A little bit of understanding…

Is it nostalgia at its best, or an expertly penned celebration on the upshifting towards betterment? 12 years later, a track, one that I swear was heard only in our immediate circle, still makes me smile; a song that makes me realize things will be fine; they’ll continue to be OK, too.

It’s 2001, and I’m now open to anything. No longer is rock music and the local Chicago scene my only salvation; my tastes are varied, perhaps at this point more diverse than most with merengue wafting out of my speakers followed by Local H reverberating my walls and banging yours. Though, I’m a sucker for musicians emerging from the ashes of Chicago’s 90s’ scene. Christian Lane is and was no exception. His former act, Loud Lucy, came and went. A sound churned out by Chicago’s 90s rock scene: chugging, loud guitars, edgy riffs, and ultimately, false hopes. This quartet, and countless other Chicagoans, continue to live on aurally two decades later…

Christian Lane’s uplifting combination of instrument and voice make this a go-to when shit gets rough…

Christian Lane :: Understanding

Mounties’ Dance Did Catch On…

I’m a faithful man. A solo artist continues to churn out formulaic perfection and then starts a new band, I’m in. A favorite artist exploring what he’s capable of when surrounding himself with like-minded folks makes me inevitably curious. Is it a 180 switch? Does that musician bring his formula to the new act and we experience unique nuances care of the other players? Whatever. Hawksley Workman concocts something, my ears demand it.

“If This Dance Catches On”, the 2nd single from Mounties, an act possibly turning into a 2013 Divine Fits, is up for consumption today via iTunes. It’s the “full version’; that means it’s full-fledged captivating Canadian cacophony…

Mounties :: If This Dance Catches On

Autre Ne Veut’s “On and On”…

Arthur Asin, a.k.a. Autre Ne Veut, has a soft, at times chilling voice, capable of producing great sadness. His highs give some of my favorites competition. Encapsulating his melancholy material is a wall of sound. A mix of melody, hard and brash noises, pulsating beats. A celestial dance sound, one that draws you in but also forces you to move. It’s R&B made for me. His most excellent Anxiety won’t leave my speakers for more than 48 hours. The aura it creates continues to request more of my aural attention.

Adult Swim is offering you an exclusive roster of singles and most all from respectable artists. This week’s cut is “On and On” from Autre Ne Veut. The man’s entrancing formula continues…

Autre Ne Veut :: On and On

Here’s me requesting Arthur strip down his most excellent “Counting” at nothing but a grand piano. Oh, in a store:

Tesla Boy and a deep forest…

You’re at a piano bar and can break off a twenty dollar bill for a request or two. Fire up your local radio station and ask they drop the latest from your go-to rapper. If it was up to me, a request wouldn’t be of a song. It would consist of a performance, one where I choose the delivery. Since my weapon of choice is the piano, I want my go-to virtuoso to sit down at the keys, broadcast their voice, and share their minimalistic rendition.

Tesla Boy can radiate sunshine and cause me to share my inner Flashdance. Sure, I love to be drowning in layers of shimmering synths. But a voice and a piano can stop me from channeling my inner Maniac. Anton Sevidov, Tesla Boy’s frontman, takes his favorite upright piano into a deep forest and flips the script on “M.C.H.T.E.” and my body…

Sounds on 29th present the Night Sweats…

Multiple personalities can be a beautiful thing. Nathaniel Rateliff, known to me as a troubadour located in Denver, has the spirit of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding bubbling inside of him. All the man wants to do is unleash these legends through his lively, dusty sounding soul ensemble, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. It’s a Funk Brothers reincarnation in the making consisting of seven individuals. It’s a sound they create inevitably causing one to smile and bask in a sound of yesterday; a feeling created through song that smokes, makes you move, and causes you to grab the closest girly around and spin her.

This surging, smoking act is new. With Rateliff’s following in and around the state, they got pull. In early June, this monster of an outfit was invited to Sounds on 29th, a public access music show — an excellent resource for local acts seeking exposure. My plus one and I were fortunate enough to be invited to this evening. A semi-private, super intimate, live recording of the show, one where the Night Sweats tore through five songs, including the show stopper, “Son of a Bitch”.

“Intro”

“Trying So Hard Not to Know”

“Howling at Nothing”

“What I Need”

“Son Of a Bitch”

Sounds on 29th presents Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Typhoon Needs a New Van…

The biggest — in the quantitive sense —  band I’ve seen up close and personal needs my help. Really, your help, too. $60,000 is a pretty penny to most. Thanks to Kickstarter, the site of lost dreams, Typhoon, that mega expansive orchestral pop act, is on a mission to purchase a new tour van. Their plea and campaign can be found here.

White Lighter, the band’s follow-up to the excellent A New Kind of House EP is out on 8/20. “Young Fathers”, a taste off the new LP is full of emotive vocals, loud and regal brass, surrounded by an uplifting aura as Kyle bellows out his next literary short story…