consistently, giving you 12 songs that can be either soft or be seen as rock. I like the 2/3 punch of “Miles Away” and “Menomonee; the former has this soft swagger akin to I Was a King, while the latter has this innate softness in its style that gives you a little ear candy. But, the more I sit around and listen, the more I realize that the entirety of Alpine Subs is probably best suited for a sit-down/listen-all-the-way-through moment, but you do you…just stream it below.

Discus Share Watch the Milk Turn Dry

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When you reach out to us with news of a new band comprised of members of Clearance and Pool Holograph, you can’t expect us to pass it up, can you? No way! Especially when Discus brings as good of a track as “Watch the Milk Turn Dry.” The tune has these cavernous vocals that seep into the crevices that surround you, surrounding you in this dreamy cocoon you won’t want to escape. All the while, discordant chords dance around the voice, circling them as the drums lead your toes to that impulsive tap that lets your body know what a great song you’ve got at your ears. This tune will appear on a new LP, which is slated for a Fall release via Balaclava Records.

Jangly Rock From Quasar Wut-Wut

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Stop me if you’ve heard this before… I found a new band I love. Yep crazy I know. This time my new favorite band is self-proclaimed #3 band in Chicago, Quasar Wut-Wut. Though the band’s name may be hard to say, I can assure you that the music is very easy to get into. For your consideration is the group’s latest single and video called “Jezebel’s Arm”. It’s a really fun bit of jangly rock music with some unique vocal deliveries and a totally upbeat tempo. It reminds me of late British invasion bands if they had better vocals like The Dodos.

Quasar Wut-Wut just released a new album called Digesting Mirror which is available to stream in full on Spotify.

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