Chicago folk-rock outfit Cousin Dud released their first full length album, Our American Cousin, on December 11th. The album is streaming at Myspace, LastFM, and Soundcloud, and is available for download on a pay what you want (including free) basis. Also available for free download is their EP, of Hats and Unicorns, released in September 2010. The song ‘Crows’, for which this video is created, appears on the aforementioned EP. Cousin Dud will be playing live at Cole’s Bar in Logan Square, Chicago, on Saturday, January 29th, 2011. Also on the bill will be Jaime Rojo as well as the Blue Ribbon Glee Club.

This Friday, December 17th, Coins will be celebrating the release of their new tape Recital Pressures (Plustapes). The duo of Angela Mullenhour and Ellen Bunch have a wonderfully haunting sound that lends itself perfectly to the tape format.

Coins will be performing at The Hideout with Tight Phantomz and Das Boton.

On January 11th The Heligoats will share a 10" with Austin’s Sam Humans that will be released through Greyday Records. Heligoats account for four of the ten tracks on the album including this track "A Word From Our Sponsor".

The Smith Westerns have released a video for their track "Weekend" which appears on their sophomore LP, Dye It Blonde, which will be released on Fat Possum on Jan. 18.

The band will be performing at Empty Bottle on Feb. 26th.

We are less than a week away from the show to end all shows, the Beats and Blogs show at Subt on 12/18. The show features performances by Hollows, Rabble Rabble, Radar Eyes, and White Mystery. Doors open at 10pm and tickets are $10.

In Tall Buildings have released a video for their track "The Way To A Monster’s Lair". The video was shot as part of Kyle Orbit’s Giant System series, but was released early to help further promote the band’s self-titled debut album which was released in April on Whistler Records.

The band will be performing at Schubas’ Tomorrow Never Knows on January 12th.

Campfires have released a new track called "Chasing Planets". This seems to be the perfect time of year for Campfires. The band plans to release a full-length album next year.

Not to double up on Houses, but this just came into the ol’ inbox. Houses, Dexter Tortoriello and Megan Messina, have released a holiday song called "This Is War", and an accompanying video. This is what Dexter had to say about the song. "Holiday songs are often about snow, gifts or family – all of which are happy and nice – but when you stop and think about it, most holidays are based around very serious events. Christmas is, at its core, a recognition of the birth of one of the most famous and controversial figures in history. His birth and life are a truly incredible story in themselves, regardless of your personal beliefs. The song is about that very first Christmas day."

The Window Theatre and Carbon Tigers teamed up with Katz Company and Late In The Playoffs to shoot a movie-trailer style video-flier for their upcoming double EP release party at Subterranean on December 11th. The trailer features members of each band as its characters. Show is at 10PM. Cover is $10. Show is 17+. Special thanks to Nino Cutraro and Nicole Mayhew for their roles in filming/editing the trailer. Those who buy presale tickets will be entered into a raffle for a free iPod containing music from The Window Theatre, Carbon Tigers, and Katz Company.

Color Card, a local act of Chicago, is releasing their first official work entitled Zegary. Recorded entirely by the band in their own space, it creates a dreamy atmosphere directed by deliberate percussive elements. The physical release date for the EP is Jan 11th, 2011 which features art by Shawn Ballarin. They intend to perform this new material at upcoming shows. This five-song EP can be heard, downloaded, and purchased from their bandcamp page. but you can also keep up to date with what they are doing by checking out their myspace or follow them on twitter.

Houses have been remixed by one of the best in the business, Cassettes Won’t Listen. CWL went to work on the track "Soak It Up" which appears their debut album All Night, October 19 via Lefse.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first play the debut album, May You Never…, from Dastardly. The band name conjured up some darker images, but the album cover felt jazz or ballroom influenced. I was pleasantly surprised when "Villain" kicked in with it’s mellow-folk based indie rock tones. However, the darker images did ring true through out tracks like "Exercises in Self-Loathing" and "Creepy". This is not an upbeat album, but it is a perfect example of a sound that is becoming increasing popular in Chicago, Americana. It is a genre title that bothers me because there are so many sounds coming from American bands and to call a sound Americana is some what limiting.

Dastardly takes this genre and makes it their own through adding elements of blues and folk. My favorite track with gentle ballad "Morning Blue" with vocals be Sarah Morgan. The six-piece band has two vocalist and they take turns taking the lead through out the album. This track also features a haunting pedal steel performance, and a surprising ending. This is a well produced debut. The album was engineered at Gallery of Carpet Studios by Brian Zieske (Bailiff, Pet Lions, Secret Colours) and mixed by Paul Klimson (The Roots, John Legend). Dastardly may be one of the brightest newcomers to the scene this year.

Dastardly will be celebrating the release of their debut album on December 9th at Schubas with Glittermouse, Chaperone, and Jared Bartman.