Holy guacamole!

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 on the looooooong-gestating debut from Tuff Tamale! As each song is finished, we'll add it as a free single, leading up to collecting all the tunes together into our album. 

So here it is, the final mix of the first, finished song from the Kitten Trapper Keeper album!

*You can still hear the whole WIP album on Spotify as we tweak the final mixes, so you'll still have a chance to listen to an early version of the album right now. Don't worry!

Shhhhhhhh...

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—yet long-gestating—music, go right ahead.

Consider this a little bonus for the folks that actually come here to read my writings instead of relying on social media to alert them of new stuff from me. I appreciate and value anyone who reads my ramblings, but people that come here on a regular basis to check in hold a very special place in my heart.

Did someone say, "Sloooooaaaaaaan?"

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!

Three quick personal picks for you on this lovely Bandcamp Friday!

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 should snag because a) they are all very, very good and b) of course I want all my friends to make a little extra money sans Bandcamp fees today!

Triple Fast Action

Triple Fast Action

I am so used to typing the band name as Triplefastaction (or, briefly, I would follow the "tripl3fastaction" styling) I almost did the same here, which maybe tells you how long I've been a fan of what I consider one of the most underrated acts to come out of Chicago in many, many years. Last year's Cattlemen Don't reissue gave fans a peek to what might be in the band's vaults, and this triple-vinyl or double-CD release throws those doors wide open with a stunning number of tracks largely pulled from the period prior to their initial signing to Capitol records. Some of this has been heard before, but the vast majority will be new even to old, old fans. ESSENTIAL.

Ryan Allen

The Last Rock Band

Ryan has put out a truly stunning amount of music over the past few years, and the pandemic only saw him grow even more prolific as he released various albums under numerous monikers in sometimes wildly differing styles. The Last Rock Band is a 100% solo effort with Ryan handling all the instruments, and is ambitious in its argument for including it in the pantheon of "concept albums" that actually work! Bopping from power-pop to classic rock to synth-pop (with each genre or sonic tweak fitting into the narrative of the album) there is a little here for everyone. And together I think there's a lot there to love for everyone! ALSO ESSENTIAL.

The Brontosaur

Reaver

I got to know Tony when I used to book his old band Firetrucs at The Note, and while he took a loooooong break from releasing music, his return as The Brontosaur was well worth the wait. Plumbing some of the lower sonic depths and grafting them onto heavy hooks with a slightly psychedelic bent (in the sense of a swirling sonic journey, and not lysergic effects), I'm not sure what you would call this. Me? I call it rawk, or excellent, or something you'll listen to on repeat because it will infect your ears and fight to stay lodged there as long as possible. I also HIGHLY recommend picking up the double-vinyl version if you can swing it; it's a heavy slab of wonderful. Guess what? ALSO ALSO ESSENTIAL.