Music 1
Alt-J – An Awesome Wave
As my bio and previous posts suggest, I tend to gravitate toward bands and albums of the heavy variety (e.g. Machinist! and Fero Lux), so it is not often nor without a heavy heart that I stray from my niche, let alone find something that will hardly leave my CD player for months at a time. An Awesome […]
Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance – One for the Road
For me, there are certain albums that are tied to certain vistas and experiences. Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the America’s largest railway museum in Union, Illinois. Nostalgic for a time when you could travel the world at a pace more conducive to reflection, I set my sights. For half the journey, […]
Chicago Acoustic Underground Celebrates a Decade of Supporting Original Musicians
Michael Teach listens intently as singer-songwriter Sarah Eide and her band knock out a set of original tunes in the living room of his Chicago apartment. “I love that!” he proclaims into his Neumann TLM-103 microphone as the group wraps up their first number. “What a cool song!” Your average 70-year-old doesn’t get quite this […]
Khruangbin – “History of Flight”
I was pretty shocked to discover that Khruangbin is just a little band from Texas. I first discovered their track “A Calf Born in Winter” on Bonobo’s Late Night Tales compilation and was hooked by their gorgeous reverb-sapped guitar tones. When I dug a bit deeper into the band’s catalog and heard their more Daptone-influenced […]
Ceremony – The L Shaped Man
Heavy, fast, heavy, fast…this is what Ceremony is all about. Anger-stricken, disordered musicians are what make up one of the most influential punk/hardcore bands of the 21st century. Ceremony is comprised of five members and was formed in California in 2005, blowing speakers and kids’ minds with their fast paced, carefree music. With a resemblance to bands […]
Son Step – “Right Times”
Philadelphia’s own Son Step has spent the past few years making incredibly interesting music. Their 2012 album Here Comes Dreamboat is rife with dissonant rhythms and harmony. That is what first drew me to Son Step. Their music is very unique in its timbre as well as rhythm and song construction. The song “Right Times” […]
Halsey – BADLANDS
I’m about to talk about an album that’s SUPER fresh — as in, it just officially came out like 3 days ago (even though it was leaked online August 23). Introducing Halsey’s BADLANDS: an album that will easily become the soundtrack to your last couple of weeks of summer. Halsey — legally named Ashley Frangipane […]
Frameworks – Loom
Before moving to Chicago I lived in Tallahassee, FL, about two hours northwest from Gainesville, hometown of Frameworks. They’ve been around since 2011 with their first EP, Every Day is the Same, coming out in October of that year. I booked the first (house) show they played in Tallahassee, and now they’re signed with Topshelf Records, […]
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – The Tyranny of Distance
The Tyranny of Distance is the second album from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and it sounds absolutely huge. From the distant, feeding-back guitar that kicks it off, all the way through the ending featuring just Ted and his ES-335, it’s a monumental work. I’ll talk about all that comes in between in a moment, but let’s go […]
