New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Reverent is preparing to release his latest album, Long Wave Sermon, tomorrow, January 4th, via American Damage. This is the dark experimental music of Jordan Reyes, and his first album as Reverent since 2017.
We are proud to be able to premier the first single from the album, “Coke”.
You can help Reverent celebrate the release of Long Wave Sermon on January 9th at Elastic Arts with Toupee, Forest Management, and Forced Into Femininity.
Producer and Emcee Ca$hed (aka Connor Cox) recently released his debut album, Opening Euphoria. He personally produced three of the tracks on the album, but it also features production from notion., bravo, Rob Reese, and FlameAlkahest. In addition, Ca$hed partners with Elliot Seitz and Claire Bryant on two of the tracks. Overall the album paints a picture of life Libertyville and all of the excitment and boredom that entails.
TOSH, the new album from Wrecking Crew member Curly Castro, recently dropped via Backwoodz Studioz. Meshing the grimy with elements of dub, the record brings the heat in a perpetual, potent, slow burn. Balancing an air of danger and determination, there’s an authentic wisdom delivered. However, you’ll also an emphasis and enthusiasm, embracing the moment at hand. Polished beats and bars come together on a versatile LP that won’t stop.
SleeperSound is a Milwaukee-based atmospheric rock band with Chicago roots. The four piece band, consisting of David D’Antonio (guitar, vocals, synth), Kenny Buesing (guitar, organ), Mike Campise (Bass), Dan Niedziejko (Drums), recently released their debut full-length album, In Medias Res.
The album is filled with cinematic and also ambient ambient soundscapes surrounding the lyrics and vocals of D’Antonio. The album’s title is latin for “In the middle of things” and that seems to perfectly describe the feel of this album.
You can catch SleeperSound at Martyrs’ with Shed and Evacuate the Earth on January 18th.
The music on Someday Cowboy, the debut album by Baby Jey, is catchy, familiar even, so it’s tough to explain what makes categorizing it so hard. Certainly, the Brooklyn via Edmonton group could be labelled country or Americana—take the opening lap steel guitar-driven folk of “Hannah Holliday’s Son” or the twangy ballad “Every Thing”—but there’s an almost kitsch (semi-)modern pop element, perhaps best summed up by the aptly titled “Someday My Space Cowboy Will Come” which features ‘80s synths, heavily produced drums, and lyrics about a space cowboy. The mixture is almost funny, almost overly earnest with hints of Paul Simon’s eclecticism and Father John Misty’s retro quirks. The result is charming and odd yet accessible. Take a listen to Someday Cowboy below. – Cameron Carr
Indie rockers Commonwealth Choir have a new single, called "Palm Reader," which was produced by Dan Pawlovich (Valencia, Panic! At The Disco). The song is a description of the way you can change as you emerge from adolescence. Melodically marching forward with guitar runs as exclamation points and the balance of vocal harmonies, the recording is caught between the pull of memories and the drive of the future. Despite your best intentions, sometimes it’s best to cut ties, or alter expectations. (Photo by Abi Raymaker)
Quasar Wut-Wut are preparing to release their latest LP, Digesting Mirror, on January 12th. The band has been together since 1990 and this their first release since 2004 and first in their new studio, Coupon Studios. Below is the video for LP’s latest single, “Mandatory Days”, and you can find the hilarious video for the LP first single, "Jezebel’s Arm” here.
This is the Psych-Pop of Jordan Frank (bass, backing vocals, keys, guitars, drums ), Matt Schwarz (vocals, guitars, keys, bass), Brent Sulek (guitars, backing vocals), and Doug Walsh (drums).
You can catch Quasar Wut-Wut on January 12th at The Hideout.
You’re laying on a white sand beach under a blazing sun, fading into an afternoon daydream, when the tide begins to creep up from your toes until ocean water fills your ears. Instead of panic setting in, you allow yourself to be consumed by the warming chorus of tropical synths and lysergic energy fields. A molten core of happiness reverberates from your sternum before you awaken to discover you’re still in bed listening to Washed Out. Such is the appeal of the flagship Chill Wave purveyor, Ernest Greene, who continues to flesh out his catalogue of ethereal panoramic soundscapes after he helped popularize the genre nearly a decade ago. Washed Out brought those balmy funk-laden beats to the Mohawk on Saturday, and despite the temperature being frigid, the music emanated a comforting warmth.
On tour after their 2017 release of their third full-length, Mister Mellow, the full band had a laid-back stage presence that was enhanced by a kaleidoscope of hypnotic visuals. New songs coalesced with older hits to get the concert going in the right direction with a crowd-pleasing classic like “New Theory” being juxtaposed to newer earworms like “Burn Out Blues” and “Floating By”. Room in the audience was unbelievably scarce as the sold out show made other ‘sold-out shows’ look like an open area expanse.
Greene’s positivity flows through band and his audience seamlessly, setting a focal point for the music and aura that never seems to dip into the negative. A select few extended plays were embarked on as Washed Out leaned into solos and good ole fashioned jams. A critical mass of contentedness enveloped the crowd towards the end of the set with their biggest hit “Feel It All Around” and the epoch of the set “Amor Fati” both tempting the moment with perfection.
Some concerts offer various components of the show to be exceptional but a truly memorable act will streamline musicianship, stage present, lighting effects, etc into a synergistic energy bomb of engagement, and luckily Washed Out is composes all aspects with deft precision. The show would end with an encore of “Soft” and “Eyes Be Closed” to send the crowd home with a heavenly taste in their mouths. While the late December temperatures can weigh heavy on moods, Washed Out is an effective prescription to elevate any audience member’s outlook on life.
Beach Bunny has released a fun video for the title track from their 2018 EP, “Prom Queen”.
You can catch Beach Bunny on January 19th at Lincoln Hall with Retirement Party, Co-Stanza, and Lettering.
At the start of a new year, you may find yourself thinking about the music that you listened to in the past, and realizing that many of your favorite albums came out decades ago, making you feel quite old. However, "old" is just a state of mind, and at a concert celebrating thirty years since the release of Nirvana’s Bleach, you’ll throw yourself into the pit with the reckless abandon of a riled-up fourteen-year-old.
Join some of Nashville’s most rollicking acts on January 10th at The Basement East as they cover Nirvana’s discography — Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero, along with some well-known B-sides — in honor of three decades since the band put out their first record. Acts include HER, Taco Mouth, Step Sisters, and many more, all of whom will share the stage and channel Kurt, Krist, and Dave through their voices and instruments. Among the bands on the bill are The Dead Deads, who just released a live album on Christmas Day. Take a listen to it below and imagine the Deads pounding out their version of "In Bloom", then get down to The Basement East on the 10th and hear it for yourself. – Will Sisskind
Noname has released a great new single called “Song 31” which features a chorus from Phoelix. The tracks addresses the struggles of finding success and the many pitfalls along the way.
Noname rang in the new year back home in Chicago with three sold out shows at Thalia Hall and will now spend most of the next three months touring the country in support of her tremendous debut Full-length album Room 25.
Bethlehem Steel is a force. Yes, they’re punk, and yes, they’re loud but the members of Bethlehem Steel perform with purpose and propulsion. Listen to “Fake Sweater,” a cut from the group’s split with Porky near the end of 2018, for reference. The classic alt-rock loud-soft dynamic establishes the song but it’s the howling bridge section in which the members yell at the seeming brink of desperation “will I be alright?” that earns a need for repeated listens. You can see Bethlehem Steel next at Bowery Ballroom when the band opens for Big Ups’ final show. – Cameron Carr
