The profile I wrote on local glam-rock scuzz mongers Mickey for this week’s Reader was a long time coming. If you don’t know the group, the fact that they spent an entire year recording their debut full-length might seem a little funny, a little eccentric, or a little hubristic, but for those of us who’ve been anticipating the album, it’s been a grueling wait. Luckily it’s worth it. I highly suggest you buy a copy, and that you buy it on vinyl so you get the full effect of its incredible cover art.
The B Side also features Jessica Hopper’s short takes on recent releases, with an emphasis on artsy hardcore and idiosyncratic house music. I agree with Hopper’s assessment that Purple and Green’s “Human Nature” is a complete jam. This week’s Artist on Artist matches up Marissa Paternoster from Screaming Females and Rebecca Flores from Tyler Jon Tyler, two excellent front women for two excellent rock bands. In Rotation starts with my picks, then moves on to photographer Clayton Hauck before landing on Schubas talent buyer Matt Rucins. The Secret History of Chicago Music features excellently named pop-rock group Fawn. And Soundboard includes recommendations for upcoming shows from trashy Detroit combo Terrible Twos, Egyptian pop star Hakim, progressive metal trio Stinking Lizaveta, shoegaze legends Swervedriver (performing at the Taste of Randolph Street), and post-Oasis project Beady Eye.