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Guitarist Hedvig Mollestad laces together jazz and metal with a sense of play
Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad has an uncanny ability to merge rock and jazz in arrangements that transcend the cliches of both genres. On her new album, Ding Dong.…
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Blueswoman Joanna Connor honors beloved Chicago blues club Theresa’s with...
If you’d stumbled unawares into one of Joanna Connor’s regular gigs at the House of Blues or Kingston Mines in the 2010s, the blues singer and guitarist might’ve seemed like some sort of hidden...
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Josh Caterer reinvents standards with a new band in The Hideout Sessions
Don’t let the live vibe fool you—The Hideout Sessions features no cheering, no clapping, and no cries for “Freebird.” Josh Caterer, lead singer of the Smoking Popes for 30 years, recorded this new...
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Julien Baker expands her vulnerable sound on Little Oblivions
Julien Baker’s 2015 debut album, Sprained Ankle, and its 2017 follow-up, Turn Out the Lights, centered the singer-songwriter’s sometimes fragile but always sincere voice as she journeyed through...
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Chicago producer Vince Kaichan steers footwork toward serenity on Lost in Time
Chicago electronic producer Vince Kaichan is an omnivorous listener—or at least that’s the impression I get from the hodgepodge of styles in his own music. For roughly a decade now, he’s tussled with...
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Folie displays the hard-to-define breadth of hyperpop with the new mixtape 123!
Chicago-via-New York producer Folie belongs to a loose collective of artists who’ve put out playful inversions of pop music through Dog Show Records, a Mad Decent imprint run by 100 Gecs cofounder...
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Genghis Tron reunite and shift gears on Dream Weapon
In a 2020 filled with unwanted surprises, one bright spot was the unexpected reunion of experimental metal group Genghis Tron after a self-described “indefinite” hiatus. Dream Weapon, the New...
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Trap Door's Decomposed Theatre breaks down ideas from a longtime collaborator
Weirdness and wonder abound in Matei Vişniec's Decomposed Theatre at Trap Door, but be prepared for creepiness, too. With nearly 40 actors, eight directors, and an overall roster of artists spanning...
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Vic Mensa’s rejuvenating raps breathe life into I Tape
Chicago rapper Vic Mensa has had a career trajectory unlike many other Chicago artists the past decade. After rising to national prominence in the early 2010s as front man of Kids These Days, he...
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Into the Mist takes you back in time to 1927
Studio5's virtual speakeasy, Into the Mist, has echoes of the past and resonances for today. The temptation to time travel during the past year has been strong. What if we could just go "Back to...
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Chicago trio Moontype make indie rock for the dreamer in everyone
Bassist and vocalist Margaret McCarthy began releasing music as Moontype while enrolled in Oberlin’s music conservatory. She began with a 2017 self-released EP called Fan Music, in which drifty...
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We're all in the same boat (alone) with Moby Dick and How Do We Navigate Space?
Two streaming shows from Theatre in the Dark and Strawdog capture the drama of obsession and isolation. Whether you're on the vast endless seas or stuck in your own living room day after day, the...
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Sit in the anxiety of Shiva Baby
Rachel Sennott shines in Emma Seligman’s artful cringe comedy. Don't be fooled by this film's quirky title and robust comedic cast—Emma Seligman's debut feature Shiva Baby is in the running for the...
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Tomahawk return with more top-tier avant-garde noise-rock
Twenty years after the release of their self-titled debut LP, freaky supergroup Tomahawk have returned with their fifth and best album yet, Tonic Immobility. Formed in 1999 by the best of the best...
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Guitarist Sunny War boils life down to its essence on Simple Syrup
The Nashville-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Sunny War is known for her clawhammer fingerstyle guitar playing, vivid autobiographical lyrics, and distinctive sound that starts at the...
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Serpentwithfeet’s Deacon soars with subversive joy
Experimental musician Serpentwithfeet (born Josiah Wise) is many things, including a man of his word. “Life’s gotta get easier / Can’t carry a heavy heart into another year,” he vows on “A Comma” from...
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Philadelphia duo Writhing Squares achieve maximum aggravation on their third...
Many rock ’n’ roll duos deal with economy of one sort or another. In the case of Philadelphia group Writhing Squares, it’s not a matter of compensating for thin arrangements: woodwind player Kevin...
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The candy-coated morality tales of Wong Ping
The artist, animator, and self-proclaimed comedian touches on the personal and political with his “Digital Fables.” Wong Ping’s Vimeo page features a box containing key information about the artist,...
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Ryley Walker points to his wide-open musical future on Course in Fable
When guitar wunderkind Ryley Walker releases his first album of proper songs in a couple of years, this new glimpse at where he’s headed in his music is cause to rejoice. The Rockford native shredded...
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Chicago indie rapper D2x expands his palette on his debut album, The Color Blue
Chicago rapper D2x has poured all 23 years of his life so far into his debut album, The Color Blue. Across its 13 tracks, he delivers lines about his childhood in the south suburbs, his time playing...
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