Not only is it Monday it’s also Halloween (heard of it?) and so we want to start your week off with this spooky little number from Dawn Riding. “Hold On” is no campy holiday tune, it’s an eerie and menacing tune that feels a bit like Nick Cave taking a few steps toward the semi-ominous gypsy folk of Leonard Cohen’s early work. Singer songwriter Sarah Rose Janko doesn’t sound like Captain Bad Seed, but there is very much a red right hand vibe to this. Like a phantom in the night the song entrances and then fades away just as you’re starting to get a hold of it. As the kids used to say, its a whole ass mood and one we think is perfect for the night of celebrating the dark shadows we walk through.
October 31, 2022
Week Starter – Dawn Riding
October 28, 2022
Week Ender – Attics
Let’s start with this, “Garbage Time” by Attics is anything but. It’s a lovely time, fresh and shiny and off the top shelf where the fanciest of times are kept. A waltz that plays its cards close to the vest, a lulling swoon that sucks you in and then rewards you with flourishes of organs, synths and reverbed out guitars that delight the senses and pull you deeper into the swoon. One of the rarest things for us to say about a song is that we wish it were longer, but that is certainly the case here. Put it on repeat and loop yourself into bliss.
October 28, 2022
Friday 5×5
Friday 5×5 is our segment where we give you five new tracks to check out and give ourselves the challenge of describing said tracks in only five words.
How can we say more than five words about each of these tracks with all this Halloween candy in our moufs? Luckily these tracks speak for themselves, so get our candy coated words and check out the latest from The Sweet Serenaders, Eugenia Post Merediem, Ladytron, S.C.A.B. and Commons 2.
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October 27, 2022
The B-Side: g. spinn
A lot of people try to tiptoe through that sacred space of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith – hushed and intimate but yet lush and expansive – and most do it by directly aping those masters catalogs, especially “the hits.” What a delight it is then to hear g. spinn putting their own spinn (sorry, had to) on the genre with “Solitude.” It’ll give you all the same feels but gets you there in a way that feels refreshing and original but still within the lineage and tradition of the melancholic troubadour. It’s lovely, it’s a little sad, it’s perfect for shortening days and longer nights.
October 26, 2022
The Midweekly – Teri Gender Bender
The Midweekly is our column from Mike Jeffers; lead singer of Chicago punk stalwarts SCRAM, music junkie and all around righteous dude.
Better known for tearing it up with a strange, raucous style of rock as the guitarist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist of the band Le Butcherettes, here we find a different side of Teri Gender Bender on their recent solo release. After a spate of EPs and singles released this year, with a lot of sounding just like quick ideas off the dome, Saturn Sex feels more complete, and ready for that vinyl pressing. TGB has traded in noisy riffs for high quality electronic production. Deep bass, down beats, dub step and trap elements thump, and vibrate, and are sure to raise the hairs on the most appreciative techno heads. But the absolute best part are the terrific vocals that weave in and out of beauty, darkness, and mischievousness. Teri Gender Bender is one of those rare musical chameleons that never ceases to amaze.
October 25, 2022
Tuesday Tip-Off: Brody Price
Fall is one of our favorite seasons. Easily top 4. There’s just something about the melancholic beauty of leaves going out in a blaze of glory and breezy days still with a hint of summer warmth to them giving way to crisp cool nights that makes everything feel a bit more art house cinema. Brody Price captures the vibe well with “Fall,” a song that is equal parts regret and hope served up over a folk rock track that feels a bit like shuffling through the leaves. Life’s cycles repeat and all we can do is keep on moving through them.
October 24, 2022
Week Starter – Sly5thAve & JSWISS
Week Starter is our Monday column where we give you a new song to help you get on out of bed & help you power on through the working week.
This week we want to start you off with the inventive hip-hop / funk jam that is “Somebody’s Got To Do It” by Sly5thAve & JSWISS. Hitting like an update on The Roots classic of the same name, this new track gives us a stripped down beat where the groove lives in the breaths between each beat and guitar riff. It’s a smoothed out stop / start rhythm that lets JSWISS shine with a flow that sounds both laid back and confident at the same time. It’s a different type of hip-hop jam than you’re probably used to – jazzier, a more esoteric head nodder – but one you need to hear. Once you do you’ll be hitting the replay no doubt.
October 21, 2022
Week Ender – James E. Gray
Hey, Halloween is only 10 days away and if you’ve not already eaten all the candy you bought for the occasion and need to go buy more well than you’re just not doing the season right. Need some music to get you in the mood for your candy run and the big day in general? Check out “Spooky” by James E. Gray. Pulling off the trick of sounding like Muse getting in the holiday spirit, it’s a treat for the ears, and we ain’t talking fun size either. Full size, all the sugar and all the tastiness its a fun track that nails that arena alternative rock vibe.
October 21, 2022
Friday 5×5
Once again it’s time to microdose those reviews and let the music speak for itself. Five tracks so good we only need to drop five words to accentuate them. Check out the latest from vern matz, Markus Nikolaus, Sista Bossen, Brandon Isaac & Free Mind and fearofmakingout.
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October 20, 2022
Thursdays With J.R. – Markus Nikolaus
This week I had the pleasure of spinning “Bicycle Day” by Markus Nikolaus. I usually don’t recommend watching the accompanying music video but for this one it really makes sense. The imagery mixed with the sonic cuts and changes really makes the song hit. We open with imagery of a piano being hit with a sledgehammer once it connects, the song begins. Lo-fi at first, I almost thought the drums were sampled. The way the guitar plays with the sonic space makes the snare shine in a way only an acoustic snare can. Vocals washed with filters and reverb make for a calming first verse. We join Markus and his drummer in a dark warehouse like basement. It fits the song perfectly. When the sparse piano brings us into the next stanza, we get the gratifying shots of the piano being destroyed by said sledgehammer. I really enjoy the effects on the guitar in this song. They are brash and gritty but warm and mixed in perfectly. Markus slowly crescendos with the lyrics “why wont you see me?” as we are gifted the imagery of him behind said piano which is now on fire. Something about the keys getting destroyed and lit on fire really resonated with me. It truly juxtaposes the smooth nature of the song by matching the lyrical emotions. The bridge brings us sonically back to the crescendo, but it never becomes too brash to overwhelm. You get to the full climax of the song without tiring out. I know I say this a lot but give this one a few spins to get the full experience as it comes on smooth but so quick you don’t realize the song has ended and you are ready for more. I quickly added this artist and tune to my favorite playlist and cant wait to hear more. I’m not sure what Markus went through to evoke such a tune but I can say beware all pianos, you are not safe here.