New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Blane Fonda has announced that their next full-length album, Foolish Croon, will be released on September 23rd. The record release show is scheduled for Friday September 23 at Subterranean. The band began working on the album band in January and recorded Lightbox Studio with engineer Greg Panciera and Gravity.
They have also released a video for "Opportunity Rocks!" from their debut ep Master of Stars and Broken Arms.
MH is the recording name of local musician Martin Hayes, and back in February he released a beautiful folk-influence album called "Black Animal". You can stream the album below and purchase it here. This week he teamed up with artist Joy Whalen to create a video for the track "In The Blackness of Fire".
Twosyllable Records have released a great compilation of Chicago music that includes tracks from Golden Birthday, Campfires, Pillars & Tongues, Netherfriends and so many more bands. You can order your cassette here and stream the compilation below.
I Fight Dragons have finally finished their debut full-length album, "KABOOM!" which will be released this October. Below is a the "KABOOM! Overture" which is a piece of Orchestral Chiptune utilizing 8 of the themes/motifs from the album.
I Fight Dragons will be performing at Lincoln Hall on Aug. 20th.
The latest installment of Small Chicago (Season 2, Episode 2) brings us the sounds of Jon Langford and Skull Orchard. Chicago’s Bloodshot Records recently released the latest from Jon Langford and Skull Orchard and you can find that here. It was an interesting combination book and album release and Langford will be be reading and performing at The Book Cellar on August 10th at 7pm. This is a free event.
The debut full-length from Young Man (aka Colin Caulfield), Ideas Of Distance, will be released on 9/27 by Frenchkiss Records, but Colin has released a video for the new albums opening track "Enough".
Young Man will be performing at Empty Bottle on August 6th with The Pains of Being Pure of Heart.
Umbra and the Volcan Siege is led by Jim Licka (owner of Volcan Gallery) and featuresCurtis Evans (Grape Juice Records) and members of Belmondos and Julie Meckler’s band. The band has recently released their new album The End of the Beginning. You can check it out through bandcamp below and if you need to know more about Umbra and the Volcan Siege you can watch the documentary below.
Serengeti’s new album "Friends of Friends" drops tomorrow on Anticon and he has released a new video for the track "California". They video was directed by Paul Martin. He has also released another track from the new album that is called "Tracks".
All Eyes West will be releasing their self-titled debut album through Jump Start Records on August 23rd. In advance they have release a video for the track "Help Is On The Way".
The band is wrapping up an East Coast tour this weekend with a show at Ultra Lounge on 7/31.
The lovely trio Midnight Moxie will be celebrating the release release of their debut album Don’t Stop tonight (7/29) at Phyllis’ Musical Inn (1800 W. Division St.). The cover is just $5, and you won’t be disappointment. What I love about these three is their honest love of music and their genuine excitement about their debut album. They will be performing the entire album.
To get you excited, check out their performance on Living Room Songs from back in May.
The new album from Death Ships, Circumstantial Chemistry, is filled with synth-driven pop songs, but also brings a heavy dose of rock. The four member band brings a full and rich keyboard sound with horns, and on the album they brought in a lot of extra sounds and musicians.
The band has been together since 2001, and this album may be their best yet. They released an ep last year, but this is their first full-length since 2006’s Seeds of Destruction.
Death Ships will be celebrating the release of Circumstantial Chemistry at Schubas on 7/30 with Like Pioneers and Blasted Diplomats.
Michael McGinnis has created an exciting new album under the moniker of Plains. This Chicago-native now based in Miami has combined raw garage rock with a touch of elctro-pop to create an album that is honest, straight-forward and magnetic. The self-titled project was released by 10K Islands on July 19th. My favorite track has to be the slightly mellowed out track "Innovator" because it is clear that is what McGinnis is. You can purchase the album here or stream it here.
Plains will be performing at Schubas on July 31st with The Sweeps and Poundcake.
