Tei Shi’s smooth electro-pop, influenced by 90s R&B, conjures the thrill you’d get as a kid from riding in the backseat of your older sister’s car. She’s effortlessly cool and seductive, and her Spanish and English vocals and bass-heavy beats invite giddy listeners to come along for the journey. Last month, the Los Angeles-based Colombian […]
Author Archives: Anna White
Posted inArts & Culture
Helltrap Nightmare wishes Chicago a fond, freaky farewell
The weirdo-comedy staples perform a sold-out show before heading west.
Posted inMusic
Why to get to Riot Fest early
If your lunch runs late, you’ll miss some of Riot Fest’s most exciting acts—including Mongolian metal warriors the Hu, garage monsters Drakulas, and folk-pop wild card Caroline Rose.
Posted inMusic
Hopping the Riot Fest nostalgia train
Reunions and full-album sets are Riot Fest’s specialty—so what does it have to offer this year, besides Bikini Kill?
Posted inMusic
At Pitchfork, all the world’s onstage
Cate Le Bon, Black Midi, Ibeyi, and Chai are among the acts from abroad at the festival this year.
Posted inBlogs
Tavi Gevinson says goodbye to Rookie
“Thank you for growing up with us,” says the founder of the website that became the public diary for a generation of teenage girls.
Posted inMusic
The Marías are back and dreamier than ever on Superclean, Vol. II
The songs of the Marías have a laid-back vibe, but every guitar riff feels like it was precisely placed in an artfully curated sonic atmosphere that calls to mind grainy films from the golden age of Hollywood. The Los Angeles-based project of Josh Conway and María—who goes by her first name only in artistic settings, […]
Posted inMusic
Yaeji brings new blissed-out, bilingual house on One More
I’m a little mesmerized by Yaeji. The New York-based producer and visual artist mixes geometric, house-influenced beats with quiet, reverb-drenched pop hooks, and switches off between singing verses in English and Korean, and the results verge on hypnotic. I was immediately hooked last winter, when a friend played me “Raingurl” off her November 2017 release, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Time Being Tattoo brings its founders’ DIY spirit to a professional setting
“We want people to feel like their existence is respected.”
Posted inMusic
Experimental performer Laetitia Sonami comes to Chicago with her latest invention, the Spring Spyre
The extent of onstage action during minimalist noise shows too often consists of a composer switching between MIDI keyboard and a laptop—the sound is complex, but the execution is bland. The live shows of sound artist and composer Laetitia Sonami are the antithesis of this sort of insularity—rather than simply pushing buttons and keys, she’s […]
Posted inBlogs
Lillie West tells secrets but keeps them on Lala Lala’s lucid, cryptic new The Lamb
On their excellent second album, Chicago underground rockers Lala Lala process a painful year—but only partway. They celebrate its release with a show on Friday, September 28.
Posted inArts & Culture
After eight years in Seattle, Derek Erdman is back in Chicago, and he’s having a show
The artist/writer/prankster has moved beyond city rat poster parodies to a gallery.
Posted inBlogs
Pedro the Lion at Thalia Hall, and more things to do this weekend
Pedro the Line, James Brandon Lewis, and more recommended concerts and events this weekend
Posted inBlogs
‘Guaclandia’ made about as much sense as a guacamole-themed Instagram trap can make
As far as Instagram traps go, Guaclandia wasn’t even worth a pit stop.
Posted inBlogs
Chicago Printmakers Collaborative puts a steamroller at the center of an entirely different form of Roller Derby
The Lincoln Square neighborhood came together last weekend to make some enormous woodblock prints.