Occasionally, you come across a musician that is honestly trying to accomplishment something unique, create something that is different. Warren Buckler, an experimental singer/songwriter, has tried to create his own sound and in many ways succeeded. He starts with a beautiful base of folk music, and adds a touch of technology. He does this by manufacturing his own accompanying instrumentation with a synthetic sophistication. The mixture has so many possibilities and on his debut album Like that of the Coral he explores many of them. What is most exciting about this self-released album are the layers of sound that he builds. It took him a while to complete, but this debut is stunning, complex, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Warren Buckler will be performing at Uncommon Ground on March 26th.

Are you one of the two million plus viewers that this video has received? Directed by James Frost, Ok Go does it again with inventiveness and creativity. This is the official video for the recorded version of "This Too Shall Pass" off of the band’s latest album "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky".

Among the many Chicago musicians making their way down to the year’s South By South West music festival is Via Tania. Even though it is only March she is already having a great year which has seen the release of her album Moon Sweet Moon, and some very impressive shows. What I have found most interesting about Tania’s year have been the covers she has produced. Her latest cover is of The Presets “If I Know You” and it is beautiful and needs to be heard.

Before heading down to SWSW Via Tania will be playing a show at The Hideout. After SXSW she will be hitting the road with Seabear and arrives back in Chicago on April 2nd for a show at Schubas.

The Catbirds have released their first full-length album Subanimal Sounds, and will be celebrating this release tonight (March 4th) at The Hideout with Baby Teeth. The Catbirds is primarily the work of Baltimore’s Peter Beyer, but the band includes F. James Cooper of our own Detholz!, as well as Benyamin Artes-Miranda and Karl Doerfenmueller of Chicago.

The Catbird sound is somewhat Americana, somewhat psychedelic, and like folk-pop. It’s a pleasant blend that could span a number of decades and influences, namely Belle and Sebastian or The Beach Boys.

This week the soulful JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound released a brand new single called “Get it Together”. The single is back with this incredible rework of the Wilco track “I am Trying to Break Your Heart”. This is the bands first release since last year’s self-released full-length r&b/soul album Beat of Our Own Drum.

JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound will be performing at Tonic Room on March 10th.

This week the New Jersey net label Rain Above Records released a new (and free) digital single by the bedroom troubadour Tinyfolk. The single features two songs “I Was Cato the Elder” and “Snowy Branches” and totals less than five minutes in length. Over the years Tinyfolk has tried his hand at many different styles, but these tracks are clear and gentle folk.

Tinyfolk will be performing at The Space in DeKalb, IL on March 15th.

Coach House Sounds has released two new sessions this week, one by Southern Illinois band Headlights, and one by the dynamic group of musicians known simply as Push. There sound is a collection of their instruments, and that might be a negative statement if it weren’t for the diverse range of instruments they play. Marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, synths, bells, and more have found their way into the groups sound. Their songs fill rooms and as you can tell you the images from their CHS section so does their equipment.

Push play at Martyrs in Chicago on Thursday March 11.

The third free track (third of fourty-four) from Smashing Pumpkins new project Teargarden By Kaleidyscope has been released. This is Billy’s attempt at a protest song. Here is how he explains it, ““I have a hard time saying in most cases what inspires a song–some of them just pour out of me like salt and I feel like a custodian of a spirit I don’t fully understand but certainly can feel. The closest answer I have is that it’s a protest song–what I am protesting I’m not sure but it has something to do with real inner freedom and the consequence of what it means to be free.”

Episode two of Small Chicago has been posted and it features The Warms Ones. As they reach their third song in this basement set you can see why they might be called The Warm Ones. Check out Small Chicago for the entire set and bonus images. The Warm Ones have dubbed this the year they make contact and so far they have.

You can see The Warm Ones live on March 24th at Schubas.

Here is the first line of the bio for Dot Dot Dot, “Dot Dot Dot’s music is a thrilling union of rock elements cloaked in dance beats with synthy frills; it’s a wonder they didn’t call themselves Duran Duran Duran. “ That bio really says it all. The music of Dot Dot Dot sounds very much like classic Duran Duran, but the fact is this is still fun danceable party rock. For a band that doesn’t seem to take themselves too seriously they have managed to amass quit a following for their LP and EP, both self-released. The first track on their new EP 1, is called “Don’t Move” and is a fun synth-driven romp that makes no attempts to be anything more.

The band will be performing at Schubas on March 4th for a rare all ages show before hitting the road for most of March.

This April, Netherfriends (aka Shawn Rosenblatt) will find himself homeless and he will be embarking on a 50 Songs 50 States tour. You will be able to follow his progress here. Shawn is also close to completing his first full-length LP called Barry and Sherry (named after his parents) and today premiered a video for the project. The song is called "Lead You Through the Misty Fog of Milwaukee Ave".

Before he leaves in April, Netherfriends will be performing two shows here, Mar 15 at Lincoln Hall with Woods and Real Estate and Mar 18 at Empty Bottle with Deakin (Animal Collective).

On the inside cover of the sophomore album, Time and Temperature, from Judson Claiborne you will find a quote from Daphne Rose Kingma. “We tend to think of relationships as static, as if we could just get into them, assume a position inside them and then continue to hold it, essentially without changing forever, world without end. But in fact our relationships are fluid, vivid, mercurial, and constantly changing.” It perfectly sets the stage for the plucked strings, melodies, and heartfelt lyrics that follow. These ten tracks crave a graceful notch into the static image of love. The instrument Judson uses to crave is the fable as he tells tales of a CIA worker struggles to keep a relationship with his wife, or a student falling a little to deeply in love. The tale keeps changing as the type of relationship changes. Musically, there are element indie folk, country, and just plain Americana, but Claiborne’s web is complex and refreshing. This album is beautifully put together by La Societe Expeditionnaire, and topped of by incredible photos from New York’s Sarah Wilmer. The album will be released on April 6th and will become one of the top Chicago albums of the year.

The record release show will take place on March 5th at The Hideout with Sonoi and Eiren Cafall. Judson Claiborne will also perform at Reckless Records in Wicker Park on March 6th at 4:00pm for free.