What a killer song. In fact, of all the tunes listened to from the pick of artists at Austin for SXSW, “Colors,” the debut single by Genevieve, was the among the most memorable of tunes. Genevieve’s official video for “Colors” furthers the song’s message: Find pride in who you are. Watch as the Chicago singer (formerly from the band Company of Thieves) and her friends go through a Wizard of Oz transformation, from black and white to extravagant color. Genevieve’s debut EP, “Show Your Colors”, is out now, and features the production work of Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson), Ted Bruner (Kesha), Boots Ottestad (Robbie Williams), Jason Gilbert (Christina Aguilera), and Mike Green (Paramore).
Dumpster Tapes in Chicago had a big year in 2014 and they’re continuing the story in 2015. Their latest is a full length from Son Of A Gun a 12-track cassette rolled into a raging fireball of frenetic garage punk energy.
They wound these tracks up tight, slapped on a fuse, doused them in gasoline and lit a match. The ensuing explosion created “No Bread”. Operating as a 4-piece, they run rampant through 12 scorching tracks in 29 minutes, slamming the pedal to the metal and never giving it a second thought. They’re forceful and relentless, creating the perfect soundtrack as you fly down the highway without ever dipping below 100mph.
Songs never crack the 3-minute mark, but they’re packed full with mangled guitars and rumbling bass for a completely ear-shredding sound. Vocal duties are shared by guitarists Nick and Garrett, creating a two-pronged attack of raspy, riotous chanting. They proceed to pummel with drumming that never slows, sustaining their wild pace from front to back. “Looks So Good” opens the tape and quickly gets things going, showcasing snarling vocals and agile, fire-fueled guitars. “Hanging Up On Me” comes with spiny little guitar hooks and a wonky bass line for support, creating an invigorating and elastic bridge that keeps the stampede steamrolling over everything in sight. “Come Back” opens with shredded chords and some grungy bass tones, spearheaded by unruly vocal howling and wigged-out guitar licks. By the time it’s all said and done, “No Bread” turns out to be a completely exhilarating batch of aggressive garage punk. Take these few examples below as proof and order the tapeNo before it’s all gone
The doors are shut but the organ is live and I can see the sound. I’m crawling around trying to get to the images, the only other people in the room
As if the brisk and melodic ambient/drone sounds of Chicago’sImplodesdoesn’t captivate you enough, the video to their new single “Out of Reach”, filmed by Lori Felkerwill only enhance it. Dark, depressing, yet absolutely elegant and beautiful, it captures the essence of the song, featured on their latest album “Reverser” perfectly. Pick up a copy of the 12″ a digital copy at Gilead Media’s bandcamp page.
Shot on expired film at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, IL.
for “Out of Reach” by Implodes implodes.blogspot.com/
Reverser 12″ on Gilead Media Release: March 2015
Taken from the EP “No One Needs to Know Our Name”,Chicago’s Fort Frances. The acclaimed trio features David McMillin on vocals, guitar, and piano, Jeff Piper on bass and vocals, and Aaron Kiser on drums and vocals. Fort Frances album’s “gorgeous songs,” and the band’s “warm, versatile, melodic sound.” In between the band’s last EP , David McMillin has also been working on his solo career. He’s an accomplished and acclaimed songwriter who had performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival and has been a finalist in the Telluride Troubadour competition. Fort Frances has made similarly with this new EP. The guitars are louder, the drums rock harder, and even as the arrangements are less “singer-songwritery” then their previous efforst, it’s McMillin’s excellent songwriting and lyrics that remain at the heart of this EP.
Shoegaze band Airiel, from Chicago, It’s loud. It’s pretty and you can dance to it. Airiel began as the solo project of Mr. Jeremy Wrenn back in 1997. After taking on a few more members and relocating to Chicago, Airiel really began to hit their stride upon releasing a series of excellent four song EPs, entitled Winks and Kisses, via Clairecords. Gaining them many fans and consistently being top sellers at Clairecords, Winks and Kisses marked Airiel’s official arrival to the world of modern shoegaze; by then, everyone knew who Airiel was. Since then, Airiel has gone on to release more great material, garner critical acclaim as a live act,
Sometimes a hushed near-whisper and sometimes anything but, with What Is This Heart? Tom Krell makes the move from indie R&B to pop. A little glitchiness and experimentation make their way into the album, but overall, it retains a spacious, emotional quietness. The higher production value is evident in the crispness of the instrumentation lending a cinematic quality to the larger pop tunes. His confessional and candid vocals take front and center on each track, usually in a sweeping, floating falsetto that lends to the feeling of Krell baring his naked soul to the listener.
The video for “Making Breakfast” from the incredible TWIN PEAKS with a great drum sound on this recording and taken from the Album “Wild Onion” On their second album, these Chicagoans bring the good time bar-pop no doubt, but there’s a higher level of tune-smithery here than your best bro’s band, not to mention one sick-ass drummer. That debated bump-up in production was just what the band needed to expose their super-strong, shiny hooks and brief, melodic, flowery byways they skid onto. Speaking of which, all that touring, including like 27 CMJ shows, honed them into a tight little gang too.
Landmarks is a psychedelic rock band from Chicago, and they released their debut EP on November 18th, 2014. Bringing the classic psychedelic sound from previous decades and mixing it with modern innovations is what makes this band a must listen. Everything sounds traditional, but with the perfect touch of more recent ideas the songs come alive. One song you will hear a definite late 60’s psychedelic rock sound, and the next a 90’s indie rock guitar riff. You can tell you’re in for a journey as soon as the EP begins, with “Mason Hill” being a short introduction of looping ambient synths. Right after, the second track kicks in.
Landmarks’ debut EP is the perfect example of the iconic psychedelic rock sound, and even though it is blended with modern influences, it never loses the integrity that the genre has. The guitar plays smooth throughout the album, which is something I love to hear from psychedelic rock bands, especially if they’re more guitar driven. Some bands go a more electronic route, but what I like about Landmarks is that they only use effects to heighten the songs. They play true rock by the books, but they venture out when it is needed. The rock scene needs more innovative bands like Landmarks to light a spark on traditional music and augment what’s already there to create their own true style. For this reason, among others, is why their EP is such a solid release, it truly is a breath of fresh air.
This great live set captures Talking Heads at The Park West, in Chicago, in 1978. After playing a selection of showcases in Europe at the start of the year – and taking time-out to record their second album in the Bahamas – the group were amidst a tour criss-crossing the USA from New York to Los Angeles. Talking Heads have their origins in a Providence, Rhode Island band called The Artistics, formed in 1974. True to their name, founder members DavidByrne (vocals, guitar) and Chris Frantz (drums) were students of the School of Design there, as was Frantz’s girlfriend, Tina Weymouth. The band quickly folded and all three moved to New York together. Tina was persuaded to learn bass; achieved – apparently – by listening to Suzi Quattro albums! Now known as Talking Heads, the trio soon secured their debut gig as support to the Ramones, at the CBGB’s in mid-1975. The band was signed by Seymour Stein’s Sire Records and released their debut single, the intriguingly entitled “Love Goes toBuilding on Fire” in February 1977. Talking Heads took a more oblique, avant-garde approach to their music. They were definitely New Wave rather than Punk. After their first single, the group immediately expanded the line-up, adding Jerry Harrison (previously with Jonathan Richman’s Modern Lovers) on keyboards, guitar and backing vocals. Their debut album, Talking Heads: 77 was released in September. All the songs, bar one, were written exclusively by David Byrne. The sole collaboration was the Byrne-Frantz-Weymouth number Psycho Killer, the album’s stand-out cut (first written for the The Artistics). With its insistent Psycho Killer… qu est-ce que c est hook and Weymouth’s driving bass-line, it was released as a single gained the band a huge amount of recognition and airplay over the years. Other standout cuts include the exuberant The Book I Read, the Caribbean styling of Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town and the punchy but nimble New Feeling.
The Second album “More Songs about Buildings and Food” was a more diverse – and even more successful – collection of songs. Away from the confines of New York, the album was recorded in Nassau, in the Bahamas with Brian Eno producing. A cover of Al Green s Take Me to the River was also released as a single, and exposed Talking Heads to a significantly larger audience Other standout cuts featured include, The Big Country, The Girls Want to be with the Girls and The Good Thing. This broadcast recording, which includes all three singles by then released, together with the cream of the two albums other cuts, is a superb distillation of all that made Talking Heads such a unique and remarkable band.
Chicago’s The Walking Bicycles have been making their own brand of bombastic and peculiar music since 2004.
“doomy, booming music that sounds like a medical emergency crossed with an existential crisis… Almost as impressive as its sheer power, though, is its concision” “dark and aggressive, but they’ve got plenty of hooks”
“the quartet hauls doom metal’s weight through post-punk’s sharp corners… Jason’s unnerving bass lines and Deric’s relentless drumwork mix seamlessly with Jocelyn’s screams and Julius’s squalls. It’s a singular engine of sound”
”evoking early, abrasive Siouxsie and the Banshees and even touching on Clinic’s more frenzied forays into noise pop.”
The Fat Angel Sings 