Tiny Fireflies released a new track yesterday which will be included on an upcoming compilation from Cloudberry.

Erin Fein, Brett Sanderson, Jonny Sommer (aka Psychic Twin) are preparing to release a new 7" single called "Strangers" via Polyvinyl on March 5th. There will be a video for "Strangers" coming in the next month.

Psychic Twin plays a lush and beautiful brand of electro-dream-pop and will be performing tomorrow night, Feb. 6th, at The Burlington.

How do pull off a successful record release event with out a physical record in the building to release? Well, you start by inviting two of the best singer/songwriters in Chicago to set the tone, and then you perform with a high amount of passion, warmth, and energy.

This past Saturday Venna celebrated the release of their new album Third Generation Hymnal, but their physical vinyl albums were accidentally shipped to Iowa. Only 300 were made (in Red, Teal, and Black) and you can order a copy here.

The show kicked off with Brendan Losch who released Low this past year. He was accompanied by multi-instrumentalist John Morton who at one point was playing the sides of the keys of his glockenspiel with two cello bows! He also saved the day a bit with a fun round of Catch Phrase when Losch was having some technical difficulties. Despite the difficulties, Losch performed a solid set scoured with songs new and old. The set kicked off with my all-time favorite Losch song, "Now of Never" from 2008’s Until We Meet Again. Losch clearly has a voice and a style of songwriting that should have him on a much larger stage.

Speaking of need for a larger stage, Kevin Andrew Prchal is another extremely underrated local singer/songwriter who has quietly been crafting a tremendous songbook over the last several years. His debut album, Eat Shirt & Tie has been floating around for a couple of years but was rereleased in a way this past fall. Prchal was on stage with a full band, and at two seperate moments was joined by members of Venna, and it was great to hear his classic soulful quieter tracks, like "Terrified!" and "Another Fool", brought to life in a fuller way. What really caught my ear was the bands new tracks that will hopefully be on a 2013 release. These tracks were clearly written for this collection of musicians and brought a full rich Americana sound. An easy comparison might be Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.

The night’s headliner was the husband/wife lead band Venna who is driven by the warmth and emotion in lead singer Heather Hladish’s vocals. They played classics like "Eulogy" from their very first ep, and highlights from their new album, Third Generation Hymnal. What is so remarkable about Heather’s writing is how personal yet universal and meaningful it is. Her songs are about patience, waiting, longing but ultimately, as on the song "Married", contentment. Hopefully we can all be content in our wanting. Despite Heather’s voice beginning to go towards the end of their set, Venna gave a wonderful performance to match their equally wonderful debut full-length album.

One of Paste Magazine’s "Ten Illinois Bands You Should Listen To Now", local indie rockers Exit Ghost recently released this stunning video for "Hang The Lights", from 2012’s strong debut effort Move Alone. It’s a bike tour of Chicago! Backwards! What’s not to love?

Don’t miss Exit Ghost at Lincoln Hall with fellow Chicagoans Project Film, February 10th. Tickets are still available via Lincoln Hall or Exit Ghost’s site.

New video from Magicks for the single Solstice! Lost in a dazed whirlwind of projected visuals and an all-consuming darkness and filmed during the witching hour, Magicks gives us a glimpse into the world of bedroom art. Catch him live at Record Breakers (2/1) for the new upcoming live video series by Breaker Records! You can also see him DJ/cast magick spells every Friday at Ultra Lounge for "RITUAL" in the basement.

Perfect Families began as Micah Smith and Joel Smith and now that they have released their debut single they looking to grow into a full blown band. Their single, "Lost It", was released last month and the band hopes to release an ep this spring and perform around the city through out 2013.

We posted the new video from Angel Olsen, "Tiniest Seed", earlier this month and now here is "Sweet Dreams". Olsen’s new 7" drops on Feb 8th via Sixteen Tambourines.

You can catch Angel Olsen at The Hideout on Feb 8th.

The debut album from On An On is finally out today on vinyl and digitally via Roll Call Records. On An On will be touring Europe for most of February in preparation European release of Give In via City Slang.

The band released a video for the album’s second single "The Hunter" yesterday.

Ami Saraiya will be premiering her new stop-motion video for her track "Purging" which comes from her 2012 album Soundproof Box at her next local show. The video features artwork by Cassandra Mazur and is directed and animated by Susie Kirkwood.

You can see the video in person and hear Ami Saraiya & The Outcome with Blah Blah Blah, Rebl Music and Chance Kuykendall on Feb. 9th at Double Door.

Ohvaur announced last week that their new album A Memories Chase on March 5th. This the band’s first full-length album and it is one of the more anticipated local albums on 2013.

Ohvaur is lead by Timothy Den, and on A Memories Chase draws inspiration from his life living a his creative dreams while living in the US illegally. Den is a storyteller with a fascinating story to tell, and in Ohvaur he has found a solid sound to encase it.

The Bears of The Blue River are kicking off a Midwest Tour with a free show at Empty Bottle on January 28th. The band released their latest single, "Flamingo" in the fall, and have been perfecting their jangle-folk sound around the city for the last few years.

The free show at Empty Bottle also features Tom Schraeder and His Ego and Doctor Pryamid.

Just returning from an European tour, Derek Fawcett returns home to celebrate the release of his debut full-length album The Winter Clothes. Derek has spent the last decade or so in the band Down The Line. In his solo effort he brings a stripped down, warm, acoustic sound.

You can catch Derek Fawcett with Julia Klee at Schubas on Jan 27th.