I’ll be the first to admit that I never really considered the return of the Denver-based, Elephant 6 Collective-associated indie-pop act Dressy Bessy. It’s not because I didn’t love the band’s first record, 1999’s Pink Hearts, Yellow Moons, or the freaky pop scene they worked within, one also traversed by Apples in Stereo, Beulah, and […]
Author Archives: Erin Osmon
Posted inMusic
Regina Spektor’s recent Remember Us to Life features a new meditative posture
Since her chirpy single “Fidelity” from Begin to Hope became an unlikely earworm in 2007, Regina Spektor has been beloved by the cultural cognoscenti and celebrities alike, even though she hasn’t a produced a single as massive since. It’s a rare win for someone operating within her own sui generis sphere, where classical sophistication commingles […]
Posted inMusic
Durand Jones & the Indications are so much more than your typical soul-revival act
It wasn’t too long ago that the core members of midwestern revivalist act Durand Jones & the Indications met at Indiana University through gigs with the IU Soul Revue, the college’s tip-top throwback ensemble that performs black popular music from the 1960s. As the story often goes, front man Jones grew up in a church […]
Posted inMusic
Lumpen Radio amplifies voices from the margins
Bridgeport-based low-power station Lumpen Radio provides an on-air home for diversity and dissent.
Posted inBlogs
Morrissey brought charisma but not much else to Riot Fest
Morrissey’s Riot Fest set included only a couple of his hits, and he showed up late—but at least he actually made it to the stage.
Posted inFood & Drink
Where to eat around Douglas Park
The neighborhood that hosts Riot Fest also has some of Chicago’s best Mexican food.
Posted inMusic
Black and brown punks unite
A radical Chicago collective throws a loud, inclusive party every summer that celebrates and supports queer, trans, and intersex people of color.
Posted inBlogs
The mysterious bar singer from True Detective plays FitzGerald’s tomorrow
An interview with singer-songwriter Lera Lynn
Posted inMusic
Robin Thicke’s morbidly fascinating Paula and 15 more record reviews
This month’s release roundup includes White Lung’s witchy two-minute mantras, Monarch’s crawling tectonic doom, and Sir Michael Rocks’s bleakly sunny party rap.
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best Chicago Answer to Tune-Yards
Like Merrill Garbus, this band’s singer forgoes sultry front-woman crooning in favor of something headier and more interesting.
Posted inMusic
The Pixies’ deflating Indie Cindy and 15 more record reviews
Future’s conscience-stricken coke rap and 15 more reviews of recent releases
Posted inMusic
Kylie Minogue’s cheerfully lascivious Kiss Me Once and 15 more record reviews
Reader writers tackle Morbus Chron’s feral-to-cerebral death prog and 14 more new records.