Best bet: Suuns at Subterranean Friday
Montreal’s Suuns stir up an enticing blend of hard rock, electronic and psychedelic. Last year’s release of the band’s debut Zeroes QC helped establish a well-deserved buzz.
Suuns headlines at Subterranean Friday night. Valleys and Brontosaurus open.
Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Dum Dum Girls lead new releases
The more Wilco moves away from its early ’90s sound, the closer Matthew Sweet draws back to those days. At least that seems to be the case with new albums out today, Wilco’s The Whole Love and Sweet’s Modern Art.
As Sweet also tours to support the two-decade anniversary of his pop classic, Girlfriend, Jeff Tweedy’s Wilco has moved far beyond the simple sounds of his band’s debut, A.M. (More on Wilco later.)
The Dum Dum Girls also have a new album out today, the addictive Only in Dreams. There’s nothing revolutionary about the Dum Dum Girl’s sound, which — like the Vivian Girls — draws from ’60s girl groups. It’s just good stuff. Other notable releases today include Youth Lagoon’s The Year of Hibernation and Twin Sister’s In Heaven.
Band spotlight: Bass Drum of Death
Nerve Jamming, the first song on Bass Drum of Death’s debut album, hits you in the face. The band — just two guys from Mississippi — doesn’t back down either. Every song on GB City is a scorcher.
Think of White Stripes or Black Keys at their most raucous points. Like Death from Above 1979 or Japandroids, Bass Drum of Death shows how much sound one guy on guitar and another on drums can make.
The band opens for Japandroids tonight at Schubas. That’s an awesome doubleheader.
Best bet: Swans at Bottom Lounge
Heavy, dark and scary. That’s how I usually describe Swans, which made one of the best albums of last year (My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky).
This long-running band plays the Bottom Lounge Thursday night.
New video: Girls’ ‘Honey Bunny’
Check out this new video for Honey Bunny, the lead track off the excellent new Girls’ album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost.
The album is the best thing I’ve heard among the onslaught of new fall releases. It’s highly recommended.
New release Tuesday: Veronica Falls
It’s another big release day today, and my pick for the best new album this week is the self-titled debut from Veronica Falls.
The UK band, fronted by singer Roxanne Clifford, has sort of a ’60 garage/pop sound. Some of the songs have a dark undercurrent with the lead track, Found Love In a Graveyard, setting the tone. Galloping rhythms and great hooks abound.
Fans of garage and the Dum Dum Girls probably will like this album. I recommend it.
Best bet: Tristen at Subterranean Tuesday
She’s a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. And Tristen Gaspadarek made one of the best albums of 2011, Charlatans at the Garden Gate. Check her out at Subterranean Tuesday night.
Girls, St. Vincent, Wild Flag head new releases Tuesday
There’s a slew of new albums out today, including notable offerings by Girls, St. Vincent and Wild Flag, a group made up of two Sleater-Kinney members and Helium’s Mary Timony. Wild Flag’s self-titled debut really rocks. Girls offers an impressive and more sonic second album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, while Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) also stretches on her third full release, Strange Mercy.
A pair of semi-classic indie albums get reissued on vinyl today as well. The Meat Puppets’ Up on the Sun and Superchunk’s Foolish both get the vinyl treatment.
That Meat Puppets album, in particular, is really a standout. The Kirkwood brothers made a huge leap between the band’s debut in 1982 and the much more accessible Meat Puppets II. Up on the Sun further defined the sound of these Southwest punk legends. Up on the Sun is highly recommended.
See more videos after the jump.
Best albums of 2011?
Tuesday marks the beginning of the fall schedule for new albums. Indie super group Wild Flag, St. Vincentand Neon Indian are among those releasing tomorrow. In two weeks, Wilco puts out its new album.
But before we get to those, here’s an overdue look at five of the most interesting albums of 2011 (mostly releases from the first half of the year). I’m not sure if they’re the best but they have a good shot at being on my year-end top 10. Don’t read too much into the order.
New Brigade — Iceage
They didn’t remake the genre, but these kids from Copenhagen made one of the most compelling punk albums in years. Clocking in at about 24 minutes, New Brigade proves less is still more.
Tomboy — Panda Bear
Noah Lennox couldn’t simply remake Person Pitch. He didn’t attempt to with Tomboy, the follow to his remarkable 2007 release. The album certainly has the signature Lennox/Animal Collective feel yet holds it own as a fresh, original piece of work.
Last Night At The Jetty – Panda Bear
Sun and Shade — Woods
Woods layers one breezy, psychedelic song on top of another. Amid the concise nuggets, Sun and Shade features a couple long players, including the trippy Sol Y Sombra and the Kraut rocker Out of the Eye.
WHOKILL — Tune-Yards
It’s abrasive and often times uncomfortable but Merrill Garbus makes some interesting music. It’s noisy and hard to categorize and that’s what’s best about it.
Yuck — Yuck
Derivative of indie bands from the past two decades or so, I think I like these guys because of the nods to Dinosaur Jr. But, overall, it’s just a really enjoyable rock album.
Read my next five picks after the jump.
Archers of Loaf return to Chicago for AV Club / Hideout show
I’ve described Archers of Loaf as a harder or tougher version of Pavement. Apparently, the band never liked that comparison. In the liner notes to the recent reissue of Icky Mettle, critic Robert Christgau notes that the band protested the Pavement comparisons. Archers idolized the Replacements, Christgau writes.
I’m a big fan of both the Mats and Pavement and I think maybe it’s fair to say Archers draws from both. Sure, Archers rock like the Replacements. But you can’t deny the similarities to Pavement. (That’s not a bad thing.) Regardless, Archers’ songs sound every bit as good today.
The band returns to Chicago Sunday — after a great performance at Bottom Lounge in July — to play the AV Club fest at Hideout.
Wilco news: ‘Born Alone’ video, Chicago show in December, Tweedy covers Black Eyed Peas
Check out Wilco’s new video for Born Alone, a song off the upcoming album The Whole Love. The album is set for release September 27 and you can pre-order here. A new Wilco album is cause to rejoice and Chicago fans have another reason to celebrate: A homecoming show at Civic Opera House December 16.
Jeff Tweedy just played at the Hideout for the book release of Dan Sinker’s The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel. Tweedy performed a great version of the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling. Take a look:
Mount Eerie to play church show Tuesday
One of the most interesting local live shows this week has to be Mount Eerie, aka Phil Elverum, at the Berry United Methodist Church.
Elverum, who formerly performed as the Microphones, is an experimental and truly indie artist who releases his own albums. Check out the video below to get a taste of his more recent musical style. The song, My Heart is Not at Peace, is off the excellent 2009 release, Wind’s Poem.
The church is located at 4754 N. Leavitt St.
New video: Veronica Falls’ ‘Bad Feeling’
Check out the new video, Bad Feeling, from Veronica Falls. The band releases its self-titled debut on September 20 and is scheduled to play Subterranean October 4.
Stream the song here.
