Look out, America. A Chicago rock outfit known as Smith Westerns is packing some serious heat. This garage-ish, ’70s-inspired, band of youths (all just reaching, or close to reaching, 20 years of age, but still seasoned vets in the Chicago rock club scene) are set to release their second full length LP, Dye It Blonde, … Read more
The indie scene in 2011 has seen more ’60s girl group-inspired tracks than Carter’s got liver pills. (Think: The Crystals, The Shirelles, and The Shangri-Las). And I’ve got more antiquated sayings than you can shake a stick at. You can thank artists like Lissie, La Sera, and now Tennis for the former. You can thank … Read more
Yuck is a fledgling UK band that has been together for the really long time period of just over a year. Yeah, they’re young both in age and duration as a band, but they’ve already been picked up by red-freakin-hot Fat Possum Records and will release their debut full-length early in 2011. Not too shabby for … Read more
We love our Lissie Marus ’round these parts. Hardcore. But, not in a dirty way. Ever since I heard her critically acclaimed EP, Why You Runnin’, I started drooling over the possibility of her debut full-length coming out in 2010. Her soulful, whiskey-soaked voice shook me to my core, especially on the track, “Everywhere I … Read more
The Walkmen have released the title tune of their upcoming LP Heaven (out on June 5th via Fat Possum), and the track is a fine slice of breezy pop rock from the NYC five-piece. Buoyed with a no-nonsense, jangly riff, “Heaven” is on the lighter side, if you will, of the spectrum of Walkmen singles … Read more
Photo Credit: Chicago Magazine A couple of months back, we gave you a little taste of an up and coming Chicago rock outfit known as Smith Westerns. This buzzing dream/garage-y band of youths have lived up to the hype with noteworthy sets at SXSW and the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2010. As a result, Smith … Read more
Photo by Ted Newsome Several songs from the last A.A. Bondy effort (2009’s When the Devil’s Loose) frequently appear on mixes I make for friends, or myself, that whisper the slow coming of fall. “I Can See the Pines Are Dancing” is a leisurely jaunt over wooded hills and through dry, crunching leaves. The title … Read more
Photo by Graham Tolbert “Baby Missiles” perfectly illustrates everything I adore about musical juxtaposition. ’80s synth pop mixed with country-rock? Yes, please. I’ll have that. The War On Drugs frontman, Adam Granduciel, has a purposefully wobbly delivery on “Baby Missiles” that reminds me a little bit of Mark Knopfler on Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.” … Read more
Canadian duo Purity Ring have only released three singles in the year or so that they’ve been making music together, but it is easy to see why these offerings (including prior tracks “Lofticries” and “Ungirthed“) have the web abuzz and ablog with excitement over their odd brand of electro-pop. Their latest effort is “Belispeak,” a … Read more
Back in July, Matt introduced us all to Tyler Powers, also known as Youth Lagoon, the 22 year old, solo musical savant out of Boise, Idaho. Back then, Youth Lagoon’s much anticipated debut LP, The Year of Hibernation, was still two months away from release. On the strength of what we heard from Powers this … Read more