More to come, but I do finally understand why people travel all over the planet to see a totality when it comes to eclipse-viewing. It's just so ... different than I ever expected (or could… Read More

Photo by Tess Leslie PhotographyNe'er-do-well came across my radar as the one-man band of Bryan Rolli, displaying stunning talent and a masterful control of genre. Their debut was easily one… Read More

Photo by Cole SchmidtDJ On in the one-man-band Non La, and their new album Like Before will be a direct hit for those whose hearts are targets for clear hooks bursting forth from its fuzzy b… Read More

Photo by Steph EstradaFrench-American artist Eliza Grégoire is crêpe girl and her latest EP is STARGAZING  was released last week It's a short, punchy collection… Read More

Hopefully you will forgive my in-camera editing in real time as I shot this, but now you can stand where I stood last July and enjoy an explosive rendition of a classic track!I am smiling wi… Read More

No I'm not in hibernation, and there are reasons for it being relatively quiet around these parts. However, I couldn't let last Sunday's Oscar. performance for Best Song candidate "I'm Just… Read More

Sixteen years after I saw him play Hideout, I finally got a chance to see Jon Brion perform Tuesday night at Empty Bottle. I considered myself lucky, since Brion never comes to the Midwest… Read More

My history with Jesus Jones extends all the way back to the late '80s when the cover of the Liquidizer cassette caught my eye at a Sound Warehouse. A minute or two at the listening station c… Read More

No, it's not a typo: this is my 2022 list. I think this is the last time I’ll have to say “it’s never taken me this long to put together a year-end music list” &helli&hell…Read More

The sun is shining this afternoon and it's a welcome change from the weeks of gray skies and freezing temps, driving even the hardiest of Midwesterners indoors for far longer than is probabl… Read More

In the aughts—between Pitchfork and the AV Club—Chicago was ground zero for music criticism and everyone writing or booking venues or playing in bands in this city at the time be… Read More

Heya, hi there, how're ya doin' today? Welcome to an extremely brief check-in, wherein I decide that I will endeavor to get both my personal best music of 2022 and 2023 lists upon this… Read More

Despite not having created my "best of 2022" list yet, I was excited to participate in this year's 2023 UPROXX Music critics' poll. I created my list based on a quick survey of albums that I… Read More

Photo by Nora.Y’know, after three years of not getting more than a few miles away from my house—the longest I have been that stuck in one spot in … my entire life?—t… Read More

In 2005, I put together one of my favorite bills ever at Double Door, but it was also a bill I didn't want to create, since it was constructed to serve as Woolworthy's last show ever.Welp, w… Read More

Despite Stop Making Sense being the first Talking Heads tape I bought in the '80s—primarily due to its collection of song titles I recognized at the time functioning as a sort of "grea… Read More

Photo by Sarah Hesky.No sooner do I question my listening habits than an EP explodes into my ears and makes me remember exactly why I keep looking for new music, decades after I should've ex… Read More

I've been revisiting my music listening habits, trying to figure out if they are even healthy. After over 30 years of music criticism, I still listen to just about every album sent my way fo… Read More

Recently I made my tenth (?!) appearance on the Dig Me Out podcast, and my first where I got to choose the topic of discussion! Since Blur is obviously on my mind this year, I decided t… Read More

Photo by Nicole “Neptune” Miller.Due to an extremely packed schedule over the last few weeks leading to a dearth of writing that I really wanted to get done, I actually have a pr… Read More

Almost 20 years since their last show, and over 21 years since their last recorded release, Woolworthy reunited over the summer and recorded and entire new album in secret!Read all about it… Read More

Photo by Elin Stømner. I do love how this crew of Norwegians would be cheeky enough to name their truly pleasant-sounding and friendly indie rock band Fuckleberry Hinn. So much f… Read More

A year into the pandemic, I was asked what I missed most about the before-times, and I answered, "spontaneity!"I think I initially embraced my long walks because they provided me with new th… Read More

Photo by Alice BaxleyHot diggity-dawg, every once in a while I throw on an album sent to me and fall immediately into love with it. Sad Park's No More Sound has everything that drives m… Read More

A photo of me taking a photo, by NoraI’ve been back from my European trip for almost a month, and have still found myself unable to get into all the photos I took and start organizing… Read More

Skating PollyChaos County Line Skating Polly is a power trio grounded in Oklahoma comprised of Kelli Mayo, Peyton Bighorse, and Kurtis Mayo. Their first album in five years, Chaos Count… Read More

Sorry for the delay in telling you, but my review of Blur's Wembley show, their new album The Ballad of Darren, and a little bit of shaggy storytelling including my personal history is final… Read More

For once, there is a simple explanation for the lull around these parts: I was in Europe for the last two weeks! I bought tickets to see Blur at Wembley way back when they went on sale, and… Read More

I have been eagerly hoping this track would drop as a single, since it is one of my favorites from the new album. That's all I'll say about that for now, and I will totally understand if you… Read More

Photo by Andy EclovBefore putting on their latest EP, Natural Causes, I knew absolutely zero about the band Lurk, other than they were based in Chicago. After listening to the album, I still… Read More

I went to a lovely gathering yesterday, filled with people (writers, artists, academics) I'd never met before, and usually wouldn't cross paths with these days. I kept quiet early on—I… Read More

Photo by Steph MontaniIt's been a rainy couple of days in the Midwest but the sun is finally riding high in the sky, but wherever you may be, today is an excellent day to let the technicolor… Read More

I guess I'd never realized Sloan never made a proper promo video for the ultra-catchy "Who Taught You To Live Like That?" off 2006's sprawling double album Never Hear The End Of It. Since 20… Read More

I played around with ChatGPT a few months ago, just to see how it might help more rote writing projects like, say, a website bio or something along those lines. Overall, it worked well enoug… Read More

I have long been in the camp thinking Jessie Ware has a remarkable voice, but in the past she rarely melded that to music that didn't fell, um, "adult contemporary" to me. But on 2020&r&hell…Read More

 Another review from me, this time of a recent release ahead of a rare live show: I posted about Farewell Captain's excellent album Amends on Third  Coast Review today. Check it ou… Read More

As the world “gets back to normal” I’ve been getting more and more questions from bands—both friends and those who only know me through my writing—and they all… Read More

I blanked and forgot to share this review of the first Baby Teeth album in well over a decade I did last week. While I couldn't make it to their album release show last Friday, you can bet I… Read More

Photo by Molly DanielWhen it comes the releases from more established bands, I'll often put listening to those on the back burner while I catch up on lesser-known groups who could actually b… Read More

As I was visiting the lovely new park called Little Island last week in New York, I realized that after 3 years of being stuck in Chicago I had somehow managed to be in 3 different cities in… Read More

Photo by Shaela JohnstonI saw Placebo last week—rushing from a very delayed flight to Chicago and then running to the Salt Shed with little downtime—and the band has still got it… Read More

This early Triplefastaction track, paired with footage from the early stages of the band's career, was a super-fun trip down memory lane for me.If you don't remember the '90s (because you we… Read More

My last post clued you into a work in progress you could stream*, but now is the time to tell you to start following this Bandcamp page as we finish the final mixes and tweaks to each song o… Read More

There are still tweaks being made in our sonic lab so the final files will sound a little different in a week or so, but if you want to sneak a listen at the soft launch of some new—ye… Read More

Did a quick little preview of Sloan's Chicago show tonight. Check it out! And if you live here? Get out and see the show! Read More

Some super quick Bandcamp Friday picks. I had something a little more robust planned, but time got away from me, so this month I'm just highlighting a few of my friends' albums I think you s… Read More

Photo by Esme Rogers Smith. I was just listening to Frankie Rose's Love As Projection ahead of its March 10 release* and gol-DANG-it if one track didn't leap out, grab my ears, squeeze… Read More

For the first time in a long time I am optimistic about my own future. It's not that I was devoid of hope; more that I was unsure if I'd ever truly feel "happy" again. And even when I felt l… Read More

Y'know, I bought Goodbye Jumbo on cassette when it came out, and fell hard for the album, but I don't think I've ever seen this video before today. Incroyable mais vrai![Credz for this… Read More

I took a road trip last weekend in a car that only had a CD player. No auxiliary inputs. No tape deck. Not even a 6-disc CD changer. Just a single CD player.I highly recommend it.I had forgo… Read More

Hey y'all! It's Bandcamp Friday! And in an effort to clear the backlog of albums I keep meaning to write about, here's a bunch of music available through that platform. I've included a wide… Read More

Good Bison—centered around the musical vision of one Pablo Alvarez—has a new EP coming out later this month and its five songs hop wildly amongst genres but are all rooted in rhy… Read More

LOTEC (f.k.a. Land Of The El Caminos) has returned with the most excellent Squares, and we premiered the second single from that new album on Third Coast Review yesterday. Read my words… Read More

Photo by Anna CrollaThe new Belle & Sebastian album threw me at first; the first half is rooted in their more "classic indie-twee" sound, leading me to worry the group was retreating to… Read More

In the early aughts I saw The Features a bunch*, but at the time didn’t even know they’d already recorded TWO full albums that hadn’t been released. One of those album… Read More

Usually I would view the second half of December like most do, as a time when things slow down and you reflect on the previous year. But after the last couple of years, that kind of reflecti… Read More

Photo by Barry BrecheisenMy review of the recent The Lemonheads and Juliana Hatfield show at Metro is up at Third Coast Review for your reading pleasure! Read More

I have noticed a number of what I would consider "old school bloggers" returning to semi-regular posting after, for some, years of leaving those domains untended. My own little website still… Read More

Bang Camaro is back, baby! The group popped onto the scene in the mid-aughts, pairing hard rock guitars threaded with hooks galore, with thundering drums and bass, and a multi-person choir o… Read More

I don't think I ever waited this long in my life to post a "best of" list for a previous year, so clearly this is more for archival purposes than trying to hype any "recent" releases.* … Read More

Photo by TLCWhile I encourage you to dig deep and follow your interests as you scan Bandcamp for purchases this Bandcamp Friday, I am throwing my own personal recommendation behind a single… Read More

I'm testing out a new process right now...This year I've tried to get a little ahead of the game and have been randomly selecting albums in my pretty long "best of 2022 consideration list" t… Read More

For this in the know, the phrase "the latest Broke Royals album Local Support is produced by Bartees Strange," is probably enough for most people to give this a spin. I've struggled with the… Read More

Over the years I have built up a healthy resilience to what I view as bands overly-hyped by segments of the music press, but I've also always maintained that any band can surprise me at any… Read More

Lissie is one of those artists I've followed for years that seemingly always bubbled just under the surface, always working hard and putting in the time, and I respect that. But she keeps my… Read More

The Backset Lovers is a band I think may be about to explode (in the really good way). So while I await the release of their major label debut—something that still feels weird to type… Read More

Photo by Jonathan WeinerSomehow managing to drift easily amidst multiple similar swim lanes between Britpop and clearly American sounds like Bishop Allen or Someone Still Loves You Boris Yel… Read More

This morning I stepped outside at my normal waking hour and found myself slightly depressed by the fact it was still dark outside, but the clocks turn back soon and sunshine will return to m… Read More

When I was a teenager, the notion of a rock band lasting 30 years was still a hypothetical. Literally no "rock" band had lasted that long! I mean, The Who and The Rolling Stones were both st… Read More

Photo by Joseph HarnishI've largely been a hermit for ~2.5 years, so it's still a bit of a shock to see a recent photo of me that wasn't taken by me!I was standing in the back of a packed cr… Read More

Tuscadero used this promo photo for forever if I recall correctly. Photo by Will Weems.One of the more pleasant byproducts of our current era in music is the ability for unsung or under… Read More

Photo by Colin MedleyI personally discovered Daniel Romano early in the pandemic, stumbling across one of his albums and then going down the rabbit hole that is his sprawling catalog. But it… Read More

I'm still trying to find my way back to whatever "normal" will be. I've got the solitude and self-reflection parts down—the things that should set me up for a positive re-entry—b… Read More

Photo by Adam KellyIt's Bandcamp Friday so it's a good time to pick up anything from your favorite artists you may have been sitting on buying. But it's also a day to support music that may… Read More

I previewed a celebration of Joe Cassidy that is happening at Metro this Sunday.I still think about Joe every single day.If you want to skip the preview and just pick up tickets, you can do… Read More

While I will always wonder what a Fletch movie would've been like with the actor Kevin Smith once told me he wanted to cast in the role, I think Jon Hamm is gonna do a mighty fine job. I was… Read More

Photo by Julia DratelThere's not a ton for me to say about Chicago' Eli Winter’s self-titled album that's out this Friday, other than I highly suggest you check it out. I'm not a perso… Read More

Keep For Cheap, looking mischievous yet subdued, photo by Morgan WinstonEverything I've been sent from Keep For Cheap includes the line "Prairie Rock out of Minneapolis, MN" and I… Read More

BloodsBloods hails from Sydney, Australia and applies equal parts pop sheen and rock grit to their danceable tunes. They've got that thing where the band can sound poppy as all get out, but… Read More

I realized I'd been sitting on this album since January, waiting for its release, and then never ever posted about how awesome Capricorn is! But holy shit, this track sounds like old To… Read More

Today marks a number of important anniversaries in my life, and that made me think of the songs I always turn to when I need a dependable boost. One of those, I Was A King's "Norman Bleik,"… Read More

So, while I've always enjoyed Ty Segall's stuff, I confess it's always fit more in the "I dig it, bit it doesn't really stick with me" category of music. But the nice thing about that catego… Read More

Photo by Max FinnisOn Organ Recital, Bastien Keb fashions a funky soundtrack for a forgotten era. Maybe "forgotten" isn't the right word, since the music on this album feels like a mushy mas… Read More

Keeping it short and sweet today, but I did a little piece on Local H ahead of their headlining set at Wicker Park Fest this evening. So check that out (and go to the show, if you're up to i… Read More

Photo by Rick McGinnisThe first time I played Second Skin, the new album from Ian Blurton's Future Now, I wasn't sure I was in the mood for heavy tunes. Then Blurton and crew proved to me th… Read More

When exactly did I turn into such a nature boy?As mentioned last week, I didn't "go" anywhere for my vacation, but I still packed a lot into it. And yes, I did manage to blow up my routine e… Read More

Stop the presses!* There have been rumblings for a while now that Sloan might be nearing completion of their 13th album, and this morning it was confirmed finished and we got our first taste… Read More

It's just a 15 minute walk from the front door of my apartment to here!Hey there! Been quiet around here, huh? There is a reason for that—I am on vacation! Well, technically it's a sta… Read More

First off all, I definitely remember hearing about Halle Berry winning a RAZZIE for Catwoman, but I had never actually heard her 2005 acceptance speech until this morning. If this speech had… Read More

Photo by Stu AlfanoIt's hot in Chicago right now, as we jumped straight from a long dreary stretch of cold weather into a cauldron of a heat wave. But hey, that's Chicago! We could always mo… Read More

Hi there! Just a quick non-music check in! How're you holding up? We're in a weird stretch where everyone wants to behave as if the pandemic is behind us which a) ignores the fact we're stil… Read More

Photo by Kevin AllenPost Animal's last album Forward Motion Godyssey was released in 2020, meaning the band was another in a long line of musical acts on the cusp of a tour that never happen… Read More

It's Friday, it's sunny, and summer is still settling into Chicago. And I've got two killer new releases to recommend today! I'm keeping this quick because I have a hard time believing you w… Read More

Photo by Midnight Piper FormanI know a lot of musical acts found different ways to weather the first phase of the pandemic, but this project from Erica Dawn Lyle and Vice Cooler took a few c… Read More

Photo by Alex LakeSo this is partially tongue in cheek* but it does appear that the best way to get Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood to team up and record a new Radiohead album is to record un… Read More

I had planned on a series of posts about writing, my own history with writing, and the changing landscape I've observed over the last 32 or 33 years since my first critical piece about popul… Read More

Pretty accurate "about" section, eh?20 years ago today, the first post appeared on the Tankboy blog!What started as a potential archive for my previous years of Tankboy email newsletters tur… Read More

15 minutes from my house? Yes!Some days you get outside and forget about all the problems and are just overtaken. I was never a nature boy before; despite being an Eagle Scout, and even livi… Read More

While I've never been particularly squeamish about running errands for significant others, this short had me in stitches because I have definitely called Sephora "Sephoria" in the past.&nbsp&hell…Read More

I confess I've been struggling in my more personal writing endeavors. The last couple of years have thrown everyone's lives into turmoil, so I can't sit here feeling sorry for myself. But it… Read More