Varsity recently released a catchy digital single "Turns Out". It has a b-sides called "Downtown" and is available for whatever you would like to pay on their bandcamp page.

Sacha Mullin has partnered with the experimental band Guzzlemug to release his debut full-length album. The album and first single are called "Whelm", and it is the contrast between Mullin’s polished and well-trained vocals and Guzzlemug’s passion for the extreme that make this album uniquely interesting.

Vanagons is the work of Ryan Thomas Baine. Last month he released his first single, the surf-influenced "Dead Vibes". He is currently working on a full-length album.

You can catch Vanagons at Beat Kitchen on Sept. 15th with Zoo Brother and Songbirds of the Pacific Northwest.

The garage-punk band Peoples Temple of America has released the first single, "Mark Gonzales (I Can’t Ride)" from their upcoming EP.

My Gold Mask has released a new single called "Severed". This is the second of a series of new digi singles from the band.

You can catch My Gold Mask at Tall Ship Windy at Navy Pier with Gel Set on Sept 13th.

The genre of music comedy can be a little divisive. It tends to not sit right with both music purists and comedy nerds. However, David Yontz may be the man to bring both of those camps together.

Earlier this summer Yontz released a new full-length album called Simple Guy, and on the album’s title track he attempts to offend every group expect comedy and music nerds. No one is safe when Yontz picks up his guitar and attempts to take a humorous look at the insane world around him.

You can catch David Yontz @ Stage 773 on Sunday, Sept. 8th.

Sara Materson self-released her latest album, Always Beautiful, this week. The album is, as the title suggests, beautiful from start to finish. There is something refreshing about a traditional singer/songwriter crafting warm and heartfelt songs. There is nothing abstract, experimental, or genre stretching on this album, but sometimes there doesn’t need to be. Materson’s vocals would standout no matter the backing.

The artist collective Young Heavy Souls has released the latest album from Vapor Eyes. The new album is called Horizon Lines and is a collections beats and samples that are perfect for the end of summer. Vapor Eyes blends hip hop and electronic music in a way few other can.

Chicago post-punk duo Post Honeymoon’s union transcends their wedding vows. On their sophomore record, Second Skin, the married pair eschew guitars in favor of hip-hop and dub arrangements that swirl seamlessly with Rachel’s keyboard chops and Nick Cave-esque vocals and Nick’s monster hits of the kit. Think Hammond organ, Clavichord and Melotron over Timbaland-meets-James Murphy MPC grooves, steered by primal drumming.

Though a stark sonic departure from the band’s sparse, haunting 2009 S/T debut, Second Skin continues to traverse dark topics, as heard on the album’s debut single, "Kid With a Gun", written days after the tragic Newtown school shootings. Recorded and produced in just eight days with the venerable Bill Skibbe (Wild Belle, The Kills, Fiery Furnaces), Second Skin is a nine-song collection that ultimately broke every rule the duo had set for itself, and the pair is all the better for it.

Record release show on Friday, September 6 (tonight!) at the Burlington, with We Are Hex and Bone & Bell.

The debut EP, Your Langauge, from Lee will be released on Sept. 21st. The band, vocalists Brittany Moffitt and Ali Arzeni, keyboardist Ben Joseph, drummer Mat Roberts, guitarist Noam Wallenberg, and bassist Mike Ruby, has promised that is will be available digitally on 9/13. This is a project three years in the making and is potentially one of the more exciting releases of the year in Chicago.

You can catch Lee at Martyrs on Sept. 21st with Glittermouse, Fall Classic, and Jeff Brown.

Real Friends released their latest EP, "Put Yourself Back Together", back in June and the hype has been growing ever since. The band released a new video for the track "Late Nights In My Car" last week. The band has the pop punk sound that seems to never go out of style, depending on what your style is I suppose.

You can catch Real Friends at Subt on October 5th.

Smoker is the Pilsen band that formed around the solo work of Stephen Paul Smoker. Their new album, Strange Ways, is a showcase of psychedelic dream-pop and will be released tomorrow, September 5th.

You can catch Smoker at Empty Bottle on September 6th with The Kuhls and Wild Jesus & the Devil’s Lettuce.