The Kickback are preparing to release their debut album, Sorry All Over The Place, on Sept. 18th. The highly anticipated album was by Spoon’s Jim Eno and features the two lead singles, "Sting’s Teacher Years" and "White Lodge" below.

You help the band celebrate the release on Sept. 17th at The Hideout with Abraham Levitan (Baby Teeth), The Hudson Branch, The Noise FM, Mutts, and Archie Powell & the Exports.

The Baby Magic recently released a video for their track "Huts". The video is a more grounded and very comical look at the American Dream. The track comes from their 2014 release, Rent A Place in Hell. The Baby Magic is fronted by the captivating Mary Beth Brennan and she really shines in this video.

You can catch The Baby Magic at Cole’s Bar on October 24th with Nervous Curtains, Post Honeymoon, and Strawberry Jacuzzi as The Breeders. 

Protovulcan is the new project from Drummer Deric Criss (Aleks and the Drummer, Walking Bicycles, Charlie Deets) and Keyboard player Will MacLean (Variety Lights, Ice Cream Mission to Mars, Blue Moth). Together they create a manic blend of electronic and organic that pounds and howls and screeches in to place. The duo is preparing to release their debut album Stakes is Low via Toy Moon Music.

You can help Protovulcan celebrate the release on October 22nd at Burlington Bar with Werewheels and Velcro Lewis Group.

Faintlife have released a hazy b-side, "Headaches", to their 2015 debut album, UV. Faintlife is fronted by Sam Shaffer and Nate Bucher and they combine dream and Psych pop. UV was released back in May, but is absolutely worth a listen if you missed it.

Verbal Kent is releasing his 9th studio album, Anesthesia, this month via Mello Music Group. Kent has been a staple in the Chicago hip hop scene for well over a decade and is one of the founding members Giraffe Nuts. This new album will feature appearances by Freddie Gibs, Skyzoo, Red Pill, and Torae, along with production from Kaz 1, Oh No, Apollo Brown, Marco Polo, and others. You can preorder the album digitally through bandcamp or physically (CD or Vinyl) through Mellow Music. Below is the album first single, "Add Anesthesia" and the Peter Stepnoski directed video for "Notes"

To say an album "returns to form" seems to allude to something being off or missing or in a deformed state in previous releases. With the new album from Advance Base (aka Owen Ashworth), Nephew In The Wild, it is more of a beautiful blending of two "forms". This album could have easily been the first Casiotone for the Painfully Alone album since 2009’s Vs. Children. This is a clear return to the sound and storytelling of the Casiotone persona.

The album’s open track and lead single "Trisha Please Come Home" in the perfect example. Ashworth spins tales of the everyday but tinges of sadness. His stories are sweet and sad, and always fully realized. Musically, the album is filled with familiar sounds from an array of instruments; Electric pianos, drum kits, drum machines, autoharps, Omnichords, Optigans, Mellotrons. All of this, blending with Ashworth’s skill, create a perfect late summer and early fall soundtrack.

Cold Country have released a new video for their track "Siamese" directed by Matt Rice. The track comes from their recent full-length album Willow. The band is currently preparing an EP called Fall EP which will include b-sides from Willow including an alternate version of "Siamese". The EP is due out on November 17th.

You can catch Cold Country at The Hideout on Nov. 19th.

Royal Outsiders (formerly The Central Standard) released the details of their debut album, Neither Here Nor There, late last week. The album will be released on October 5th and the band will be headlining Cubby Bear Wrigleyville that night to celebrate. The band also released the album’s first single "Against Your Soul".

Goldhouse is the electro-pop music of Grant Harris. This year he has released two single, "Over" and "When I Come Home", along with several highly praised remixes.

You can catch Goldhouse with The Locals at Lincoln Hall on August 29th.

The super ensemble eighth blackbird have recently the first except from their forthcoming album Filament (Cedille Records, Sept. 11th). The album futures recordings of works by Bryce Dessner (of The National), Nico Muhly, and Son Lux (Ryan Lott), along with a live recording of Philip Glass’s classic 1968 work, Two Pages, featuring Dessner (guitar) and Muhly (organ). The excerpt below is a performance of Bryce Dessner’s "Tears For Sister Polly" from "Murder Ballades".

eighth blackbird have an ongoing residency at MoCA – Chicago with performances coming up on Sept 1st and 2nd. They will be performing the complete "Murder Ballades" piece at MoCA – Chicago in March.

MP3: eighth blackbird "Tears For Sister Polly" (right-click to download)

Marrow is preparing to release their latest album, The Gold Standard, on September 4th via FoxHall Records. The four piece band has spent a lot of time and poured a lot of varied influences into this album, but have also been interacting with the Chicago music scene in other way over the last year. Liam Kazar (singer/songwriter/guitarist) spent much of the last year on the road with Tweedy; Macie Stewart toured with Chance the Rapper; and the band as a whole was featured on Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment’s album, Surf. The result of these varied ties to the scene that have created a beautiful and complex album. Below is the video for the album’s lead single "Paulson".

You can catch Marrow at Lincoln Hall on November 27th in support of their new album.

Brooklyn-based, but originally hailing from Chicago and Melbourne, Surf Rock is Dead recently released their newest single "Anymore" and announced their debut EP, out Sept. 18. The duo of Kevin Pariso and Joel Witenberg, despite the name of their band, embrace the tone and mood of surf rock while applying a new wave and dream-pop lens.