While Chicago indie supergroup Doom Flower were getting to work on their new second album, Limestone Ritual (Record Label), they hit a speedbump that would’ve killed a lesser band’s momentum. As Tribune critic Britt Julious reported in a November profile, drummer Areif Sless-Kitain couldn’t make it to the recording sessions, and because he’s such a […]
Tag: Joan of Arc
Posted inMusic
On their first album in seven years, Anatomy of Habit continue turning over new stones
It’s been ten years since Chicago collective Anatomy of Habit released their first record, and a lot has changed since then. Anchored by front man Mark Solotroff, the band came out of the gate with long, complex, layered songs that blend doomy metal, Swans-style noise rock, bleak postpunk, heavy drones, and hypnotic guitar-looping acrobatics. It’s […]
Posted inMusic
Bandcamp Friday returns for 2021
You can jump-start your Bandcamp Friday browsing with nearly 100 newly Reader-recommended releases.
Posted inMusic
Twenty-four points of view on the band Joan of Arc
Tim Kinsella lets everyone else tell the story of Joan of Arc—entirely in keeping with his long-running group’s embrace of illogic and reinvention.
Posted inMusic
Joan of Arc say goodbye with the touchingly esoteric Tim Melina Theo Bobby
For 25 years, Tim Kinsella has led his band Joan of Arc through a multitude of changes: members have come and gone, and the group’s sound has evolved and (occasionally) purposely devolved. Now, with the release of Tim Melina Theo Bobby, Kinsella is bringing the project to an end. Named for the musicians who comprise […]
Posted inMusic
A eulogy for Danny’s Tavern
For decades, Danny’s nurtured a devoted and welcoming community of music lovers—but it couldn’t survive the pandemic.
Posted inMusic
Heartbreak, melodic intricacy, and lush arrangements shape Owen’s tenth album, The Avalanche
Few indie-rock artists are more prolific than singer-songwriter Mike Kinsella, who’s been playing in Illinois bands since the late 80s, including Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, and American Football. The latter band reunited in 2014 following a 14-year break and subsequently released two acclaimed albums, 2016’s American Football (or LP2) and last year’s American Football […]
Posted inMusic
Tim Kinsella’s Friend/Enemy re-emerges after 18 years with koans about America’s nightmare
Immediately after the 2016 presidential election, Tim Kinsella and a coterie of collaborators gathered at Chicago’s Minbal studios to work through their feelings about America’s new nightmare. It took them two days to record an album of solemn, fretful indie rock, and then it took them more than three years to release it. HIH NO/ON […]
Posted inMusic
Chicago postpunks Facs cut their last tether
Chicago postpunks Facs inherited members from Disappears, but for the new Lifelike they’ve found the personnel and the sound to become a self-contained band.
Posted inMusic
Tim Kinsella and Jenny Polus couple up in the oddball electronic duo Good Fuck
Tim Kinsella and Jenny Polus couple up in the oddball electronic duo Good Fuck, punky cock-rock crew I Love Rich show the holidays the (dis)respect they deserve, and more.
Posted inMusic
The world catches up to iconoclastic composer Julius Eastman
Iconoclastic composer Julius Eastman died homeless almost three decades ago, and his work was nearly lost. But classical music finally has room for a queer black voice in the minimalist pantheon.
Posted inBlogs
The best and rest of Rhinofest
The Reader critics’ guide to the annual fringe festival
Posted inBlogs
Tim Kinsella and Cap’n Jazz harnessed the raw power of their 90s selves at Riot Fest
Kinsella didn’t let age slow him down during two Cap’n Jazz reunion shows at Riot Fest and Bottom Lounge.
Posted inMusic
New trio FACS carries the darkness of Disappears to an unknown place
New trio FACS carries the darkness of Disappears to a new place, DIY zine The Sick Muse publishes its sixth issue, and more.
Posted inBlogs
Copa America soccer tournament, Silent Shakespeare, and more things to do in Chicago this week
The Art of Falling returns, Exoneree Diaries author Alison Flowers, and more happenings from June 6-9