Kate Bollinger delivers intimate sounds with technicolor brilliance.

Photo by Jonathan Roensch

It 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 collide do and open up a new view of the world in that moment.

I had a similar sensation listening to Kate Bollinger's forthcoming Look at it in the Light, an EP that manages to present her songs using really intimate production techniques while sacrificing none of the audio fidelity.* And the songs flow so naturally from Bollinger and her band that they simltaneously seem surprisingly refreshing and inevitably excellent to my ears.

The full EP isn't out until next month, but the songs streaming as a preview now do an excellent job of making my case for why you should be excited for its release.

*I caught myself writing "it sounds like it was recorded in a closet with a full band with excellent gear" and realized the "closet" description was directly inspired by my memory of first encountering Lou Reed's "closet mix" of The Velvet Underground. And there's your peek behind the curtain for today!

The Nerdy One.

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 later.

Marveling at Märvel!

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 perform under aliases* and originally met in Colorado (?!) as exchange students 20 years ago? If they'd been around that long and were good, how have I never heard of them?

But, one of the nice things about being a music critic for over 30 years is that I've chosen a passion that has the ability to continually surprise me.

On Graces Come With Malice, Märvel combines garage rock with touches of metal and tops it off with a healthy dollop of of groove that, to my ears at least, takes its cue from the swaggier KISS songs out there. It's a playful album that seriously rawks, and in the end the image perfectly fits the package in ways I could not have anticipated.

The full album isn't out until April 22, but you can get a taste of a few of the singles before then. Perfect to rock out of the work week and into the weekend!

*The King is on guitars and vox, The Burgher plays bass, and The Vicar holds things down on the drum kit.

Disco H?

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!

Get gritty and groovy with Gill Brothers Band.

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 immediately pre-ordered their debut album—to me it's worth it to at least have access to WAV files of the music I love, and in this case they added some live bonus tracks not on their promo. So when it popped up in my email that I could finally download the album I knew it was time to tell you abut it!

Gill Brothers Band is stacked with great songs, many of them carrying a down-n-dirty, slight twangy vibe grafted onto a full-on rock and/or roll attack. I know in some circles "classic rock" may be something one sneers at, but this is capital "C" capital "R" Classic Rock in the best sense of the phrase. I mean, it sounds like these folks have spent plenty of time in sweaty practice spaces perfecting their organic chemistry, and Gill Brothers Band is a shining result of those efforts.

Bonus points for their ability to confound expectations too! The first time I listened, I thought the album had ended and my tankPHONE had moved onto shuffle, bringing in tunes by Meat Puppets and Hiawata! ... and then I realized, nope! Gill Brothers Band was still going strong and showing their range.

Give it a spin and pick up your one copy today!

Raise yourself "High Above The Sun" with Magic City Hippies.

Photo by Fro Rojas

Every 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 top of all the other jobs I was doing in other sectors of  my life. And that doesn't even count my early days of house parties and residences I had at The Gallery in Normal, IL in the early '90! Old habits die hard though, and when I listen to music I still pick out songs I'd use in a set today, even though I have no active interest in actually DJing again.

If I was still DJing long sets though, "High Above The Sun" from Magic City Hippies* off Water Your Garden would be a great hour-two tune, as it amps up the funky vibes while simultaneously burying them in a shiny indie-influenced-basement-party package of sound. It'd a good bridge between songs as the evening ramps up, and one of those numbers I'd deploy to get the people still sitting to start swaying or tapping their toes, and get the folks who might be standing to start bouncing a little.

Which means it is also an excellent song to ease us into the weekend!

*A true sign of my growth over the years? I didn't immediately delete an album sent to me by a band with "hippies" in the name.

Tune into Yot Club's "Cannel 4" for the vibez.

Photo by Paige Margulies

Keeping 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 best when their tunes sound like a lo-fi basement disco party.* "Channel 4" is built with minimal parts for maximum impact and my favorite part of the tune are the stabbing synth strings.

The song isn't so much a pick-me-up as it is a bridge between moods, but it's perfect for me as I type this in the pre-dawn light.

*This is the part where I should note that Yot Club had a popular tune on TikTok, and it seems to have helped raise their profile. So if you're not an old, Yot Club might already be old news to you. But you should dig this track either way!

This is not a review of 'The Batman.'

So I did not go opening night, or even opening 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 seats remaining in the theater I was going to. It wasn't until later that I noticed the tickets were for the film in 4DX, but by then the other early movies were packed and I thought to myself, having never seen a movie in 4DX before, "How different can it be?" 

Um, very different.

I guess if you like being thrown around like you're on a rollercoaster whenever there is onscreen action, maybe you would dig it? Me? I prefer to actually see the movie instead of trying to keep from getting whiplash. I honestly couldn't describe 70% of the action scenes to you because it was impossible to focus on the screen as you're thrown all over the place.

It. Was. A. Terrible. Experience. So if you ever are tempted to see something in 4DX ... DON'T.*

Oh, what did I think of the actual movie? The story? The visuals? The content of the film?

O.K., I know the headline says "this is not a review" and it most certainly is not, but I thought the movie was pretty, pretty good! Now to see if I can wait the 45 days for it to come to HBO Max or if I'll be too tempted to plunk down dough for another ticket for a regular screening so I can finally watch those action scenes...

*This does not pertain to a movie developed to leverage 4DX—as in a short film to replicate a particular and well-mapped experience. At least I assume there is material like that out there. Because if the thought of "we'll get people into the theater with premium experiences!" means this is a premium experience ... well, then give me my home viewing experience over 4DX any day.

An unusual feeling has settled in ahead of 'The Batman' for me.

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 a loooooong P4K-music-fest Friday after seeing the midnight showing of ‘The Dark Knight’ the night before, and I was first in line to see ‘Batman’ in 1989, forcing my family to buy tickets and go even while we were on vacation. But this time around with The Batman … not so much.

In trying to figure out why I think I landed on two reasons:

1. As a standalone Batman movie, spoilers are less of a cause of anxiety for me with The Batman. I’m expecting a good story but since it’s not a part of a larger “universe” for now I guess I’m not so worried the story could be “ruined” for me.
2. The fact it appears many, many people in Chicago are treating the reversal of mask and vaccine mandates as “the pandemic is over!” So I’m not super pumped to be in an enclosed, packed theater. 

I think I still hope top see it this weekend—I’m more comfortable with super early morning showings of movies these days—but it’s still weird to me that I don’t FEEL like I HAVE to see it right away.

How 'bout you? You gonna see the film?

An illegal war that must end immediately.

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 the time the only person who raised a concern was a supposed ex-C.I.A. guy* who reasoned that since Putin came from the KGB, it raised worries despite Russia's then-waning influence over the region. It had been just over a decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall and I admit I was like most Americans who felt the days of constantly fearing a Cold War developing into a nuclear war were permanently behind us.

Putin's war against Ukraine is complete bullshit—if you watched the negotiations over the last couple weeks and the constantly moving goal line, you knew Putin had made up his mind and this wasn't a going to be a rational act on his part. Of course I have my own theories as to what is behind his aggression against a sovereign nation, but theories are meaningless once the death toll starts. 

There is no justifiable reason for this and I hope the world responds quickly and in unity to counter this criminal act.

*The number of ex-pats claiming to be (or more precisely, allowing whispers to remain without refute that they are) "ex-C.I.A." over the years has always seemed unusually high to me. So take this with a grain of salt.

"Levels" up with Howless.

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 interior journey takes us to Mexico City, home to the band Howless. Their debut To Repel Ghosts is a tidy collection of shoegaze pop that deserves a full listen from you, but you can get started with "Levels." I'd be surprised if this didn't pique your interest hear more from Howless, but I'm confident that even if it doesn't, this particular tune will find a home in your head, and refuse to be shaken free. As if you'd want to.

It's no snow and all summer with Hembree.

Photo by Jonny Marlow

Chicago 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 weather alerts pelting my phone and email inbox changed their tone into much gentler prognostications of inclement weather while we were all sleeping.

So as I dug around for some recent music to share I've settled on Hembree's It's A Dream!, out earlier this month. Initially I selected this album because it's filled with dance rock that just won't stop, stuffed with sunny vibes and warm beats that made this an early winner of the year for me. Then again, two years into a pandemic, maybe I'm just not used to music that sounds like the people making it are having actual fun. Either way it's great.

And then, as I went to pull a press photo for the album—I will often wait to fully read press releases until after I've had a chance to listen and form my own first impressions—I realized a number of my friends are in Hembree! And I was completely clueless! So if you ever worried I showed favoritism in my writing, I think you can probably relax your fears on that front.

So dig these summery sounds and celebrate a day of less wintery bluster than expected. And you know what? Maybe reach out to a friend you haven't heard from for a while ... you might discover they've been up to some pretty cool things! 

The critic as cockroach. And I mean that in a good way!

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 old school reggae and ska. Album 101? It started as a melodic slice of instrumental metal but turned into a subpar goth album that thought it rocked. You can't win 'em all.

And with that, you're caught up to where I am!

"Why do you still listen to so much music, with so little actually going on in the music world for the last few years?"

Fair question, and one I've asked over and over of myself. The answer always seems to be "because it's what I do."

I was on a panel with a bunch of other music critics years and years ago, and they asked what I would do if I lost the outlet I was writing for (at the time that would've been Chicagoist). My answer was I'd just keep listening and keep writing. I think I also said, "I'm like a cockroach, even a nuclear bomb wouldn't stop me from being a music critic."

Well, thank god there's been no nuclear bomb, but after the combined events of the last 4 years I think it's fair to say I definitely wasn't lying about my internal drive.

Oh, hey! Here comes album 102...

Thank you for being a (3rd) friend.

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 been watching the Ghostbusters franchise for their members-only episodes, and that pushed me over the edge and I plunked down my $5 a  month commitment.

Hours later I would discover Ivan Reitman’s family had shared news of his passing the day before.

Coincidence? Or just the cosmos?

Also, if I had to pick my favorite Reitman movie, I’m not sure I could. I love both Stripes and Ghostbusters deeply, but for different reasons, so I’m choosing both!

Also, the Blank Check Patreon is totally worth the dough and if you're a fan of the show it actually feels nice to directly toss the creators a few bucks. I finished the more recent Ghostbusters commentaries and am now making my way with the two friends and Ben as they tackle the MCU filmography from start to current day.

Head "Northwards" with AMORPHIS.

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 chugging along. And Finnish band AMORPHIS has it all! Their latest album Halo features subterranean growls and melodic wails, towering guitars, thundering drums, bone-shattering bass, choirs, strings ... even their own dedicated lyricist (think Bernie Taupin if he was really well versed in Finnish mythology)! And it's all locked together with AMORPHIS' genius-level mastery of their instruments and arrangements.

And that's just the album's opening track!

Stream or snag Halo here.

A new Spoon album is out. Do I really need to convince you to give it a spin?

Photo by Oliver Halfin

These 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 praise while simultaneously saying any new album “doesn’t disappoint.” Early singles from Lucifer On The Sofa were met with either praise or worry, and I heard more than one person bandy about the notion "is this going to sound like a Queens of the Stone Age album?" and not in a good way. 

No, Lucifer On The Sofa does not sound like Queens of the Stone Age. It sounds exactly like Spoon. Maaaaaaybe the songs are a little crunchier and punchier and concise than usual—Lucifer On The Sofa is less an album driven by themes than one driven by emotional energy—but I can't see how that's a negative thing.

While Britt Daniel and Jim Eno are the only original members era of the band to remain, they continue to "hit that level of consistency" that shields the group from any real meaningful criticism and rely on bemoaning the band's commercial appeal, as it that's a strike against them. Of course, that contingent completely forgets the fact that Spoon hasn't changed their sound much over the years, but the listening habits of the "commercial" public caught up to Spoon long ago.

Basically what it comes down to is this: if you like Spoon and are not trying to write  a review to polarize readers and gain yourself clicks, you will likely love Lucifer On The Sofa.

Also, the band is heading out on tour—I have yet to ever see a bad show from 'em and I've been seeing them live a very, very, very long time—so see if they're hitting you're town (if you're comfortable doing the live concert thing yet, of course).

A race with no winners, presented in a song from The Kickback that is a winner.

Photo by Jim Vondruska

Some 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 about The Kickback's evolution since I first encountered the band has felt like the exact right step for the band to take, whether or not their fanbase was in lockstep. And right now one of the things I look most forward to is hearing new music from them—it's the sound of our times packaged in an extremely personal package.

Did you dig that? If so, catch up with other recently released tunes I've written about from them, "PreshMo" and "Kare."

*Side effect of the pandemic? I finally understand why people like high-fives.

Beach House does the nigh impossible—they've made me a fan of their music.

Photo by David Belisle

I 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 readership at the time. But I've always found them incredibly boring, and slotted them into the "vibes for days with little else to offer" category.

So imagine my surprise as I listened to most of their new double album Once Twice Melody (13 of the 18 tracks are already available) and ... I found myself going back for a second, then third listen!

What changed? I'm not certain, but I do know that for me the empty spaces that used to exist between the notes of music are now filled with emotion, that weird intangible addition of what feels like true feeling versus the calm and reassuring if somewhat vacuous sounds of their previous work. Heck, maybe I've changed and am just hearing the same thing everyone else always did! 

Either way, it's lovely stuff that drew me in, And I'm looking forward to hearing the final "chapter" of music when the full album is released on February 18!

Checking in from Chicago...

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 need of a good top-to-down cleaning.* And I ended up unpacking a bunch of vinyl and rearranging a number of things, so by Saturday it felt a little bit like a fresh, new apartment. I recommend it!

Oh, gator watch ... how I miss those simpler times.

As I was in the midst of this, I began to revisit just what makes a "home." For me, it used to mean being surrounded by items from various collections that brought me joy. But these days, very few physical things have that effect on me any longer. It's probably a mixture of age and no longer being able to quite locate the passion that led to my need to own so many of the things I've collected over the years. 

It does make home decorating a little difficult though. In fact, after cohabiting with other people for many of the last 20 years, I'm not even sure I have my own style any longer, if I ever did. Plus, honestly, nowadays I really am a person who lives within his means and doesn't feel the need to buy anything beyond the items used on a daily basis. 

I started keeping a gratitude journal a few years ago and have tried to stick with it. When you're as isolated as I have been for as long as I have been, just noting at least 3 positive things I personally experienced that day does make a huge difference in keeping my mood up. And reminds me that while I may rarely see the people I wish I could spend time with in person, I am having experiences spurred on by elements outside of me and I am not alone. Neither are you.

Also, the Chicago winter. While I am ecstatic to live in an apartment long enough for my to get my 10K steps in per day without ever leaving the house, too many days inside without a long walk outdoors was beginning to take its toll on me.** But yesterday, after a long freeze, the sun came out, the wind died down, and the temperatures rose enough that with the proper layering I was able to visit the nearby forest preserve and get back in the middle of some actual nature. Who woulda ever thunk I'd turn into a nature boy who needs the outdoors?! But here we are. And it was truly glorious. See?

This week? This week I am going to embrace the notion of Swiffering and mopping on a regular basis now that the baseline is set. It's just building a routine in to keep that forward momentum going. And I am so oddly excited by that!

*You can do it too! I spent the previous week devoting an hour or so a day to organizing or tossing clutter and readying the place for a good cleaning. I don't know about your brain, but mine is much happier with a clear plan of attack versus just tackling the whole job at once. The trick helps to shush your internal procrastinator. And then you're done!

**Luckily, no one lives underneath me, so don't worry—no one besides Pickle the Kitten is disturbed by my clomping around.

Dance With The Dead—more high energy than horror, but a ton of fun either way.

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-Siberian Orchestra collaborated on a video game soundtrack. 

After reading Dance With The Dead's bio I discovered I maybe wasn't too far off? But this duo (a trio when they play with a live drummer) love old horror and sci-fi soundtracks, especially when they mix—wait for it—synthesizers and guitars! 

This would be a good place to mention that both John Carpenter and his son Cody do pop up on the opening track of the album, so that should give you an excellent idea of where Dance With Dead's aesthetic is grounded.

Turn down the lights, train a single candle on the disco ball, and just let this one wash over you.