Few bands embody the aesthetic of alt-rock as thoroughly as Throwing Muses. Founded in Rhode Island in 1983 by teenage stepsisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, the group made moody songs rife with sharp-tongued lyrics, postpunk guitars, and psych-folk vocal harmonies. Guitarists Hersh and Donelly traded lead vocals and shared the songwriting, and after adding […]
Tag: Vol. 49 No. 44
Issue of Sep. 17 – 30, 2020
Posted inMusic
Thank You, I’m Sorry harnesses midwestern emo to conquer unyielding malaise on I’m Glad We’re Friends
Most Americans felt the pinch of chronic financial instability even before COVID-19 aggravated the country’s catastrophic wealth inequality by helping shift billions more dollars into the pockets of a handful of billionaires. So even if you don’t recognize yourself in the lyrics of Thank You, I’m Sorry’s “Menthol Flavored Oatmeal”—which describes a twentysomething working ten-hour […]
Posted inMusic
Fire safety tips from Troubled Hubble on the gig poster of the week
This week’s featured gig poster was created by local writer and designer Brian Shamie.
Posted inMusic
Johari Noelle addresses 2020’s overlapping crises with a socially distanced new video
Johari Noelle addresses 2020’s overlapping crises with a socially distanced new video, Serengeti drops a non-Kenny Dennis acoustic album, and more.
Posted inNews & Politics
Lessons from March election chaos: Recruit poll workers, young and early
Chicago election officials seek paid election judges in November, especially those who are multilingual.
Posted inMusic
Malian guitarist Sidi Touré dials it back on an all-acoustic, digital-only album
Count Sidi Touré among the billions of people around the world who’ve had to revise their plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Malian singer-guitarist’s previous album, Toubalbero, was recorded live in Bamako’s best studio in order to best showcase his band’s vibrant combination of electric guitars and traditional regional instruments. But between the […]
Posted inMusic
Death-metal powerhouse Necrot show they’re as ferocious in the studio as onstage on Mortal
This three-man Oakland death-metal powerhouse formed in 2011 and quickly began releasing appetite-whetting demos and singles, but on their debut full-length, 2017’s Blood Offerings, they proved they had the energy for a sustained assault. Though their new second album, Mortal, treads most of the same boards as its predecessor, the band’s fury feels fresh and […]
Posted inMusic
Paulette McWilliams’s A Woman’s Story shows why stars have always relied on her voice
In the early 1970s, singer Paulette McWilliams quit ascending Chicago R&B group Rufus and recommended that her friend, Chaka Khan, take over the lead spot. The decision benefited everyone, even (and arguably especially) McWilliams, who dodged the pitfalls of limelight while continuing to work constantly in music. By the time she relocated to Los Angeles […]
Posted inMusic
Kelly Lee Owens’s Inner Song is laser focused and immersive
Welsh producer Kelly Lee Owens begins her sophomore album, Inner Song (Smalltown Supersound), with an instrumental cover of Radiohead’s “Arpeggi.” Her version is all about effervescent electronics, and it can evoke the feeling of being underwater—isolated from the rest of the world with only your thoughts. When Owens’s vocals arrive on the following track, “On,” […]
Posted inMusic
Why isn’t anyone reissuing Karate records?
Sixteen years after Karate’s final studio release, the band’s influential music—which blends emo, slowcore, and jazz—is entirely out of print.
Posted inMusic
Chicago rapper Neph immerses himself in his own verses on More to Come
Chicago MC Neph gets so wrapped up in his verses that I wouldn’t be surprised if recording his performances is an afterthought for him. In fact, on the new EP More to Come, he gently pumps the brakes on his soporific flow partway through “Cadillac Palace,” asking how much time he has left—and even though […]
Posted inMusic
Deafkids and Petbrick join forces to make subversively twisted psych on Deafbrick
Music festivals as we’ve known them may be in jeopardy due to a virus, but festival culture keeps on giving: this summer’s bounty includes Deafbrick, the new album by brain-rattling São Paulo psych-punk trio Deafkids and maniacal London-based electro-noise-rock duo Petbrick, aka musician and producer Wayne Adams and Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy drummer Iggor Cavalera. […]
