Album Review: Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips

This week I covered the dusty new drone album Full Upon Her Burning Lips by Earth. It's an interesting departure for the band and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. Check it out over at Chicago Crowd Surfer.  

Review of Earth's Full Upon Her Burning Lips

Desert witch. Lady of the Earth. 

Album Review: Full of Hell - Weeping Choir

My mind is still reeling after experiencing grindcore genre benders Full of Hell and their new LP Weeping Choir. Read my ramblings tongues over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. 

Review of Full of Hell's Weeping Choir

Weep for the living, not the dead.   

Album Review: Steel Pulse - Mass Manipulation

This week I covered English reggae mainstays Steel Pulse and their new LP Mass Manipulation. Read all about how to break the back of the global corporate hegemony and my thoughts on the album over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. 

Review of Steel Pulse's Mass Manipulation

Forever in solidarity. 

Album Review: Esperanza Spalding - 12 Little Spells

I invite you to join me in exiting the mundane with the help of the award-winning, Harvard professor, and musical polymath, Esperanza Spalding and the reissue of her seventh LP, 12 Little Spells. Frankly, she needs no introduction. All 12 of these little spells were released as standalone singles with accompanying music videos last October. It’s now being combined with a sister EP comprising of four original tracks that should have never should have been separated from its sibling. Together they complete Spalding’s vision of an album that explores the extensions and limitations, the experiential lenses, and overlapping political and real economies that are represented by the human body through an overlay of soul-penetrating jazz, R’nB, funk, and orchestral pop. Beginning with the theatrical meanderings of “12 Little Spells (thoracic spine),” through to the swinging bell-shaped groove of “Thang (hips),” to the funky floating sweeper of “You have to Dance (feet),” and wrapping up with impossibly wet sounding “Lest We Forget (blood),” this is a beautiful and exceptionally composed record. Allow yourself the luxury of becoming lost in the enchanting sweep of Spalding’s incantations.

Get a copy of 12 Little Spells on vinyl here

Album Review: Sâver - They Came With Sunlight

Lots a brilliant brutal stuff in rotation this week.Check out my review of the latest album from Norwegian sludge metal upstarts Sâver over at Chicago Crowd Surfer.

Review of Sâver's They Came With Sunlight

Still curious who "they" are. 

Album Review: Possessed - Revelations of Oblivion

This week I covered the original death metal band, Possessed and their new LP Revelations of Oblivion. They're back from the abyss and I've got some thoughts on their return which you can read over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. 

Review of Possessed's Revelations of Oblivion

Spoilers: They nailed it! 

Show Review: Perturbator at Thalia Hall

Perturbator (Photo credit: CCS)

This week I checked out the future-imperfect cyber synth wraiths Perturbator at Thalia Hall. I dug a little deeper than usual in my recap of their set and seeing their show helped me unpack some ideas that had been rolling around in my mind for the past few weeks. My coverage is over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Show Recap Perturbator @ Thalia Hall

No future but what we make. 

Album Review: Combo Chimbita - Ahomale

Today I am snacking on some choice rhythmic ruminations, courtesy of Brooklyn’s Combo Chimbita. While home-based in a whitewashed hipster wasteland, the band transcends their surroundings with fealty to the global south. Their expressive, sharp-edged folk-funk combines traditional cumbia rhythms with futuristic psyche and soul with overtones of Afro-Latinx diaspora and lush post-punk. Ahomale is their second LP as well as the name of the album’s central character, a vessel of ancient cosmic knowledge, who seeks to free humanity from the trappings of hubris and intolerance. The music here is infused with a sense of spiritual purpose and a mission to open the listener’s eyes to true wisdom and transcendent human consciousness. Things start out unassuming enough with the dusty western waltz and Latinx soul of “Ahomale” which give way to darkly symphonic, distorted, and surging guitar riffs, a great primer for what the band has in store for you on the rest of the album. The chilling quite-loud-quite dynamic established on the title track is further embellished on the cobweb swept, crypt diving salsa of “Revelacion” and the future-forward reggae crossfire of “Te Vi.” Moodier moments of force are offered up on the dripping dub upheavel of “Al Templo” and the trippy trap groove and deconstructed ska of “Santo Fuerte.” Escape the mundane with the guiding embrace of Combo Chimbita.

Grab a vinyl copy of the album from Anti- Records here

Album Review: Fixed Fight - Empty Homes

My review of Danish metallic hardcore crew Fixed Fight's debut Empty Homes is up over on InEffect Hardcore. If you dig Snapecase and Converge but wish they leaned a little harder into death metal territory, then this LP is definitely worth checking out.

Review of Fixed Fight's Empty Homes

The first rule of Fixed Fight Club, is that you don't talk about Fixed Fight Club. The second rule of Fixed Fight Club, is that you don't talk about Fixed Fight Club.  

Album Review: Versus - Ex Nihilo

This week I covered Versus new EP Ex Nihilo for Chicago Crowd Surfer. Its exactly what you want from this greying indie bulwark in 2019. Indie rock can wear me down pretty quick but I'm definitely feeling this one. Link below. 

Review Versus' Ex Nihilo

Something from nothing means nothing, gotta have something...  

Album Review: Ringworm - Death Becomes My Voice

Chicago Crowd Surfer is running my review of the brutal and uncompromising return of hardcore legends Ringworm and their latest tour de force Death Becomes My Voice. This may be my album of the year. Only time will tell. Link below.

Review of Ringworm's Death Becomes My Voice

Death has always been my voice. 

Album Review: Fury - Failed Entertainment

This week in album reviews I had the honor of covering a new release by art-house youth crew upstarts Fury, tilted Failed Entertainment. My review is over on Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Review of Fury's Failed Entertainment

Are you not entertained? 

Album Review: Helms Alee - Noctiluca

Nothing like music from a rainy city to set the mood for an overcast afternoon, right? Today I’m enjoying the angular cloud-bursting dynamics of Seattle post-hardcore mainstay, Helms Alee. Helms Alee formed in 2008 and is comprised of Ben Verellen on vocals and guitar, Dana James on bass, and Hozoji Margullis on drums. They play a loose, groovy style of rust yielding metallic punk buttressed by arching supports of terse grunge and quivering sludge metal. Being from the northwest, I guess you either mix your Drive Like Jehu with Soundgarden, or you just play Soundgarden (or you don’t play anything and get a job at Amazon HQ). Noctiluca is their fifth album and sees the band continue to maintain a solid level of energy and manicured rage through the honing of tight sheering guitars, gluey bass riffs, and duets of cleanly sung melodious female vocals and Melvins style, sky-blackening shouts. Their dynamic approach is best displayed on the shambolic drift-and-slam of the reverb wrapped “Be Rad Tomorrow.” Need more interlocking, rolling grooves? Check out the harmonic prickle and plunging grooves of “Interachnid.” Need something to sweat your angst out to? Smash play on the imposing Mastodon-esque “Lay Waste, Child” and the sludge-core knuckle-cracker “Word Problem.” Get inspired, not tired. 

Pick up a copy of Noctiluca from Sargent House Records today!

Album Review: Chevalier - Destiny Calls

Helsinki based heavy metal heathens Chevalier just dropped their new LP Destiny Calls, and it is everything you could want out of a speed metal album in 2019. My write up is at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Review of Chevalier's Destiny Calls

Heed the call of destiny, and give this bad mother f*cker a spin.

Album Review: Aldous Harding - Designer

There is no one in the world like Aldous Harding, and her new album Designer is a distinctly transportive masterpiece. My write up is over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Aldous Harding's Designer

Design the world you deserve, not the one you were born into...

Album Review: Walking Bicycle - Chooch EP

Walking Bicycle, local alternative rockers named for a strange hybrid mode of transportation, are thankfully back with some new music. The new Chooch EP may not be breaking new ground, but it's helping to break me out of the mood I'm in today. Check out my write up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer at the link below.

Review of Walking Bicycle's Chooch EP @ CCS

Do not ask for whom the bicycle bell tolls...

Album Review: Magic Circle - Departed Souls

Time to crack the seal on some fresh doom metal. This week I’m jamming to the latest from Magic Circle, a Boston based “true” doom metal band lead by Brendan Radigan, who pulls double duty in Pagan Altar. Departed Souls is their second LP, and follow up to 2015’s excellent Journey Blind. The group continues to indulge and refine their fusion of influences, bringing together the trippy wizardry of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Witchfinder General, with the foggy medieval angst of the aforementioned Pagan Altar, along with grounded pragmatic songwriting that illuminates all manner of dreary fantasy escapes. The opening title track feels like a jail-broke lifer, freshly freed from the smoky confines of Vol IV, while “Valley of the Lepers” has a plodding preoccupation with the bruising biker blues of the Obsessed, and the “Nightland” helps to keep the heat on with its acrobatic guitar work and ale drown Thin Lizzy grooves. In need of a ballad to satiate your inner warrior bard? Look no further than the delicately textured “A Day Will Dawn Without Nightmares” and the muscular ecstasy of “Gone Again.”

Get your copy from 20 Buck Spins here

Interview: Mykele Deville

Image thanks to artist

My interview with Chicago DIY icon Mykele Deville is up at CHIRP Radio! Here is a quote from the bumper written by CHIRP staff because I don't think I can write a better description myself:  "Interviewer Mick Reed goes deep with Mykele Deville, local Chicago musician, poet, playwright and actor. Mick gets to the heart of Mykele's prolificity and what drives his unyielding creativity." Thanks to the staff at this awesome community radio station for making my conversation with Mykele possible. Direct link to the interview below. 

Interview with Mykele Deville for the CHIRP Radio Podcast

Pick up a copy of Mykele latest release Maintain from Chicago based No Trend Records here

Album Review: Anderson .Paak - Ventura

I am easing into the weekend with the help of Anderson .Paak’s new LP, Ventura. Ventura sees Anderson back in touch with his R’nB roots. Recorded in tandem with last year’s hip-hop forward release Oxnard, the two albums form a dynamic, hard-partying yin-yang. Like Outkast’s Speakerboxx/The Love Below, where together the two halves demonstrate the versatility of the group’s MCs, only in the case of Oxnard/Ventura it’s all just .Paak. The material on Ventura is reliable and consistent, exploring themes of devotion, be it to causes or each other. If you’re looking to really lean into mellowing out, then check into the silky and soulful “Come Home” featuring Andre 3000 and follow it up with the deep grooving intimacy, dancing synth keys, kicking bass, and sweet-tongued jazz-vocals of “Winners Circle.” If you are looking for something closer to Oxnard’s idiom, check out the G-funking shuffle of “Jet Black” featuring Brandy, and the P-funk truth billowing soul-train slide of “King James.” Need some more think grit in your groove? Up your prescription for smokey soul with a dose of the hip-swiveling, string bending two-step of “Make It Better” featuring Smokey Robinson. We're going to march through rest of this week together and .Paak is going to show us the way.

Snag a copy of this bad boy here

Album Review: Chokehold - With This Thread I Hold On

New stuff from Chokehold dropping this week. Old school metallic hardcore from Detroit. It doesn't get any realer than that. My write up of the new LP is up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Chokehold's With This Thread I Hold On @ CCS

This album sounds like a god damned cage match.

Album Review: After the Burial - Evergreen

After the Burial isn't dead yet. In fact, if their new album Evergreen is anything to go by, they may be mounting a serious comeback. My thoughts on the new LP are up at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of After the Burial's Evergreen at Chicago Crowd Surfer

Green is the color of renewal.

Album Review: Claude Fontaine - Claude Fontaine

Today I'm easing into my groove with the velvet croon of LA singer and songwriter, Claude Fontaine. Her debut LP it the direct result of a foggy London stroll a few years back where she stumbled upon Honest Jon’s Record store. The fated encounter led to the excavation of a deep, previously unacknowledged love of classic reggae, dub, and Brazilian music. After interrogating Honest Jon’s employees for a few days on the history and major players of her newly adopted musical obsession, Fontaine made it her mission to produce a record with the living legends who had wooed her heart. Through an extensive series of emails, voicemails, and care-packages sent between her, globe-trotting photographers and other vagabonds, she was able to pinpoint the whereabouts of Tony Chin and others, and mailed them her demos with a request to collaborate. Surprisingly, all of those she solicited said yes, and in just two sessions, she recorded the entirety of her debut LP with guitarists Chin, drummer Airto Moreira, bassist Ronnie McQueen of Steel Pulse and others lending her their various and inimitable talents. The results are something akin to Novella Vague produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry. Fontaine’s soft French-inflected jazz-croon drifts over swiftly moving caravans of South American fusion. Give a listen to the jaunty, twisting melody and syncopated skip of the magnetic “Cry for Another” and try to resist its charm. Fountain’s debut is one of those things that you never knew you needed in your life until it lands square in your lap.

Grab a copy of Claude Fontaine's debut from Innovative Leisure Records here.

Album Review: Inter Arma - Sulphur English

Inter Arma's new LP flat out kicked my ass. Sulpher English sees the band returning to their earlier sound while stepping up their songwriting in a big way. My full review is over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Review of Inter Arma - Sulphur English

Horns up for Bill Bumgardner.

Album Review: American War Machine - Unholy War

NYC metallic hardcore supergroup American War Machine have dropped their debut LP, Unholy War. I have a few thoughts on it and you can check out my review over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Review of American War Machine's Unholy War over at Chicago Crowd Surfer

War sucks. Controversial opinion, I know.

Show Review: Ministry at House of Vans, April 13, 2019

Photo by me

I was a lucky boy this week and got to check out Ministry as part of a Record Store Day promotion at House of Vans. Relive the magic with me by clicking the link below and reading my thoughts about the night over at Chicago Crowd Surfer.

Recap of Ministry at House of Vans

House of Wax Trax.

Album Review: Little Simz - Grey Area

I am keeping it real this week with Little Simz new LP, Grey Area. Little Simz is a London MC who took her first turn in the recording studio at age nine. Now twenty-five, she has been lauded as a rising star in international hip-hop, catching roses in her teeth thrown by none other than Lauren Hill and Kendrick Lamar (while receiving favorable critical comparisons to the same). Grey Area is her third LP and follow up to 2016’s ambitions Stillness in Wonderland, but with a decidedly more focused methodology this time around. Reaching the rip ol’ mile-stone of two and a half decades on planet earth has admitted produced a quarter-life crisis for Simz regarding her place in the world as a mother, artist, and activist. She mines the angst of her existential dilemmas in order to scrape up enough raw materials to forge into the toothy projectiles, a ten-round clip of incisive social commentary and self-affirming defiance that she titles Grey Area. This is protest music, to the extent that the personal is political, and politics is constructed to keep the historically oppressed in line. It's all cream, from the ostentatious boom-bap of “Offence” which jukes-and-jives around stinging strings and flutes over an airtight beat, to the ground shattering grime-infused flow of the bassy “Boss.” The Kendrick comparisons are most appropriate on the juicy funk of “Sherbet Sunset,” while “Wounds” has a cloak-and-dagger reggae vibe to it, and the uncomfortable heat resonating off of the wandering spiritual “Pressure” is maintained with the help of guests, Little Dragon. Conscious, confident, and resilient in the face of both internal and external conflicts, I can’t get enough of Grey Area right now!

Grab a copy of Grey Area on vinyl here, out now on Age 101 Music. 

Album Review: Big Eyes - Streets of the Lost

Yes! New Big Eyes! If you want to see me gush over this little powerpop powerhouse's new LP head over to Chicago Crowd Surfer for the full write up of Streets of the Lost. Warning: this is not an objective review. Not by a long shot. Link below. 

Review of Big Eyes' Streets of the Lost

Not all who wander are lost.

Album Review: Vltimas - Something Wicked Marches In

I'm always a little suspicious of "super groups" but this one includes David Vincent (Morbid Angel), Rune "Blasphemer" Eriksen (Mayhem), and Flo Monier (Cryptopsy) and it sounds... pretty much what you'd expect, if you expected the results of this team up to sound f*cking brutal. I'm pretty excited about their debut album and you can read my write up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer.

Review of Vltimas' Something Wicked Marches In

Blood of devils in our veins!

Album Review: Cocaine Piss - Passionate and Tragic

Weird gender-skewing Belgium glitter-crust punks, Cocaine Piss have a new LP out called Passionate and Tragic. It's a wet and wild trip and you can check out my write up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Cocaine Piss' Passionate And Tragic

Pissin' the night away.

Album Review: Show Me the Body - Dog Whistle

Every neighborhood in Chicago is fighting a losing battle against developers and vulture investors. Due to what I'm seeing happen in my adopted home, Show Me the Body's new LP Dog Whistle really resonated this week. Check out my complete thoughts on this fantastic new album over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Show Me the Body's Dog Whistle

If you don't stand with your neighbors, who can you stand with?

Album Review: Hitter - Demo

I’m staying getting through today by turning up local seek-and-destroyers Hitter. As way of a bio, Hitter are a Chicago rock band who are here to kick your ass, drink all your liquor, light your car on fire, and chew bubble gum. And as luck would have it, they’re all out of gum. Hitter is Lil Tits’ Hanna Johnson and Madalyn Garcia, Adam Luksetich of Foul Tip, and Ryan Wizniak of Meat Wave. They essentially combine the best (worst?) qualities of Fear, The Misfits, Venom, and Van Halen and manage to make something beautiful in its guiltless depravity. A Reader contributor described them as dirt-rock, a label that is close to accurate but fails to capture the damp, blood-lusting hunger the performances on their 2018 Demo embody. The Demo was recorded in an afternoon on a Tascam cassette for maximum lo-fi grime. I highly recommend “Betty” a sweaty carnivores thrasher on the hunt for its next meal, “Disco” a bluesy prowling dose of downer rock, “Fool Around” a slippery pounding jam that will leave deep, oozing claw marks down your back, “Letherbound” a Viking rock slammer with the taint of Misfits mischief, and lastly “Born 2 Rock” which channels Kiss by way of Midnight.

Album Review: Herod - Sombre Dessein

Today I am jamming to Sombre Dessein the new album from Swiss progressive sludge and post-hardcore band Herod. While Herod’s sound can be described as sludge they share more in common with the volcanic, theatrical rush of The Ocean and the mind-bending scrape and slam of Gojira than the raw carnivorous tumble of Crowbar. The concept behind Sombre Dessein is rooted in the exploration of what guitarist and primary songwriter Pierre Carroz calls, “the consumption project,” the current global post-industrial late-capitalist project to mine and exploit the world and its resources as quickly and as ruthlessly as possible. The entire album boasts a super-heated mix courtesy of Julien Fehlman, which enhances the wicked palpating grooves of “Reckoning,” the staggering juxtaposition of gnashing riffs and sinking sonorous bridges of “Silent Truth.” and the psychedelic, slow-rolling rock-crusher “Mourning Grounds.” However, the high point of the album has to be the rage-fueled “Forked Tongue” a methodically down-pressing and hypnotic groove drill that will leave you breathless and begging for more. A dose of economic and environmental consciousness to get you pumped for the weekend.

Album Review: Whitechapel - The Valley

The new Whitechapel album is here and it is setting a very high bar for other deathcore releases this year. On a side note, The Valley draws much of its inspiration from singer Phil Bozeman processing the death of his mother. If that sounds bleak, you might want to brace yourself because what ends up being examined is very much in line thematically with Ari Aster's Hereditary. Don't say I didn't warn you. My full review is over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Whitechapel's The Valley 

Moms are weird.

Show Review: Baroness @ The Riv - March 31, 2019

Baroness, taken on whatever version of the Samsung Galaxy I have 

My charmed little life continues to be charmed and worth struggling through as I got to see Baroness at The Riv this past Sunday. No other bands played. No one of note though. Baroness was excellent. It's just a shame they couldn't find anyone good and not sucky to play with. There is a complete recap over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Recap of Baroness at the Rive 3/21/2019

I have very strong opinions about music. Don't let it get to you.

Album Review: Cantrell - Devil Never Even Lived

Just checked out the new album by LA transplant and southern-rap upstart, Cantrell. Devil Never Even Lived is the follow up to last year’s breakout EP Stardust 2 Angels and is a significantly more mature than its predecessor, leaving behind much of the trap influence of his previous release in favor of conscious rap posturing and a deliberate flow that harkens back to Kanye West's bling era. While the S2A expressed Cantrell’s ambitions, DNEL is a chance for Cantrell to tell his truth. I’m feeling the warm jazz-rap of “Memories Never Die,” the sulky “Roses,” the bluesy bass and swaying toe-tapping gospel of “WaY BaCK,” the inspirational turn up of “Understand,” and of course, juicy, sputtering trap of “Fo Five.” I’m really feeling this one and I think it’s going to stay in rotation for more than a minute.

Album Review: Angel Du$t - Pretty Buff

Today I'm listening to Baltimore’s Angel Du$t and their latest album Pretty Buff. The band has now completed their transition from hooky hardcore hooligans to Americana swept pop-punk and the results are off the charts! The hardcore and pop-punk camps are notoriously antagonistic towards each other, and a band from one effortlessly adopting the aesthetic from the other and executing it nigh perfectly feels a little bit like a troll. Like Mark Wahlberg’s character in The Other Guys perfecting a ballet routine to bully a kid down the street. It feels that way, but I doubt that’s the intent. To someone who appreciates music from all over the spectrum of punk rock and doesn't really care if band making the music has the right pedigree, the positive, punchy, pop-punk on Pretty Buff is rather spectacular. The brief, buzzy, and acoustic “Big Ass Love” bulges with breezy charm, while “Biggest Girl” and “Five” are bubbly power-pop that float down from overhead as if descending from Providence, and “Bang My Drum” might as well be a cover of a lost Elvis Costello penned hit, complemented by a cheese-ball sax solo. Plushy, PMA pop-punk to help kick the week off right!

Album Review: Dead Tired - Full Vol.

Weird dark hardcore from George Pettit of Alexonfire in the form of Dead Tired. The new album Full Vol. really rips and you can see my full write up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below.

Review of Dead Tired's Full Vol.

Alexonfire may be due for a reassessment. In retrospect, they were pretty flappin' good.

Album Review: Ibibio Sound Machine - Doko Mien

Ibibio Sound Machine geared up this year for another album, Doko Mien. It's a worthy successor to Uyai in my *cough* professional opinion. Check out my review over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Review of Ibibio Sound Machine's Doko Mien

Remember to dance like no one is watching... unless someone is, then maybe you should stop. 

Album Review: Ex Hex - It's Real

Excited for the new Ex Hex album? I think I lot of us are. I was really swept away by Rips and the bar for this album was set very high in my mind. Did it clear the arbitrary standard of my mind bar? You're going to have to check out my review over at Chicago Crowd Surfer to find out. Link below.

Review of Ex Hex's It's Real

Save your hexes for your exes. 

Interview: Julia Nash of Wax Trax Records

Julia Nash inexplicably agreed to talk to me. She's a grown-ass woman with a real-ass job but she got up at 7am to talk to me about her Dad and the music he brought to the world. Truly, truly honored to be able to bring this conversation to you today.

“Wax Trax fans are just the most incredible, kind, sweet, loyal, dedicated people, and the outpouring of love and support, they’ve shown me and my family… I just felt like ‘I owe this to you guys, you should see this!’” -Julia Nash

If you want to read more from this humble and incredible woman, the full conversation can be found over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link below. 

Interview with Julia Nash of Wax Trax Records

And now I'm waxing nostalgic for my goth phase. 

Album Review: Venom Prison - Samsara

Welsh progressive-minded and technical death metal Venom Prison released what may be my favorite album of the year so far this week. It's a merciless ass-kicker that just keeps me coming back for more and more punishment. Check out my review of Samsara over at Chicago Crowd Surfer at the link below.

Review of Venom Prison's Samsara 

Respect and solidarity, or GTFO.

Album Review: Chai - Punk

Neo-kawaii makes landfall in the States with the absurdly friendly new album from Chai.  Punk is really poppin off and I don't have anything but nice things to say about it. My review is up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Get it in your eyeballs before it internet sells out.

Review of Chai's Punk

If you couldn't tell, I like Chai a latte. *rimshot*

Show Review: Oozing Wound Record Release at Empty Bottle, March 16, 2019

Photo Credit: CCS

Oozing Wound are sick as hell and I've got the scoop on their record release show at the Bottle this week. Click through to Chicago Crowd Surfer to read about the hole they ripped in space-time this past Saturday. Also featured, Hitter! Keep an eye on these sweaty goofy balls, they're my new favorite local band and I can't wait to see what they do next!

Recap of Oozing Wound's Record Release Party 

You can't shut what won't close.

Album Review: The Daktaris - Soul Explosion

This week I’ve been listening to and loving the reissue of The Daktaris’ debut album Soul Explosion. Released on Desco Records in 1998, Soul Explosion was essentially a hoax that kicked off the afrobeat renaissance that continues to this day. Presented to label runner Basco Mann as a recently unearthed Nigerian funk album from the 1970s, it was released by the unsuspecting label as a reissue of a buried classic. The ruse ran deep, with each of the band’s members adopting fake names, forging backstories, and even printing “Produced in Nigeria” on the album cover. In reality, the members all hail from Brooklyn and would go on to form other influential afrobeat groups, Antibalas and the Budos Band. The success of Soul Explosion reignited interest in the work of Fela Kuti, a true master of the African funk, soul, and jazz. The command of form and down-right catchiness of Soul Explosion have had the effect of canonizing the album in the minds of world jazz enthusiasts despite its dubious origins. Not bad for an album that includes the song titled “Eltsung Ibal Lasiti,” or “It Is All A Big Hustle” written backward. A more punk rock statement in the realm of world music you will not find.

Album Review: Helado Negro - This is How You Smile

I wrote a review of the new electro-folk foray from Helado Negro. It's not as good as his past work, but if you dig his style, I think it will put a smile on your face. Check it out here.

Album Review: Warm Human - Ghastly

I've got a review of the wonderful new Warm Human LP up over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. Link here.

Stay warm and human.

Album Review: While She Sleeps - So What?

There is a review of While She Sleeps's new LP over at Chicago Crowd Surfer. You can check it out here if you are so inclined. As far as pop-infused metalcore is concerned, it's no amo, but it's still damn good. 

Album Review: Mykele Deville - Maintain

Been listening to the new album Maintain by local MC and DIY ombudsman Mykele Deville and I am convinced he is the poet this city needs right now. The actor turned community organizer turned mic maestro is really in a league of his own and it’s cool to see him come into his own on his fourth LP. Deville doesn’t have a sound that fits into any current trends in hip-hop. It lacks the brooding, self-flagellating subject matter of R’nB artists like Weeknd and Drake, and is outside of the prevailing texture and beat fixations of the current trap and drill movements. He doesn’t even fit into the conception of the “Chicago sound,” which may be due to his sideways entrance into the cities music scene through theater. While his beats are inspired by the jazz-rap of De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest (especially on the smooth and smoky sidewalk sashay and gatekeeper rebuke “Free Soul”) he lacks the overly-chill vibe conveyed by either of those groups vocal delivery. The content and cadence of his flow are closer to that of Brother Ali if that grandmaster of conscious rhymes emphasized the percussive qualities of his voice while retaining its buttery, salve-like qualities. Deville’s verbose bars pack a lot of thought into condensed phrases without sacrificing the momentum of the verses, a skill that is masterfully displayed on the leading singles off the album, the ode to self-love “Type Love” and the boom-bap pep-talk “You’re Enough.” It's an album that addresses the anxieties of our time while showing a way forward. It's the perfect album to help you glide over hump day, as well as this dismal period in American history.

Album Review: Black Taffy - Elder Mantis

Just checked out Black Taffy’s Elder Mantis. Black Taffy is Donovan Jones, a Dallas based sound artist who may be best known for his work with heavy post-rockers This Will Destroy You, but has recently turned his attention to experimental hip-hop. Jones became aware of the power of music while observing his father lead mass as a Pentecostal preacher. His interrogation of the overlap between spirituality and music has lead him through Christianity into the looking-glass of mysticism, a journey that informs the sounds and aesthetics of his latest album. High-concept descriptions aside, Elder Mantis is essentially the morbid shut-in cousin of the “24/7 lofi hip hop” channels that have proliferated throughout Youtube. I recommend you start with the clammy shutter of opener “Divining Rod,” the restless and gusty “Land of Nod,” and the melancholy downward spiraling crawl of “Jaguarundi.” Gloomy goodness to get you through another frigid Mid-west winter.

Album Review: Candlemas - The Door To Doom

Candlemass throws open the doors to their ancient chest of eldritch relics and unleashes their most devastating spell since their first. The Door to Doom is an excellent sister salvo to Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and I am here for it. Check out my write up here.