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

My first post on this site was 20 years ago this month, though I didn't start writing almost daily until the following year. But it's a bit odd to realize I have an unbroken record of my lif… Read More

I met Tamar Berk in the very late '90s when she was still fronting the fuzzy, power-pop Chicago power-trio, Starball. I really dug Starball, and even booked a few shows with them eons ago, b… Read More

Photo by Courtney Sofiah YatesI'm working up a full album review of Post Animal's latest release Love Gibberish that will run closer to its May release date for Third Coast Review, but had t… Read More

Photo by Randi Malkin SteinbergerThe less you know about Particle Kid, perhaps the better. That way Time Capsule can unravel and reveal itself on its own terms.* I will note that the "Kid" i… Read More

I can feel it in the air. FINALLY. A change is coming. Spring is actually near. I'm cautiously optimistic major waves of the COVID epidemic may have finally subsided (even if there is absolu… Read More

Photo by Rik HorokyAlyssa Midcalf performs under the Primer moniker and her debut album Incubator is just the laser beam of synth-driven sunshine we all need right now. Especially if you're… Read More

Man's Body has a show coming up in Chicago playing with Hushdrops. I had planned on seeing Hushdrops the next time they played, so I took a swing through the Man's Body 2021 release A Set Of… Read More

I think the logjam created by the pandemic slowing down releases has finally broken. After two years of weeks and weeks where there was really only one or two really interesting releases ami… Read More

Photo by Jonathan RoenschIt was softly snowing this morning, and as the sun's light illuminated the clouds above it created one of those magical moments where two things that shouldn't colli… Read More

After many, many years, the Chicago 2-piece Tuff Tamale has debuted their very first video ever for the first single from their upcoming full-length LP, Kitten Trapper Keeper! More late… Read More

I am certain there are longtime fans of Märvel, but the band was entirely new to me, and I confess when I fired this album up my expectation were low. A trio of Swedish musicians who pe… Read More

I had no idea Kevin made this, so thanks to the latest (and rather excellent) LIFERS podcast episode for cluing me in.Now, let's dance! Read More

One side effect of the last two years is sometimes forgetting an album I wanted to write about has been released. But in the case of Gill Brothers Band I was so smitten by the promo I immedi… Read More

Photo by Fro RojasEvery once in a while someone will yell out "DJ Tankboy!" when they see me and I forget that for a good 15 year stretch I would do 5-7 hours sets multiple nights a week on… Read More

Photo by Paige MarguliesKeeping this brief since ... you know what? It doesn't matter why. Let's just get to the song!Yot Club’s Santolina EP mixes genres and sounds, but I like them b… Read More

So I did not go opening night, or evening day, but I couldn't wait until next weekend so I did end up getting a ticket to see The Batman early Sunday morning based on the number of empty sea… Read More

I am very excited about the new The Batman movie but realized I didn’t feel the usual urge to buy a ticket to see a movie like that on the first day. Heck, I remember suffering through… Read More

I am heartbroken over the events surrounding Ukraine. I spent some time there when Photogal's sister worked in the capitol, and my visit happened to coincide with Putin's first election. At… Read More

It's a dreary morning in Chicago, and while the sun is slow to share its light from behind the grey blanket wetly hanging above, I find myself turning inward for warmth. Today's interio… Read More

Photo by Jonny MarlowChicago went to bed with dreams expecting sheets of ice and piles of snow this morning. A look out my window tells me that prediction didn't come to pass and all the wea… Read More

It's February 16 and this year I've already listened to and logged 101 albums coming out in 2022.Just in case you were worried I was slacking or anything.Album 100 was a lovely bit of super… Read More

I finally joined Blank Check with Griffin & David’s Patreon this weekend. I’d been meaning to do so for a long time, but on the regular Sunday podcast they mentioned they had… Read More

Photo by Sam Jamsen As I mentioned a little while ago, despite most genres hitting a bit of a lull over the last two years, from what I can tell the metal scene has just kept chugg… Read More

Photo by Oliver HalfinThese days I’m not even sure what one can say about a new album from Spoon. They’ve hit that level of consistency where critics get less effusive with prais… Read More

Photo by Jim VondruskaSome days I want to just give Billy a hug, and others I want to high-five him and his bandmates for creating music that is so mind-blowingly terrific.* Everything… Read More

Photo by David BelisleI have seen Beach House quite a few times over the years and always kept up with their albums, primarily out of a sense of needing to keep up with music popular with my… Read More

It was a good weekend. I took Friday off work and spent most of the day spring cleaning in the dead of winter. My place isn't really messy or overly cluttered, per se, but it was in dire nee… Read More

First, I have to get this out of my system, but the first time I heard Dance With The Dead's Driven To Madness I thought, "This sounds like what would happen if Andrew W.K. and Trans-Siberia… Read More

As this site enters it 20th year I've been looking through old entries and realized I've grown paralyzed by procrastination, to a certain extent, in recent years. At some point I adopted the… Read More

Photo by Rima Sater I needed something to reflect the noise in my head today, and I think this single from Ombiigizi does a nice job of melding the noise with the melody with the quirk… Read More

I contributed a couple Chicago-centric entries to the Third Coast Review's music writers' favorite albums of 2021 list. So while I still work on my own "best of 2021" list, you'll at le… Read More

Photo by Alexus McLaneI was digging around for something to share with you and realized I had completely missed writing about the release of Pixel Grip's album ARENA last year. Yipes! B… Read More

Photo by Jen RosensteinI was looking and the first time I wrote about the Dollyrots seems to be right around 2007, and I made a pretty obvious-to-me Josie and the Pussycats reference about t… Read More

Some days ya just need to check in, say hi, and let everyone know everything is O.K. Well, as O.K. as things can be, these days.So, hi!Lessee, where do we go from there? New year's resolutio… Read More

Photo by Eva Alexandra In the past year or so, as most other music hit the pause button, I noticed that the output of metal albums did not decrease and I found they started to be one of… Read More

This was the first time in far too long that I felt I ended the year in a better place than I was when it began. While 2021 was pretty terrible overall on a global scale, my own life started… Read More

Last weekend's Saturday Night Live had a real high school "let's put on a show!" vibe to it in the face of the rise of the Omicron variant. Since they had to lean on pre-taped sketches … Read More

Photo via Kady Rain's Facebook pageAs 2021 draws to a close, albums coming in 2022 are already occupying my mind, and Kady Rain's self-titled full-length debut is one thing you should defini… Read More

It is impossible to talk about this movie without spoiling it! And given the current climate it's probably going to take a while for people who really want to see this movie to do so. So I'm… Read More

This time of year the air is filled with holiday music. For just under one month—for those of us in the more rational camp of thinking—sleigh bells and warm fires rule the musica… Read More

Last fall, Polyvinyl released a truly interesting collaborative compilation featuring many of their past and present recording artists.The liner notes describe the process used to create thi… Read More

I know many may find this tidbit shocking, but once upon a time the band Nada Surf was considered a one-hit wonder. Decades later it's clear that was a clear underestimation of the band's de… Read More

Stunningly accurate, yet I still miss hotels like this after almost two years of being stuck within a few miles of Chicago. Also, I too would have a very difficult time keeping a straight fa… Read More

From what I can gather, Old Joy is Alex Reindl, aided by a troupe of likeminded musicians, and while Trash Your Life was recorded over a long-ish span of time, the result is a pret… Read More

It's another Bandcamp Friday, which means the dough you spend on music today from that platform goes right to the artists. So here are a few more recent releases for you to consider picking… Read More

As we head into December and I am finally fully caught up on listening to all the 2021 releases that have come my way, I'm revisiting music I listened to waaaaaaay back at the beginning of t… Read More

Photo by Erik SmitsWhen I first listened to the new Pip Blom album Welcome Break, I was like, "Oh cool, another band that seems to have grown up on Matador '90s records!"Seriously, I don't t… Read More

One of my happy places during the pandemic.I probably don't listen to music like you do. I mean, I do, but I don't.* Anyway, one of the benefits of digging through and listening to hundreds… Read More

Some days you are filled with concrete and discreet thoughts about single artists, and other days are ... well, a Monday. So let's just take a poke around and see what's in the ol' noggin' t… Read More

A brief tale: I got a couple press releases for this album, but never asked for a download so I never gave it a listen and it kind of flew past me. Until I read a friend's Facebook post lavi… Read More

Oh, hey there! I did a little write-up about Chicago band Gal Gun's latest album Critical Hit over at Third Coast Review ahead of their show at Liar's Club tonight (a show you you shoul… Read More

Wait, what?! New music on a Tuesday? What year is this anyway? I kid, of course, and to an old like me, Tuesday was long the day for new music.* While the headline is cheeky, I am actually q… Read More

The first thing I noticed about Penelope Isles' new LP Which Way To Happy was how lovely the singers' voices complemented each other. Then I actually read the press release and OF COURSE thi… Read More

Maggie Gently’s debut LP Peppermint won't be out until sometime early next year, but she recently released the album's first single, "Hold My Hand."* More on Peppermint at a later… Read More

After a long hiatus for the band, The Kickback has started to make noise publicly again. Currently, the group is releasing a single track of new music at a time, and as I hear more music fro… Read More

Photo by Daniel DorsaI've heard S. Raekwon's name* floating around, but that was the extent of my awareness heading into his latest album Where I'm At Now. So I'm not sure how to describe th… Read More

Well, you knew I had to post this, right? I mean, I don't even need to write an entry for it, since I tweeted about it months ago!This @OfficialWillow song is genetically engineered to skirt… Read More

Photo by Julian NeelI am not a "folk" kinda person in general. Unfortunately these days what most people (folks? HA!) call "folk" is really just anodyne singer-songwriter with an acoustic gu… Read More

Let's start with the positive. A thing that has really helped me stay afloat mentally over the last 18 months.I'm grateful I've been employed throughout the pandemic, since it's given me som… Read More

I was walking down the street when "The Fine Line of a Quiet Life" burst into my ears and I had to stop for a second and just luxuriate in it.FUR's debut When You Walk Away isn't out until n… Read More

Katy Ohsiek and Wil Bakula make up Portland's Foamboy, and they've created one of the more transporting albums of the year thus far.The duo's debut, My Sober Dayrdream, is chock full of wooz… Read More

Almost missed this one this year! And it's reportedly the last time he's doing this, so if that's true, he's going out in epic style. Enjoy! Read More

I know it's a break from tradition to use album covers instead of my yearly turntable image, but...Hey, at least this one isn't as late as my 2018 list, right? I honestly debated even doing… Read More

There are three flashes of memory with images so clear and feelings so overwhelming that they haven't faded in 20 years. Groggily picking up the phone after its ringing woke me up to he… Read More

Photo by Laura MoreauLooking for a late-week jolt / pick-me-up? Then Pearl & The Oysters might be your thing.This collection of crisp pop with a global touch—like ye… Read More

Velvet Insane's Rock 'n' Roll Glitter Suit is a big ol' batch of scrappy Swedish glam rawk that I can't get enough of it. I love it! I kept hoping they'd put it on Bandcamp so I could s… Read More

Eric's Trip was one of those bands I think I was supposed to get into at the time, but they just never really connected with me.* So imagine my surprise when I heard Rick White's name mentio… Read More

mazie's the rainbow cassette EP is a dizzying, kaleidoscopic production featuring short stabs of pop that rarely travel in expected directions. It's almost as if mazie consumed old psyc… Read More

My Tree photo by Lauren DesbergGreat example of me sitting on an album until it's release and then completely missing the release date! As if that drives anything any longer these days. But… Read More

What are the chances that the first song I heard performed by a full band on a big stage with big ol' amplifiers after a year and half would be captured by a friend of said band and pos… Read More

How's everyone doing? Everyone's life back to normal yet? Everyone feeling good? Back into a regular schedule and seeing all your friends?Yeah, me neither.As part of an attempt to "get back… Read More

I often think of The Geraldine Fibbers, actually. How they shoulda been bigger. How unique they were. How sexy was their sound. How otherworldly Buzolich's voice and how its expanse swallows… Read More

I've scraped most of the streaming services for content that can still hold my interest after 14+ months of largely staying home. After my extreme disappointment in the latest Conjuring* mov… Read More

While it might seem odd I'm only just now seeing a video from 2016, that's the glory on the internet, right? Discovering old news that feels surprising and new! Well, sometimes. In this inst… Read More

The Rare Occasions are based in L.A. and their new album Big Whoop is out June 18, and it is very fun and quite incredible. The video above for "Call Me When You Get There" nicely encap… Read More

I've spent more time in my company's physical office in the last week than I did in the previous fourteen months. I don't know what the future holds, though I am not a fan of the notion we w… Read More

Some days you just need a really big, crunchy guitar, straightforward pop tune that doesn't have any real deeper meaning beyond creating an aggressive head-nodding vibe and the potential to… Read More

So Saturday I was minding my business when I suddenly had to hear a particular song! This was unusual, since it has been years since my entire system demanded such specific immediate aural a… Read More

Photo by Tonje ThilesenLook, I don't think Bachelor really needs my help in raising awareness about the duo sine it's made up of Palehound’s Ellen Kempner and Jay Som’s Melina Du… Read More

DAGR, bringing the dance party outdoorsI was listening to DAGR's forthcoming debut recently, playing it in the background and kind of enjoying their decision to freeze their sound circa 2007… Read More

I've been meaning to write about a few of these albums for a while now—though there is one surprise in here, even to me!—and rather than let the final Bandcamp Friday (for now) p… Read More

 I posted this on my Facebook page a few days ago, and realized it was worth sharing beyond that circle. Mainly because I admit my personal social circle seems to have no issues getting… Read More

The scene was Annapolis, Maryland, in a Catholic high school freshman english class, sometime around 1986. As the teacher went around the room calling roll call on the first day of class, we… Read More

It's been a week since I heard the second song teasing St. Vincent's forthcoming Daddy's Home, and it's still stuck in my brain. Maybe it's the obvious Bolan + Bowie nods mixed with a weird… Read More

Photo by Rachel CabittPsymon Spine just really, really wants you to dance yrself ... into a frenzy. I've been trying to write about this album for months now, and kept running down an L… Read More

Weird things have been happening in my brain, and I realized my personal creative sparks were returning and I didn't quite recognize them any more! During the pandemic I've had to protect wh… Read More

Whenever I get to my best-of list for 2020, Local H's LIFERS is one of the few albums that snagged its spot early and never let go.* So while I'm still agonizing on how to cut it down to 20… Read More

This amazing photo via Alex Lahey's Facebook page, and how could I NOT use it?!I was going through ye olde tankPHONE over the weekend, digging through old playlists for albums I might be abl… Read More

To reassure all that things are fine around these parts despite a dearth of posts in the month of February—I mean, c'mon, we've been locked down for almost a year so...—here is a… Read More

I was puttering around the house this morning and saw the above pass that's been stuck to my dresser for nearly a decade now, and it reminded me how much I missed Free Energy.You may not be… Read More

Been a while, huh? How've you been? How're you doing? How's it going?Don't worry, I don't actually expect you to answer that.Since you're here though, you're probably all like, "Where has he… Read More

Photo by Lael NealeI only listened to Guy Blakeslee's new album Postcards From The Edge for the first time a few days ago, and admit that as it started up I was ready to write it off as… Read More

While many have struggled creatively during this pandemic, a rare few have taken all this "free time" as an opportunity to just kick out as much music as they can. And few have kicked out as… Read More

Photo by Jen SquiresI've got a really annoying habit of putting off listening to stuff that I'm excited about as I work my way through the music I get. But during the pandemic this strategy… Read More

It's been a while since I wrote about AWEFUL, but the Chicago trio just dropped a new video that is total fun, and should turn a regular Friday into and OUT OF THIS WORLD FRIDAY.You'll see.T… Read More

President Biden's speech was inspirational, but his decision to turn the stage over to a 23-year-old poet was truly inspired.Change takes time, but change is coming.We're gonna be O.K.  Read More

I have listened to Pearl Charles' Magic Mirror a LOT over the last couple months. Her mixture of old school '70s rock and pop is balanced by a modern sensibility that allows the music to han… Read More

Yesterday I was waiting to write until after the election was certified, in hopes of celebrating that and the Senate wins in Georgia, and then adding in an unrelated coda celebrating the lif… Read More

What a bunch of fresh-faced young fellows!Earlier this year Analog Radio resurfaced after a loooooong hiatus (don’t call it a break-up!) and launched a Bandcamp page with a very precis… Read More