Laura Mariposa & Eric Bessel met in Brooklyn and formed the duo Lore City back in 2011. They’ve since relocated to Chicago and have a new album, Absence & Time, via the local label Already Dead Tapes.

Moritat has released a video for the second single, "I Forgot to Kiss Her", from their debut album Clill Blanzin.

You can catch Moritat at Strobe Studios on April 21st with Brendan Losch and Young Moons.

Secret Colours have announced the release of their sophomore album, Peach, on May 28th. The Psych-pop band has released the album’s first single "Blackbird (Only One)".

You can catch Secret Colours at The Office (Batavia) on April 19th and at Subt on April 21st.

The new album from Houses (aka Dexter Tortoriello and Megan Messina) drops on April 16th, but you can stream the entire album here.

On An On have released another track from their debut album Give In which was released back in January via Roll Call Records. The band will be touring relentlessly for the next two months, but current do not have any local shows scheduled.

Sometimes the best shows are the ones you expect the least of. A small garage in the far Western Suburbs, 20 people gathered around Justin Birchard and Jeff Goluszka of Facing Winter, acoustic guitar and wooden bongo, the night began. Facing Winter has been around for several years, but I had never seen them perform. They released their latest ep, Opt Out, last fall, and now I was at their home/recording studio/concert venue. The stripped down set featured several new songs, and was the perfect way to start the evening.

Steph Yeager, celebrating the physical release of her debut album, took stage next. Facing Winter’s label 7SidedRecords released Campfire Songs so it seemed fitting that they would host the release. Steph’s set was energetic and wild featuring contributions from members of Facing Winter and others on several songs. The highlights of the set were a passionate version of Radiohead’s "Creep" and a foot-stompin’ version of Steph’s own "Western Sky".

It was an intimate setting for a big sound, and wonderful homecoming for a talent musician.

Disappears have a new ep, Kone, coming out this month, April 16th, and have more material planned for later this year.

You can catch Disappears at Lincoln Hall on April 18th.

Pet Symmetry is a trio composed of Evan Weiss (Into It. Over It.) and Erik Czaja and Marcus Nuccio (Dowsing). They will be releasing their debut single, "Two Songs About Cars", this Spring on Asian Man Records. There is not an official release date but the trio’s stage debut is set for May 12th at Township with Lifted Bells, Misbehaving, and Slingshot Dakota, so it may coincide with the show.

Speck Mountain announced their Spring tour, in support of their latest album Badwater, this week and it kicks off on April 20th, Record Store Day (Wicker Park), at Reckless Records at 2pm.

The band will also be a part of the Downtown Sounds Series at Millennium Park on June 3rd as they open for Sharon Van Etten.

Slava has released an entrancing video for his track "Werk". This is the lead track from his new album, Raw Solutions, coming April 23rd via Software.

Está Vivo is back and is making his debut on Mush Records. The new ep, Carry You To My Mouth, drops on April 9th, but you can hear the lead track "Sweet Tooth" below.

Fletcher will release their sophomore ep, Open Arms, on April 9th. The band just formed early last year, but are on their second ep, and continue to generate well-deserved buzz.

You can catch Fletcher at Subt on April 5th.