New Releases We Can't Wait to Dig Into

We’re back with more new tunes! Variety is the spice of life this week, from psychedelic pop to southern indie rock to jazz-fused hip hop: there’s something for everyone as we brace through another week of bitter cold. 

As we scan upcoming release lists, singles and endlessly scroll through Instagram, we are still very much interested in hearing from you about Chicago music on the horizon. 

Mister Goblin (Bloomington, IN)
Four People in an Elevator and One of Them is the Devil
Exploding in Sound Records

The closest we could get to a Chicago release this week is from Mister Goblin, a band that hails from Bloomington, Indiana, who recorded this album here in the Windy City. The two lead singles, “Hook In The Eye” and “Six Flags America” (which features a duet with Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis) display delicate guitar melodies paired with raw emotional vocal stylings that remind one of a young Ben Gibbard.

Kate Kirby (Nashville)
Cool Dry Place
Keeled Scales

We're not usually one for indie, southern-inspired, soft rock- but you can’t help but be captivated by the tenderness of her voice, the perfectly plucked rhythms, and the maturity in songwriting effort. The production effort is top notch, riddled with wonderful dynamic efforts, despite being a softly written record. Pick up this album as fast as you can, you won’t want to miss out.

Hearty Har (Los Angeles)
Radio Astro 
Self-Released / BMG

We’ve got such a soft spot for the desert-esque psychedelic rock sounds of Los Angeles, and Hearty Har’s Radio Astro delivers that wavy, spacey, groovy sound. “Waves of Ecstacy” is an eclectic, trippy tune, dripping with harmonies, classic guitar shreds and bursts of Mick Jagger-like shouts. These are the kind of songs that make usmiss live shows; moments of twisting and shaking, gnarly riffs, and bands set to a liquid lightshow background.

Psymon Spine (NYC)
Charismatic Megafauna
Northern Spy

The handful of singles leading this album are a heavy tease of infectious psychedelic pop, teeming with clever hooks, punches of guitar, and auxiliary sonic accents. We love the disco influence on tracks like “Modmed”.” For fans of acts like The Ting Tings, LCD Soundsystem, and Tame Impala, don’t miss out on Charismatic Megafauna. Bonus points for the insanely cool art direction.

Landlady (NYC)
LandLady 
Landladyland

Landlady is the first of many successful Bandcamp vinyl campaigns, paving the way for independent bands to press 12” records without the staggering cost of large vinyl orders. And with their self-titled pressing, Landlady delivers the solo effort of Adam Schatz (multi-instrumentalist and active member of Man Man); a piano-driven indie rock album filled with full harmonies and mature lyricism that would remind one of Foxygen or Rostam.

The Lasso (Detroit)
2121
Mellow Music Group

The Lasso is a multi-instrumentalist and producer that brings us an upbeat collection of jazz-fused soul and hip-hop tracks that is sure to get you on your feet. A true collaborative effort of reinvented sounds and astral funk, 2121 is a self-proclaimed “axis mundi where past, present, and future would all get down.” This album is perfect for the listener that never wanted to leave the east coast in the nineties; lyrical, musical, percussive, and soulful.

That’s it for our preview! A few honorable mentions this week are DECOUPLR, a trip-hop soul project from Philly; and two more styles of southern-inspired desert rock: Reed Turchi of Tennessee, and XIXA out of Arizona. Catch us next week for another round of new releases! 

It bears repeating, we want to cover Chicago music, so if you have something coming out, please submit it!