Archie Powell & The Exports had a great 2012 that saw them gain national attention with the release of their latest album Great Ideas In Action. The band is giving something back this week by headlining a benefit show with all proceeds going to the My Sandy Hook Family Fund. The show will also feature Mutts, Brother George, and 500 Miles to Memphis at Goose Island Wrileyville on Jan. 25th. The show is only $8 and doors open at 8:30pm.

You can also catch Archie Powell & The Exports on Windy City Live at 9am today, Jan. 22nd playing tunes and promoting the benefit show.

Brokeback is the longstanding project of Douglas McCombs (Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day) that launched way back in 1995. The band has new line-up, established in 2010, and a new album dropping tomorrow via Thrill Jockey.

Brokeback and The Black Rock is the seventh release from the band and first since 2003. The band now consists of Pete Croke (Tight Phantomz, Head of Skulls!, Reds and Blue), Chris Hansen (Pinebender, Head of Skulls!), and James Elkington (the Zincs, the Horse’s Ha). The album these four have created attempts to capture the full sound of this talented band and succeeds on every level.

You can catch Brokeback at Rainbo Club (1150 North Damen Ave) on Jan. 27th and at Saki for a listening party on Jan. 28th at 7pm.

James Iha has released his first solo album in 15 years, Look To The Sky, and new video for the track "Speed of Love". I am not sure where I stand on this single and video. At first I did not the cheesy ’80’s look and feel, but then it kind of hooked me in. Then I thought is this a joke or some how intentionally bad, and then I began it sing the chorus while driving to work. How will "Speed of Love" haunt you?

I Fight Dragons have released a video for their song "cRaZie$" which appeared on their 2011 album Kaboom!. You can get the album for free here. The video is a classic and it finds the band on a vacation at a cabin in the woods, but when they discover an old gaming system the trouble begins.

Frenchkiss Records announced last week that the final installment of the Young Man trilogy will be called Beyond Was All Around Me and will be released on April 9th. The new album was produces by the talented Nicolas Vernhes.

Panda Riot are returning next month with their second full-length album, North Automatic Music, via Saint Marie Records (US) and Vinyl Junkie (Japan). The album will be released on Feb. 19th and is available for preview now. This is the bands second release on Saint Marie and the follow-up to last years 7" single "Serious Radical Girls".

The albums first single is "Black Pyramids" and is finds the band pushing their take on dreampop forward. The is fronted by Rebecca Scott on vocals and Brian Cook on guitar, and together with Justin Cheng and Jose Rodriguez they have create a sound that lush, rhythmic, and drenched layers of fuzzed out guitar and angelic vocals.

I don’t think I had ever received a press release that clearly asked for no publicity, until I received an email from Republic of Lights last week. The hilarious releases can be read on the band’s tumblr, and clause A states, "Do not provide any publicity for Republic of Lights FREE show at the METRO on JANUARY 25th, 2013. The less people who hear of this show, the more handouts to shady school lunch programs souls we can save. Do not RSVP here".

So with that in mind I ask you, the reader, to not RSVP for their free show, and more importantly do not listen the band’s new ep Other Couples Volume 1, which available for free download below.

It has been a great year for Emily Cross (aka Cross Record) which included the release of her tremendous full-length album Be Good. Last month she release a video for a beautiful track called "I Want Your Mind In Your Body".

You can catch Cross Record @ Township on January 24th.

Hey Champ has released a new single called "Cliché" which can be downloaded for free below. The group also revamped their website and have promised that this, their first release in 2013, will be the first of several new tracks to surface this year.

Tyler Ritter (aka Shalloboi) has released a colorful and haunting video for the first single from the upcoming 7" Field of Flowers Vol. 2. This is the second of four singles, and Vol. 1 was released back in October. "The Field of Flowers" series has seven songs in total and Shalloboi raised funds through Kickstarter back in November to release this series on vinyl.

Angel Olsen has released a new video for her track "Tiniest Seed" which comes from her 2012 release Halfway Home (Bathetic Records).

Angel also has a new 7" single coming out on Jan 13th via Sixteen Tambourines which features the track "Sweet Dreams".