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Chicago rocker Adam Schubert re-emerges as Ulna with the reflective Oea
Adam Schubert, who plays guitar and sings in Chicago psych-rock unit Cafe Racer, took up music more than a decade ago. At age 14, he shattered his ulna (one of the bones in his forearm) in a...
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Garbage indicts social injustices on No Gods No Masters
When Garbage broke out with their self-titled debut album in 1995, their alluring but abrasive sound—dark power-pop melodies topped by Shirley Manson’s alternately growled and whispered vocals—enticed...
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In Trios From the City of Big Shoulders, the Lincoln Trio dusts off...
It’s Leo Sowerby’s summer. Had 2020 gone as planned, musicians across the city likely would have launched into 125th-anniversary celebrations for the late Chicago composer (1895–1968) and onetime St....
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Hyunhye Seo of Xiu Xiu makes her cryptic solo debut with Strands
Hyunhye Seo, also known as Angela Seo, has been a member of inscrutable experimental-rock band Xiu Xiu since 2009, providing synths, piano, and vocals to flesh out their consistently beguiling,...
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Chicago hip-hop duo Udababy tap the energy of the Why? Records collective on...
Judging from the energy of practically every Why? Records release, the four rappers who make up the underground Chicago hip-hop collective and label could easily spend the rest of their lives...
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Australian garage-punk luminaries the Scientists keep the scuzz rock going...
It’s a common misconception that true, filthy rock ’n’ roll died in the early 80s after being eclipsed by new wave, whose shiny commercial sound piled on the gated reverb, drum machines, keytars, and...
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Tiger Strikes Asteroid comes together in ‘It feels like the first time’
And the massive survey of artists does it well. The nonprofit, artist-run network Tiger Strikes Asteroid has five locations across the U.S. in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and...
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The city is awake and alive
Kick off the summer with these events. We're open! While most of the state and the city has returned to business as usual in some ways, masks are still recommended for many public situations (and...
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Over-the-top Chicago rocker Mike Lust looks inward on his solo debut
Full disclosure: Mike Lust has recorded a handful of records I’ve played on. I also played in a band with him for a while.…
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Chicago rap star Polo G takes a long victory lap on Hall of Fame
In a self-aggrandizing public announcement last month about the return of Lollapalooza, Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted a cringey promotional video where she played music for Department of Public Health...
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French polymath Jean-Luc Guionnet finally commits his solo saxophone music...
Jean-Luc Guionnet’s relationship to music is complicated, and it shows. As a youth, he drew while his father played saxophone, and he didn’t much like what he heard.…
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Chicago rapbrarian Roy Kinsey makes music for summer celebrations with Juke...
Chicago rapper and librarian Roy Kinsey has drawn national attention for his remarkable concept albums and their sensitive, piercingly thoughtful lyrics. In 2018 he dropped Blackie: A Story by Roy...
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An examination of the self and of others
The new art space, Juliet Art House, introduces the work of Rebecca Baruc. When Rebecca Baruc was 11 years old, she began to show her drawings from her journal to a teacher, Barbara Herzberg. For...
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Lucy Dacus reflects on her coming-of-age with the new Home Video
The moment you start reflecting on a time that’s past, it’s no longer something you’re living—it becomes something you’ve lived. Lucy Dacus documents and interrogates her own coming-of-age on her new...
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Zola challenges mainstream thinking about sex work
And on top of that, it’s a perfect summer romp. [Content warning: The film features sexual violence and the following review discusses sexual violence.] During the 2020 election, candidates like...
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L’Rain creates glittering, warped pop collages on Fatigue
Brooklyn composer and multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek, aka L’Rain, has titled her sophomore album Fatigue (Mexican Summer), but she doesn’t sound tired. Her aesthetic is languidly manic, with an...
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The revolution is finally televised with Summer of Soul
The documentary is a window into the Harlem Culture Festival and discussions of Black history, community, and identity in the 60s. Summer of Soul (. Or When the Revolution Could Not be Televised)...
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Chicago art-rockers Woongi ground their ambition with whimsy on Fruits of...
A couple years ago, Chicago art-rock group Woongi dropped an album intended as an unofficial soundtrack for a 1993 kids’ film featuring a magical flying skateboard voiced by Dom DeLuise. You can try...
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Evanston’s Jason Narducy wields a lifetime of rock power on Split Single’s...
Split Single front man Jason Narducy can mold a bit of guitar distortion and a sweet melody into a lifeline. On “Bitten by the Sound,” a standout on Split Single’s new third album, Amplificado (Inside...
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Angel Bat Dawid finds creative kinship in Sistazz of the Nitty Gritty
Brotherhood, meet sisterhood. Those who know clarinetist, composer, and self-described “sonic archaeologist” Angel Bat Dawid from the incisive October release LIVE likely associate her with her...
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