New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Josefina has released a new single called “Gone”. The singer-songwriter released two singles in 2019, “People Change” and "Wake Up Call”, and all three follow-up her 2018 album Starry Dome.
On “Gone” she is joined by Jim Tuerk (Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Synthesizers, Percussion), Brian Deck (Percussion), and Nick Broste (Trombone).
Violet Mice has released a second single and video from their upcoming album Everything Is Always Bad. This new single is also the album’s opening track and is called “Weird (Like Me)”.
This is work of Annie Fish who left Chicago in 2018 for New Mexico, but clearly misses our city and would love to still call it home. The album, which will be released tomorrow, January 7th, is compilation of two albums that Annie has created during their struggles in New Mexico.
It is hard to read the liner notes for this album and see Annie struggling, but the way they explain the naming of this album gives some hope. "To name this record EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS BAD is to walk up to the future without me in it and laugh in its face. It is to bring back the humor to my life. It is to choose the better path. It is to shout from the top of the mountain that I still exist."
Annie, you do exist, we see you and we love these new songs and videos!
Those seeking a more minimalistic punk offering will find respite in the music of Quaker Wedding, whose 2019 Demo finds its strength in aggressive, electric guitar-driven songs and frothy vox. Recorded and released in February of last year, the immediacy in its release is instantaneously felt; tracks are concise, appropriately discordant, and without any unnecessary bells and whistles, perfect listening for fans of groups like Japandroids or Fucked Up. Give it a spin below, and see Quaker Wedding at the Windjammer on January 12th.
Lily Desmond’s EP Growing Flowers offers a wide selection of sounds as a debut effort, all of which highlight the artist’s songwriting chops and penchant for ear worm alternative sounds. Beginning on a lush, minimally acoustic note with extended play opener “O Hunter” before going grittily electric on “Oleander Eyes,” culminating with the orchestral and dramatic closer “Glory,” Desmond has no qualms with keeping things interesting, exploring different genres with an ease and comfort few can pull off on a first attempt. As such, the entirety of Growing Flowers provides something for everyone, a pleasant smorgasbord that shows an artist willing to explore a variety of differing instrumentations. Stream it below, and see Lily Desmond at Alphaville on January 11th, supporting Ruby and Lady Pills.
One can imagine Rhode Island’s Will Orchard thoroughly immersed in the writing and recording of his folktronica 2020 record Old Friends On The Mountain: the richly-layered instrumentation, the most-sincere emotion in the vocals, and the tranquility of it all are tell-tale signs of a sweet escape for the artist. As a listener, one is both witness and partaker of an experience carefully orchestrated for attentive ears. For both the sonic epicurean and casual listener, there is plenty to dab in, such as the serene acoustic strings of the opener “Until It’s Found,” which join an irresistible rhythm where Orchard’s voice reverberates. Tracks like “My Belly Is Full Of Hydrangea” are much more upbeat, and topped off with buttery smooth trumpet solos. There is an emotional tinge to the record, not a forceful one or so evident, just right for the man-nature connection it establishes. Listen to the heavy-exceptional bass in “Turning Back Again” from the new record below. – Rene Cobar
I Spent The Winter Writing Songs About Getting Better is a verbose album title, matched by the rapid, pop-punk delivery New York outfit Proper brings to each of the album’s sunny fourteen tracks. With no shortage of self-effacing witticisms and complaints about quotidian inconveniences amidst a record-spanning desire for self-betterment, Proper embeds their latest LP with an aspirational philosophy that’s matched by melodic, massive riffs and a breakbeat pace. Never too emo or too poppy, Winter sets realistic expectations for both itself and the listener, a sobering assessment of things as they are; listen below, and see Proper play at Bushwick Public House on January 11th, supporting MakeWar, Pass Away, and In The Meantime. —Connor Beckett McInerney
New York punk veterans Weeping Icon returned late last year to deliver their self-titled LP, an exciting venture into the worlds of noise and electronic, a disorienting effort that upends expectations at every corner. Alternating between guitar-driven rides and sound collage vignettes, Weeping Icon basks in the experimental, effortlessly switching between spoken-word dirges on tracks like “Natural Selection” to screaming hostile takeovers on songs like “Power Trip” and “Ripe for Consumption.” In incorporating facets both harsh and experimental, the band taps into uncharted sonic territory that is engrossing and terrifying; listen below, and catch Weeping Icon at DRTY SMMR on January 10th, alongside Faccia Brutta and SIGNAL.
Willow Stephens dropped her debut LP All That Glitters today, and will celebrate with a show at The Troubadour on January 9th as part of the venue’s Sound Collective Showcase. The Montana native has come up in the LA scene over the past few years, having released her first EP back in 2017 and changing from an acoustic sound to something more pop-oriented during her time down south. But despite her musical shift, Stephens has retained her strong talent for writing captivating words to deliver in her airy, angelic voice. Head to the Troubadour to hear it for yourself on 1/9 when Stephens performs alongside Miette Hope, Lucy Walsh, and Michelle Vezilj. Take a listen to the lead track from All That Glitters, titled "Gold", below. – Will Sisskind
Mute Duo has released the first single, “Canopy Bells”, from their forthcoming album, Lapse In Passage. The album, the duo’s second full-length, is set to be released via American Damage on March 20th.
This is the atmospheric ambient music of Skyler Rowe (drums/percussion) and Sam Wagster (pedal steel).
You can help Mute Duo celebrate the release of their album on March 19th at Constellation Chicago with Akosuen.
I don’t think it was a coincidence that the Stoner Metal group Tombstone Eyes released their debut album, Land In The Sky, on January 1st via the local label Akashic Records Unlimited. The sixteen minute track “Solar Barge” is the perfect track to zone out to and let your mind expand.
This is the work of Brownstone, John Brown, Mustafa Daka, and Jason Sipe.
Producer and vocalist Megiapa recently had a new song, “Lessons”, appear on a compilation from the local label KinkyElevatorMusic.
2019 saw Megiapa release her debut full-length album, ’92, and really come into her own as artist and creator.
Post-Punk quartet What’s Your Damage? is preparing to release their self-titled debut EP. You can currently stream the EP’s first two singles, “Exit” and “Killing Spree”. The band kicked off the year by releasing a somewhat graphic video for “Killing Spree”.
This is a side project of Wiley Willis, Bob Shields, and Sean Kelly of 2Minute Minor with the addition of the vocals of Quinn.
