We’ve been waiting on Humboldt Park, the first LP by Chicago instrumental quartet Teith, for what seems like ages. The band split in 2010 (three members, including Pelican guitarist Trevor de Brauw, are now in Let’s Pet), and on Tue 1/29 Humboldt Park comes out on vinyl via de Brauw’s label, Migration Media. Teith’s music is a heavy postgenre slurry of EDM synth burble, spiked shoegaze wash, and lumbering bass buzz. A free listening party for the LP at the Empty Bottle on Sat 1/26 at 2 PM features sets by de Brauw (solo) and Yixi Nama (aka Teith’s Josh Grubman), plus gratis grub from the vegan-friendly folks at Upton’s Naturals. This week Gossip Wolf premieres the track “Don’t Obfuscate Me” on the Reader blog.
Last week on Twitter, Detroit rapper Danny Brown gave a shout-out to local “soul trap” MC and producer Tree, who created one of this Wolf’s favorite rap releases of last year, Sunday School. Brown posted Tree’s video for the Sunday School track “All,” and when Tree replied, Brown said he’d be down to collaborate. Tree’s working on Sunday School 2, which he hopes to drop March 11—exactly one year after Sunday School. His latest mixtape, Tree Featuring the City, includes drops from Naledge, Project Mayhem, and Vic Spencer.
The duo of Primo Mendoza and Michael McSherry, aka local 70s-FM enthusiasts Desert Soap, have a taste for the kind of sunny, sweetly tuneful, slightly countrified California pop—Bread, America, CSN—that’s perfect for the shittiest stretches of Chicago winter. They’re kicking off an open-ended monthly series at Hungry Brain on Tue 1/29, bringing along friends to round out their live band (and locals Charming People to open). We’re planning on going, just to pretend it’s not so cold for a night—even if we have to ride through the snow on a horse with no name.