Label: Wilsuns RC Genre: Rock 'n' Roll Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez So much grit and filth. Sheer Mag are back with another four song shredder where everything is coated in distortion and hair metal licks sound sick. Music like this just isn’t made anymore but Sheer Mag revives the style with no mercy and the attitude of real rock and rollers. They also got one of the most badass looking bandcamps I’ve ever seen. Keep an eye out for these peeps in the future.
Aero Flynn - Aero Flynn
Label: Ooh La La Genre: Folk/Ambient Pop Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez Originating out of the same tightknit Wisconsin music scene that birthed Bon Iver, Josh Scott aka Aero Flynn makes delicate and hazy pop songs that indicate his Bon Iver relations. Electronics are sprinkled in that remind me a lot of Radiohead. This is thought to be a record that he created to deal with depression and an autoimmune disease.Justin Vernon of Bon Iver produces.
Toro Y Moi - What For?
Label: Carpark Genre: Electro Infused Guitar Pop Reviewed by: Pierce Sprague I went to a Toro concert once. It was fun because his songs were so energetic, but Chaz just kind of stood behind his keys the whole time and sang indifferently. What For? is kind of like that, but this time, the sound guys put his mic too far away and he’s too lazy to move it. Don’t be dissuaded by the uninspired singles, though (2,4,9)—he still shows his creativity on this album, you just have to dig a little bit to find it.
WUVT and the Silhouette Literary and Art Magazine are teaming up to put on a battle of the bands at Ceritano's this Friday. Come out and support your favorite artists and this great magazine!
Show starts at 10pm, doors open at 9:30.
$5, 18+ all night, proceeds go towards the Silhouette.
THE LINEUP:
Hero to Human
Snobs
Bottom of the Ninth
Jonesy and the Ramblers
Each act gets about a half hour of stage time, and the winning band - as decided by the crowd - will play an encore at the end!
Label: Merge Genre: Indie Rock Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez Wielding an arsenal of crunchy guitars and a sweet (but mild) Southern voice, Katie Crutchfield is able to whip together some 90’s reminscent guitar pop gems. She refers to the album title as "a term I made up for directionless-ness, specifically of the 20-something, 30-something, 40-something of today, lacking regard for the complacent life path of our parents and grandparents." which I think is something most of us can relate to as lost college students….
Shlohmo - Dark Red
Label: True Panther Genre: IDM/Electronic Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez An appropriate title, this record feels murky and claustrophobic. Distorted synths lead you through the dark until you get lost in the seasick wails and glass shattering drums. Puts you in a trance. Works well for bed music.
The Mountain Goats - Beat the Champ
Label: Merge Genre: Folk Rock Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez When John Darnielle isn’t writing novels or lending a hand in various other musical projects, he constantly records lyrically whimsical songs under the Mountain Goats moniker. The record is thematically built on professional wrestling (???), though it’s probably a big metaphor for “nameless bodies in unremembered rooms…” - Joseph Fink
Ava Luna - Infinite House
Label: Western Vinyl Genre: Indie Rock/Math Rock/Soul Pop Reviewed by: Joe Turner Slurp. Mmmm. Juicy. This album is like one of those mysterious fruit smoothies with a bunch of vegetation that you like mixed in with other vegetation that you didn’t know you liked, or that you didn’t know you liked in the context of the fruit you already knew you liked. And then there is the question of which ingredient makes the title of the smoothie… Is it a banana smoothie with mango or a mango smoothie with banana? And where the heck does the coconut come into play?
Suuns and Jerusalem In My Heart - Suuns and Jerusalem In My Heart
Label: Secretly Canadian Genre: IDM/Indie Rock Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez
*An unlikely pairing, Suuns and Jerusalem In My Heart team up to craft a swirling and entrancing journey of a record. Middle Eastern flavors appear courtesy of Lebanese Jerusalem In My Heart. The songs take their time to blossom completely, with interesting electronics bubbling in and out in a repetitive trance-like state. Suuns apply some subtle guitar and drum work to distinguish this electronic record into something that feels more like a collaboration. Works well for bed music. *
Pale Blue - The Past We Left Behind
Label: Captured Tracks/2MR Genre: EDM/Ambient Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez Layers and layers of loops and reverb lift you to space, losing yourself in your own mind, before thumping bass unfailingly grounds you back to earth. The name of the group is a reference to Carl Sagan’s description of a photo of Earth taken from Voyager 1 back in 1990: “Pale Blue Dot.”
Some local shows that are happening over the next few days!
Sycamore Deli:
Thursday April 16th- Pigeons Playing Ping Pong @ 7 pm
Friday April 17th- The Broadcast
Saturday April 18th- The Fat Catz w/ TBA
Gillie's:
Thursday April 16th- Soupbone @ 7 then Mumblr, Soda @ 10pm
Saturday April 18th- Doc Greenburg's Patient Jazz @ 7pm
Sunday April 19th- Left Right, Sports Coach, & Kidaudra @ 7pm
622 North (21+):
Thursday April 16th- The Mad Anthonys w/special guest Giles McConkey @ 10pm
Friday April 17th- Boogieburg Soundsystem presents Catch 22 @ 10pm
Saturday April 18th- Planet Full of Blues w/special guests The Bell Hornets @ 10pm
Monday April 20th- Atoka Chase [album release party] @10pm
She-Sha:
Saturday April 18th- DJ RO & ADHG @10pm-1:45am
Label: Asthmatic Kitty Genre: Folk/Singer-Songwriter Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez This is the music I always pictured this guy making. Stevens reached his experimental climax with his last album, Age of Adz, five years ago and now he’s made a return to roots. Totally unlike Adz, this record feels earthly and organic. Thematically based on his strained and confusing relationship with his mother, the record was crafted as a way of coming to terms with her death in 2012. His voice is velvet as always but with the subtle addition of crackles and pops in the throat that come with age. Fragile melodies soar over fluttering guitars and collages of airy, washed out soundscapes. One of more pure and emotionally rich albums to be released this year.
Alex G - Trick
Label: Lucky Number Genre: Pop Rock Reviewed by: Steve Ibanez I stumbled on Alex G’s bandcamp a few summers ago and was struck by the mystery of it all.. Twelve albums of music were uploaded, accompanied by various iconic yet somewhat unappealing artwork. The email contact listed is monsterhead7@aol.com and tags include “shit” “nice” and “rugrats”. When you googled “Alex G,” you got a Youtube star that sings covers. Regardless, the music speaks for itself. This is the first music I heard from him and fell in love from the beginning strums of “Memory.” Alex writes songs about his life, and in turn, probably yours. Perfectly imperfect pop songs, often sent to a strange dimension with unorthodox screeches and spidery guitars. A reissue after the blow up of last year’s DSU, he’s gonna grow . . .
Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
Label: Mom & Pop Genre: Folk Pop/Indie Rock Reviewed by: Evan House Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett captures pure musical intimacy on “Sometimes I Sit”. These songs serve most importantly as gateways into her personal journal. House-hunting in a shabby Melbourne neighborhood and observing a pseudo-suicide attempt from a disgruntled office worker are just two examples of these entries. “Put me on a pedestal, I’ll only disappoint you” declares Barnett, whose emotional rawness draws immediate comparison to Patti Smith. This album is incredible.
Ghastly Menace - Songs of Ghastly Menace
Label: The Record Machine Genre: Indie Pop Reviewed by: Courtney Wilson This is the Chicago-based band’s first full-length album and it’s full of soft vocal and catchy guitar hooks. The album carries an overarching theme of coming to terms with the endings experienced in life (relationships). These guys are like a more upbeat version of Grizzly Bear.
