Tom Krell (aka How To Dress Well) has really made a name for himself through releasing a lot of great remixes. His latest is an interesting take on d’Eon’s track "Transparency".

How To Dress Well is performing tonight (4/28) as part of Cult Fantasy Rave at Berlin.

Cains & Abels appeared this week on Daytrotter to perform several tracks from their recently released album Call Me Up. The album was released by in January by Positive Beat Records.

Yourself &The Air will be releasing their new ep Who’s Who In The Zoo on May 24th through Lujo Records. This is the bands fourth ep.

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Yourself & The Air will be performing at Bottom Lounge on April 29th.

Sleep Out is back in the studio working on their next LP which will be called Black Cat Found and will be released later this year on Portland label Badman Recording Co.

Sleep Out will be performing at Beat Kitchen on May 20th with w/ America Hearts (ex-Antelope, Dischord Records) and Coupleskate.

Paul Hornschemeir and Bruce Parsons have created a new video that features the track "Soak It Up" by Houses. The video is intended to promote Paul’s new book Life with Mr. Dangerous which will be released on May 24th.

A Lull released their debut album Confetti on April 12th through Mush Records. The band has been building a name for themselves over the last three years, and it seems like they have exploded since their acclaimed appearances at SXSW this year.

A Lull and Betta Promotions are streaming a live performance from Paragon Studios tonight (4/27) at 8:30pm here. Below is the Spirituals Remix of the band’s track "Weapons For War".

We have mentioned in the past that Empires were one of sixteen bands from across the country to be involved with Rolling Stone’s "Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star” competition. The band has now made it to the final four and are so close to being the winner. The four advancing performers traveled to New York City last week to record and perform one studio song and meet with Rolling Stone editors, Atlantic A&R executives and other industry professionals including Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. The new song will be added to the portfolio that the musicians started during Round Two of the competition in which each group recorded and perfected two studio songs. In the coming weeks, fans will be able to view videos of the performances and access other content on RollingStone.com. By rating the acts, fans will determine which two will move on to the final round where the bands will battle it out at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in June. The winning band will be signed to Atlantic Records and perform on Jimmy Fallon. 

Back in January The Dirty Diamonds released an free ep called The Singularity Pt. 4. The band combine surf rock with soul and r&b, and it is an intoxicating combination. It was the fourth on four ep’s that the band’s has released over the last year. Above is the video for "Heaven’s Plate" whuch is from the first ep. All of the ep’s are available here for free.

The Hit Back officially release their debut album, Who Are These Weird Old Kids, through Sidetown Records today. The band may not have a lot of experience on the scene, but their electro-pop sound is right in line with a lot of popular bands. Their sound is a mixture of guitar-based pop and subtle but effective electronics.

You can catch The Hit Back at Saki on May 14th.

The unique Psych-rocker Stephen Paul Smoker has released a fun new video for his track "No You No Me". The track comes from the new 7" from Kilo Record with features this track and "Neon Green". Both tracks will appear on the bands forthcoming full-length Ripe Fruit.

Stephen Paul Smoker will be performing at Viaduct Theater on May 7th with Grace Kulp, and The Funeral and the Twilight.

I’ve long felt that Nick Butcher of Sonnenzimmer is not only a great screenprinter, but it one of the most inventive musicians in Chicago. With his latest project he has again teamed up with Portland’s Hometapes to create an instrumental work of art. Free Jazz Bitmaps, Volume One is a process-based publication in the form of a series of lathe-cut 7”records culminating in a 12” vinyl LP release. The architecture of this inaugural volume is provided by Hometapes musical and visual artist Nick Butcher. Songs created by Butcher will come to life throughout 2011 in six bi-monthly editions of ten lathe-cut records each made in an edition of 10. The collection will ultimately be featured on vinyl LP, alongside reinterpretations of those songs by renowned Chicago improvisers Jason Adasiewicz, Tim Daisy, Keefe Jackson,Mike Reed, Jason Reobke, and Jason Stein.

The entire project will be available digitally through bandcamp.

Lollapalooza has released their 2011 initial line-up for the festival taking place at Grant Park from Aug. 5th to Aug 7th. Included are Chicago’s Smith Westerns, Maps & Atlases, Disappears, Gold Motel, Young Man, and former Chicagoans Ok Go. You can view the full line-up here.