In 2016 Gossip Wolf noted the formation of visionary local drone-song duo Mending, aka crystal-voiced singer Kate Adams and sound artist Joshua Dumas. This past August, Mending began releasing a four-hour, 40-song cycle called We Gathered at Wakerobin Hollow, whose graceful, narratively compelling music “follows a family and friends across four decades as they spread out from their small hometown until climate instability and authoritarian government draw them home again,” in the words of the band. On Friday, February 1, they release Homeward, the fourth of the cycle’s nine chapters, via Bandcamp; the last is planned for December 2019. On Sunday, February 17, Mending play live on the Que4 Radio show ChiCityLives (online and at 1680 AM).
Tremaine “Tree” Johnson is one of the best rappers to emerge from Chicago this decade, and from his 2012 breakout Sunday School till his 2016 collaboration with producer I.B.C.L.A.S.S.I.C. he released at least one strong full-length or EP every year. Since then, though, he’s been quiet, dropping just a couple singles and making the occasional guest appearance. Fortunately, he’s not about to disappear: late last month he released the solo EP GOAT, and this past weekend he and prolific rapper Vic Spencer put out the collaborative album Nothing Is Something (due on vinyl later this year via London label Daupe).
Trumpeter Will Miller is probably best known for playing in local indie-pop band Whitney, but he’s also worked with Lil Wayne, Chance the Rapper, Mac Miller, and Twin Peaks—and he writes material for a group of his own called Resavoir. Last week, Resavoir dropped the righteous two-song digital single Escalator via International Anthem, and it includes a mind-blowing live version of the title track recorded at Co-Prosperity Sphere in June. Fans of Lonnie Liston Smith and Rotary Connection should dig Resavoir’s humid soul-jazz vibe and irrepressible grooves! v
Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail gossipwolf@chicagoreader.com.