New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Local vets Panda Riot are back with a new single called "E.S.P.". This is the first single from their forthcoming fourth full-length album and first since 2017, Extra Cosmic, which is due out on June 10th.
This is quartet fronted by the shimmering vocals of Rebecca Scott. On this album she is joined by founding band member Brian Cook along with Cory Osborne (Airiel, Tom Spacey, Lightfoils) and Brian Hilderbrand.
Local abstract percussionist Quin Kirchner has teamed up with France-based pianist Rob Clearfield to create a new album called "Concentric Orbits" which was released via Astral Spirits/Spacetone Records on April 1st.
The duo have worked together in past with Clearfield appeared on Kirchner’s 2020 album The Shadows and The Light.
You can catch Kirchner performing as part of Hanging Hearts with Chris Weller and Cole Degenova at The Whistler on April 13th and on April 15th as a member of the Rob Clearfield Quartet at Fulton Street Collective.
Julius Dolls has released a new double single called "The Comedown/e t e r n i t y".
The released is a accompanied by a fascinating visualizer created by Bambi Kirschner.
This is the first new music from Dolls this year after releasing three outstanding singles, "Glamorize", "Birthday Song", and "Leave That Part Out", in 2021.
Into It. Over It. have release a split EP called "Reciprocity" with the Austin based quartet Hikes.
This is the work of Evan Thomas Weiss, Adam Beck, Joe George Shadid and Matthew Frank.
Into It. Over It. will be touring the Midwest and East Coast this June with Pool Kids and Couplet.
Forest Management has released the first single, "One After Another", from his forthcoming fifth full-length album, Palm Life, which is due out April 22nd.
This is the experimental drone music of John Daniel, and this album marks his return to the use of tape as a source of texture and composition.
You can catch Forest Management on May 1st at Garfield Park Conservatory with Elton Aura and Lala Lala.
Walcot has released the second single, "Another Man", from their forthcoming debut EP "Songs for the Disenfranchised".
This is the group that was formed here in Chicago back in 2016 and is led by the now Charlotte based Asher George.
The EP’s lead single, "Dreamin’ Away", was the group’s debut single and was released late last year.
On this EP George is joined by Mario Gonzales (background vocals and acoustic guitar), Chuck Lacy (drums), Chris Mahieu (keys/organs), and Matthew Thompson (upright bass, production).
Devon Kay & the Solutions has released their latest album, "Grieving Expectation", via Pure Noise Records.
This album’s lead single, "No One is Thinking About You (Or Anyone Else for That Matter)", was released last month and is accompanied by the video below.
You can help Devon Kay & the Solutions celebrate the release of their album April 8th at Beat Kitchen with Gosh Diggity.
Fat Money recently released a new single called "400 Degrees". The track features production from Cardo Got Wings and is accompanied by the video below.
Dehd has released the second single, "Stars", from their forthcoming album Blue Skies which is due out on May 27th via Fat Possum.
This is the first new music from the trio Emily Kempf, Jason Balla, and Eric McGrady since their highly acclaimed 2020 album Flower Of Devotion.
The group will be touring all Spring and returning home to play the Metro on June 4th with Pixel Grip.
Emo Rock group Mush have released their latest EP, "Dongle".
This is the work of Andy Hendricks, Erik Czaja, Jinno Redovan, Joesph Klomes, and Logan Bloom.
You can catch Mush at Cobra Lounge on April 9th with Kali Masi, Teenage Halloween, and Bugsy, and at Schubas on April 18th with Old Coke and Kirby Grip.
I can totally get where Flycatcher is coming from with their new single ”Sodas in the Freezer” released earlier today and you probably can too because who amongst us hasn’t thrown a soda in the freezer out of sheer indolence and impatience eager for that damn Shasta to be ice freakin’ cold in a matter of minutes but then after a bong hit or six you totally forget about it with explosive consequences and now you’ve got a big mess to clean up but soon after you think to yourself “fuhgeddaboudit, accidents will happen!” and spark up a bowl and toss another Shasta into the icebox which is roughly equivalent to playing an April Fools’ joke on yourself over and over again which just goes to show how some of us never learn.
And in case you think I’m just talking out my orifice again rest assured the band themselves have confirmed the theory above describing the song as being about “people’s tendencies to acknowledge their shortcomings and poor behavior” while exhibiting a total “inaction to fix them” and when things escalate in the lyrics from a soda left in the freezer to our protagonist carelessly leaving a gas appliance on and seeing double from the fumes then the stakes of kitchen-based disaster are raised considerably along with the song’s metaphorical resonance in terms of humanity’s endless capacity for self-sabotage.
As far as a band bio goes Flycatcher are a four-piece rock combo hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, three of whom have immaculately sculpted facial hair (well ok one of them has a bushy beard but still it’s neatly trimmed and shaped) and come to think of it ever since residing in Jersey City a few year back I’ve had sculpted facial hair too so go figure. On the musical side of things Flycatcher carry on in the fine tradition of immaculately sculpted extremely catchy power-pop-that-rocks made in the Tristate Area with oft-witty lyrics and a distinctly que será, será attitude as established by such legendary acts as Fountains of Wayne, The Feelies, The Smithereens, and the ripe–for–revival Cucumbers.
Or as Flycatcher’s official bio puts it their music has a “driving, angular melancholy” which is a phrase I may have to steal and use elsewhere because that’s some high quality music crit-speak and certainly applicable in this case (check the melancholy in that floating-in-space bridge section yo) and maybe even more so for their previous single “Games” (see above plus you may wanna check out the band’s 2019 full-length Songs for Strangers too) and thank goodness because let’s be real no one really enjoys flaccid, perpendicular melancholy too much even if it’s omnipresent in today’s world. And finally, for all you true musos out there, here’s how lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Greg Pease describes the genesis of “Sodas in the Freezer”:
The idea for the song was initially conceived back in 2017 when we performed it a handful of times during that summer. However, the only aspect of the song that truly remained unchanged was the intro/outro chromatic riff. As I was looking for new song ideas I kept playing that riff over and over and eventually found additional chord progressions that complemented it much better than the original composition. I spent the following months composing the lyrics and melodies while driving to and from work in an attempt to make use of time that was otherwise going to be lost to me.
So let’s all follow Greg’s example and stop slacking during those long work commutes and start using the time to write songs about some of the terrible dangers that face us around every corner! (Jason Lee)
Nina Tech has released her latest single, "Love Show", and its accompanying Jared Avalos direct video.
The video features appearances from Brooke Skye, Dreamer Isioma, FINGY, and more.
