Photo by Heath McWater Last September, we first posted about Manchester’s The Kill Van Kulls and the band’s single, “Lost and Found.” The track is a definite earworm of the Yeasayer (you know, that irresistibly ’80s, synthy, indie-pop stuff) variety, and it quickly crept into our list of The Best Songs of 2011. At that … Read more
Photo by Ben Pattengale At the beginning of the year, we wrote a love letter to The Milk Carton Kids and not-so-subtly urged you to pick up the album Prologue for free. (Yes, they are givin’ it away for free. Pure craziness.) Now, we’re following up that letter with a gigantic P.S. in the form … Read more
Last December, friend and fellow SIC blogger, Matt, sent me an e-mail with a simple message: “Of Monsters and Men. Should have been on our Best of the Year list.” Since we usually wrangle a list of only 50 fantastic albums for our annual countdown, I knew that Matt’s assessment of the Icelandic band must … Read more
Photo by Brian DePinto Here at Speakers in Code, we’re feeling a little weepy ’cause our babies are all grown up. Yup, the Chicago new-wave quartet, California Wives, has signed to Vagrant Records and is getting ready to drop their debut album, Art History, on prepped ears all ’round the country. But, let’s rewind a … Read more
Last December, my favorite Saint Louis radio station, KDHX, hipped me to the glory that is Alabama Shakes. The rock-soul band played here in town to absolutely rave reviews, confirming the high year-end critical praise that it had collected over the fall months, many thanks to the buzzy release of the Alabama Shakes EP back … Read more
We first told you all about Cults back in November when “Go Outside” was our JOTD, and again in December when the dreamy track also made our Best Songs of the Year list. In 2010, however, precious little was known about this NYC duo. The mysteries of Cults (apparently named individually, Brian Oblivion and Madeline … 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