Phantogram: "Nothing But Trouble"
And the anticipation continues. The lead-up to Phantogram's Voices, their first full-length studio release since 2009's Eyelid Movies, has been eventful to say the least. The New York duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel released a self-titled EP towards the end of last year, which was the first anyone had heard from the pair since 2011's Nightlife EP and was preceded by the singles "Black Out Days" and "Celebrating Nothing". Today, in further support of their scheduled February 18 drop date for Voices, Barthel and Carter released their latest track, "Nothing But Trouble" today, which follows the lead single, "Fall In Love". Both tracks are available for download upon pre-ordering Voices, which is available on iTunes, here. If nothing else, Phantogram keeps listeners on their toes, both with their music and their frenetic release schedules, and this latest installment is no different. Listen to "Nothing But Trouble" streaming below.
[RH Feature] Marrow: The Second Time Around
Photo byNolis
Six months ago the dream was all but dead.
Kids These Days officially broke up on May 8, 2013. Two days later I was behind the wheel of my Chevy Trailblazer heading north to Wisconsin. The seven piece funk/soul/rock/hip-hop group that had captivated a generation of a city was no more, and they had retreated north to make sense of it all.
As I drove through the newly warm spring air with drummer Greg Landfair, his girlfriend and a friend, we listened to the eclectic sounds of Traphouse Rock and Hard Times. The group had spanned nearly four years together, essentially amounting to what would later be referred to as their “college days”. With college over, we pulled up to a hastily-erected sign on the side of a seldom-used street in what seemed like the middle of nowhere of Wisconsin to return to where it all began.
As we pulled up to the main house of the Postock farm, the ominous sounds of Macie Stewart’s voice could already be heard emanating from the large, old barn located just on the other side of the red brick structure.
For a group of young adults that achieved so much, the end of the band was almost jarringly abrupt. After a series of tense discussions and numerous arguments, Kids These Days rode out their tour through New York and called it quits. Horn players Nico Segal and J.P. Floyd left from there to join Frank Ocean on tour, Vic Mensa immediately embarked on a solo hip-hop career and the rest headed back to Chicago to figure everything out.
[RH Photos] King Krule in Chicago (12/11/2013)
Photography by Nolis
On a blistering cold Wednesday night on the North Side of Chicago, everything I thought I knew about British indie artist King Krule was blown away. The 19-year-old artist, formerly known as Zoo Kid, took the stage in front of a sold out Lincoln Hall crowd that seemed to be almost frothing at the mouth for him to play just a note. Cat calls from women likely twice his age rained down on him as the young artist sang with his deep baritone voice, resolute and certain in a way that permeated inner confidence. It felt like a small miracle every time he opened his mouth that Krule could produce such a powerful voice from such a slight package.
King Krule has the most intense, radiating crop of red hair I have ever seen. As if showing it off, the lights continually strayed from the artist's face, masking it in shadows as his hair became highlighted, almost illuminated by the cascading, colorful lighting. Introducing his first song, Krule simply said, "This is a song about me." For his next song: "This is a song about living under a sea." And another was introduced by simply saying, "This song is about reptiles," before tearing into a library of songs that ranged from blues-y stories of loss and disappointment to uptempo surf/punk jams that seemed to leave the crowd wondering where the kid who made the self-titled, ambient electro-influenced project earlier this year went. Confused, but interested, the crowd gravitated to Krule, reacting to every pluck of the string and nasally-deep melody. From the get-go, the crowd was Krule's.
The thing I noticed almost immediately during my first King Krule show was that he seems to cover every genre. Not musically, per se, but from the punkish-intonations in his voice, the hip-hop influenced way he grips the mic when not on guitar, to the frenetic foot and head movement that makes him look like he's at a SBTRKT set at Bonaroo. At 19, Krule appeared more self-assured and confident than men three times his age, forgoing petty chit-chat between songs to dive headlong into each arrangement, his deliberate movements and passionate intensity keeping the crowd nearly silent, save for applause.
King Krule's star has risen exponentially throughout 2013, and he's poised to rise even higher in the coming year. If his set at Lincoln Hall Wednesday was any indication, though, we'll be seeing (and hearing) a lot from King Krule for a long time to come.
[RH First Glance] Suns: "Strangeland"
Chicago experimental rockers Suns are spreading around their debut LP When We Were Us, playing multiple cities and venues, sharing their sound with fans and anyone who will lend an ear. Since the release of their LP, Suns has opened for Braid, Cults, and fellow Chicagoans, Maps and Atlases. However, it hasn't been an easy journey for these dudes; just a few months after the release of When We Were Us, the band went from having two drummers to none and found themselves seeking someone who could fill some really big shoes. The band locked in multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Matt Evert of Barber Greene adding a new sound, energy, and vibe to their already electric, heavy, and entrancing sound.
Listen to "Strangeland," a track off of Suns' debut LP When We Were Us, and catch them live at their next show in Chicago, IL at Quenchers with Muscle Worship, An Aesthetic Anaesthetic, Electric Hawk.
[Video] Marrow: "Two"
Photography by Nolis
For Liam Cunningham, Macie Stewart, and Lane Beckstrom, the past few months have felt like a strangely familiar walk around the block. Since leaving their previous project, Kids These Days, and picking up drummer Matt Carroll though, the three close knit friends have been slowly building steam after re-establishing themselves with a new band; Marrow. The four Chicago natives have spent the time since KTD broke up in June writing incessantly, playing gigs both big and small, and practicing in Cunningham's living room, cluttered with instruments, chords and pages of half-finished songs.
Never one to do things traditionally, Marrow wanted to make a statement with their debut video for the group. Turning to seasoned director and close friend, Austin Vesely, they shot a video that encapsulates the personality of the individuals and the group as a whole while seemingly subliminally explaining the underlying thoughts and feelings that come along with going through the kind of tumultuous year much of the band has endured in 2013. "I worked a lot with Liam to figure out what direction we wanted to go with it," said Vesely. "I had this idea for a train, and an abandoned farm, so we sort of put those pieces together and made it about a journey. We were talking a lot about Kubrick at the time--we even went to see The Shining in theaters-- so that was a big influence on the project. We wanted things to start typical and achieve a surreal, dreamlike feeling by the end."
The visual also appropriately straddles a pair of songs from Marrow, (“She Chose You” & "Mother of Maladies,”) set to the journey of Liam finding his way on a train before arriving in the countryside. It's an artistically interesting piece of work that is a testament to the kind of stuff Vesely is capable of making, and Beckstrom's job as a bell boy may have Hollywood calling soon. Anyway, take some time out of your day to sit and watch this fitting masterpiece for Marrow to re-enter the music video game. Also, be sure to catch Marrow next week in Chicago on 12/19 at Schuba's for their album release show for their debut project, Two.
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[Video] The Impossibles: "Come Back"
"Consider, please, our past in taking me back."
All it took was the opening upstroke of The Impossibles' "Come Back" for me to fall back in love with them. Outside of a couple of reunion shows in Austin, TX, The Impossibles have stayed broken up since 2002. First forming as a ska/punk band during the '90s, the Austin-based band broke up in 1998, only to return in 2000 with an increased focus on Weezer-esque indie-rock, eschewing the upbeat ska sound they were previously known for. Unfortunately, after the release of Return and the post-hardcore 4 Song Brick Bomb, the band called it quits for goods following two final shows at the storied Emo's venue in Austin.
It wasn't until this past August that murmurs began rippling across Twitter that new recordings were taking place. Sure enough, a crowdfunding project popped up for a new 7" featuring two new songs from the band, "Come Back" and "The Position." I don't even have a record player or collect vinyl, yet I happily donated my money towards the promise of new songs from The Impossible.
Despite being available to the aforementioned crowdfunders, today marks the official release of the Come Back b/w The Position 7" and iTunes digital release. To commemorate, a music video was shot for the A-side single, "Come Back." While the video's simple, featuring a pretty girl listening jamming out to the 7", the real excitement is in the actual song itself. Much like the opening song, "Enter/Return," on Return, "Come Back" is a tongue-in-cheek song sung by singer/guitarist Gabe Hascall using a reunion with an ex-girlfriend as a metaphor for the band's return. Fans of early, The Impossibles/Back for the Attack/Anthology The Impossibles will be happy to note the return of the ska upstrokes combined with later quiet-to-loud dynamics of Return/4 Song Brick Bomb-era The Impossibles.
Whether you're an old fan, an old, old fan, or a newcomer to The Impossibles, "Come Back" is a great introduction to the band. You'll be able to catch The Impossibles' return this weekend at this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX. If you're really digging "Come Back," I highly recommend purchasing the Come Back b/w The Position on iTunes here. Here's hoping that the 7" release and Fun Fun Fun Fest appearance will lead to more music and a tour stop in Chicago.
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[RH Review] Elsinore @ Subterranean (Chicago,IL)
I have been looking forward to seeing Elsinore live pretty much since the final notes of the last set I saw them perform -- but especially since they released their new album, PUSH/PULL on October 8. And I am happy to report that their set at Subterranean on Friday night surpassed my expectations by far. Brighton, MA opened the show with a laid-back, old-fashioned rock and roll sound that emanated a strong, but less obviously-catchy Strokes vibe. Their energy grew as they played through their set, getting everybody pumped for the following acts, including Chicago natives, Hemmingbirds, who tried to keep Halloween alive with a cover of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and a fast paced pop-rock set.
There were a few things I was curious to see from Elsinore at this show: their new line-up (they gained a new bass player and drummer since the last time I saw them) and the killer five-piece brass section they'd brought to Chicago, including two trumpets, tenor sax, baritone sax, and trombone. They started the set with "The Art Of Pulling," the first track off of the new album. This song is genius. It sets up the entire album with a fresh, poppy sound that is lyrically enticing and brilliant, but not too showy, and this is just the first song. The whole album is awesome from start to finish -- a fact that the crowd got to witness. Elsinore played PUSH/PULL in its entirety, mixing in oldies and goodies along the way, including "Lines" off of their full-length record, 2010's "YES YES YES," as well the title track from their EP, Chemicals, which is one of my favorites.
I was particularly excited to hear the new version of "Ultraviolence" live. The tune's rebirth on PUSH/PULL has such a different sound than the original recording, trading out elegant strings for an energized and upbeat spin that, to my surprise, I love equally as much. Though I suppose it's not too surprising, as I am fairly certain I couldn't resist anything that Ryan Groff writes or sings. His simply gorgeous voice enslaves, leaving listeners hanging on his every word, with what seems like little to no effort. Seriously, it makes you want to pull an Ursala on him and wear his voice in a shell around your neck (creepy and true). And it's refreshing to watch a singer who can play just as well as he sings. On lead guitar, Groff owns his instrument. The band matched Groff's energy well. With heavy, buzzy, and precise bass playing from Brad Threlkeld and spot-on drums from James Treichler, the new rhythm section was tight as can be. Founding member Mark Woolwine held it all together on the keys, adding layers of sound and harmonies with his Nord Electro, and funky synthy riffs on his Mini-Korg. The transitions between songs were impeccably smooth. Even when Groff busted a guitar string and switched out guitars, just before they slid into "Life Inside An Elephant," the closing track on PUSH/PULL, it all seemed like part of the plan and the perfect ending to an amazing set.
Clearly, I could go on and on for days about how fantastic Elsinore is, but ain't nobody got time for that. If you haven't listened to Elsinore yet, do yourself a favor and check out "The Art Of Pulling," along with the rest of their album, merch, and tour dates here.
[Video] Best Coast: "I Don't Know How"
Last week we posted the new album from Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, Fade Away, which has been getting solid reviews as it seeps into listener's collective consciousness and moves around the blogosphere. Today the pair drop the video for their song "I Don't Know How" off of the project. Check it out here below.
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