The End Records have released the details of the new album from These Are They. Disposing of Betrayers is the follow-up to their 2009 album Who Linger, and focuses on Chicago’s deep and complex history of organized crime. The lyrics through the new album will utilize and rediscover actual events taken from newspaper articles. Here is what vocalist Paul Kuhr had to say about the album, “Taking a topic like Chicago crime history, and still making it a death metal record, posed more of a challenge for Steve and me, who wrote all the lyrics. I think the crushing production, aggressive riffing and drumming, and the interesting topic all came together to create what I feel is an amazing recording. I’m quite proud of this one.” The album will be released on September 14th.

Tracklisting:
The Massacre
Behind the Door
The Sins of My Brothers
No Angels to Catch You
By Phaeton’s Design
Cranial Hemorrhage
La Mano Nera
Evening Widows
Disposal of Betrayers

I recently had the opportunity to ask the band California Wives a few question and here are the results. The band is performing at Beat Kitchen on June 25th with You Can Be a Wesley as part of Jonny Rumble’s record release show.

California Wives are: Jayson Kramer (vocals, keys, guitar), Dan Zima (bass, vocals), Hans Michel (guitar, keys), Joe O’Connor (drums).

Last week Relapse Records announced that they had signed Chicago metal band Indian. The band will be heading to Semaphore Recordings in early October with engineer Sanford Parker to record their first full-length album for Relapse. Indian formed in 2003 and has self-released a 7” EP followed by three full-length albums on Seventh Rule Recordings. Indian are among the confirmed guests at this year’s Kuma’s Corner Anniversary Block Party held in July at the famous heavy metal eatery in Chicago, IL. Other musical guests include Earthridge, Red Fang, The Atlas Month, and more. Complete show details will be announced soon on Kuma’s website.

Justin Bieber has joined the local band Kid, You’ll Move Mountains! Ok, not really, but the band has launched a fun campaign to try and get Mr. Bieber to appear on stage with them at Summerfest this year on June 27th. KYMM plays the Cascio Interstate Music/WMSE/Shepherd Express Stage @ 9pm and Bieber plays Marcus Amphitheater @ 7pm, so it makes sense that he would want to stop by a rock out with the local favorites, right?

If you support this theory join the band’s facebook group and let them know.

Chicago multi-instumentalist Darren Garvey keeps busy playing in the Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Cameron McGill & What Army, Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons, and Like Pioneers (ex-Bound Stems) to name a few. You can usually find him behind a drum set or some form of percussion set up… But, this year Garvey took it upon himself to record a solo record; writing 13 songs, singing for the first time, and playing all of the instruments. How does it sound? Well, it’s as eclectic as all of the bands that Garvey holds down the rhythm for. ‘On Standby’ is a latin tune with some guest horns (ok, he didn’t play all of the instruments). Technically he wasn’t able to sing the female background vocals either… You can hear more of Darren’s debut Under A Common Ceiling at his website.

Is psychedelic rock the next big sound in Chicago? Well, bands like Panda Riot, Apteka, and others seem to think so. Enter Secret Colours, and yes despite the “strange” spelling of colors they are from Chicago. Their self-titled debut album is beautifully retro in sound and style, and embraces the psych rock sound open arms and sensitive ears. From hazy drug trips to love songs to even fuzzed “Western” sounds. My favorite track from the album, which can be streamed on bandcamp, has to be the wandering and pop-filled “Jellybean”. It puts the listener in fun-filled summertime dream state.

Tommy Evans, Dave Stach, Dylan Olson, Justin Frederick, and Margaret Albright make up the band Secret Colours, and they will be celebrating the release of their album at Lincoln Hall tomorrow, June 11th with Gold Motel and Mini Mansions.

I guess 3-D music videos are the big thing right now. Here is the latest video from Rhymefest. The video features Phonte and was directed again by Konee Rok. The track comes from El Che which was finally (and I mean finally) released this week.

The debut ep from Moritat, One Minute Fade, is being released tomorrow, June 10th, at Double Door. The trio of Venus Laurel (vocals, piano), Konstantin Jace (bass), and Corey McCafferty (drums) create a sound that creative and rather wide-reaching. There are strong traces of early nineties bands like Belly, Throwing Muses, and even a touch of Sonic Youth, but there is also a compelling instrumental stretches that show they have absorbed many of the current Chicago sounds. Their album was recorded at home, but has a great sound.

All fans attending the release show on June 10th at Double Door will receive a free copy of the ep. The album will be also be available through the band’s website both digitally and physically.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: lazy journalists love when a band wears its influences on its sleeve. Hipper-than-thou critics savor any opportunity to dismiss a group as unoriginal, and if anything, it makes the band easy to categorize.

You can safely assume that the members of Big Science have listened their fair share of INXS and Joy Division, but it’d be too easy for me to write off their Skyscraper Sound EP as a piece of New Wave nostalgia. There are no faux-British accents here, and the band has managed to wave their post-punk flag proudly without beating you over the head with it. Sure, “Burn All Night” would fit in quite nicely on thePretty in Pink soundtrack, but it still manages to sound contemporary.

On Skyscraper Sound, Jason Hendrix, Jeremy Peña, Jason Richards and Jason Clark create an interesting balance, combining lush, complex sounds with simple hooks. “Stairs Up Stairs Down” kicks things off with an extremely danceable groove before shifting to some big harmonies.

The real gem of the EP is “Flags,” a soaring track that leaves the listener torn between rocking out or standing still and taking it all in. Each member of the band is on the top of his game here, and the vocals from Hendrix and Richards shine.

A good EP should encapsulate a group’s sound and leave people wanting more, and with its unique twists on a classic genre, Skyscraper Sound does just that.

Skyscraper Sound will be released on June 29th and you can catch Big Science at Metronome Festival on “The Punk Stage” on June 13th. – Bonnie Stiernberg

Lollapalooza released the schedule for their three day event and opened up the single ticket sales today. Go get you some Lolla action!

Light Pollution recently released a video for their track “Drunk Kids” which appears on their Carpark debut Apparitions.

The band is currently on a cross-country tour, but will be performing here in Chicago on July 11th at West Fest.

I Fight Dragons have released a new video for their song “Heads Up, Hearts Down” which appears on their debut ep Cool Is Just a Number. The video is in 3D, and their label Photo Finish is including a free pair of IFD 3D glasses with each order.