WHAT WE’VE BEEN JAMMING TO
ISSUE #65 / June 20, 2019
Common
Her Love
Common clearly been drinking his respect women juice on his hip-hop homage “HER Love,” a single released while the incomparable MC is still touring for his recent autobiography Let Love Have the Last Word. This Dilla beat-backed ditty is a taste of the delicacies in store for use on his forthcoming album, which shares a name with the aforementioned book. Cooing backing vocals slip around a sparkling, spacy dusting of electronics and a classic jazz-rap beat. Pro forma for a slice of Common, the lyrics are the marquee stars, dropping gems like “[a]t 21, you knew I was Savage / But you said ‘Common, you will never be average” calling back to the way that hip-hop gave him a path forward through the pressures and alienations of urban life. In his magnanimous style, he reaches out to upstart pups like Lil Uzi Vert and YG, lifting them up as the vanguard of a style that taught him how to love and even comparing the latter to Malcom X. The track is replete with metaphors that compare what Common learned playing the rap game to the patient lessons of a doting mother, and his love for the artform to that of a woman he can’t quit- at one point even referencing his ‘90s hit, “For the Love of H.E.R” (leave your oedipal analysis at the door, please). If this is any indication of the love Common has to share with us on his next album, we have something very sweet to look forward to.
-MDR
Common will be at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park on August 31 with Queen Latifah. Tickets are not yet available
Resavoir
Escalator (feat. Sen Morimoto)
Chicago-based experimental jazz collective Resavoir has released another version of “Escalator,” this time featuring Sooper Records standout Sen Morimoto on vocals and sax. The fourth track available from the Will Miller-headed outfit’s upcoming self-titled debut out digitally next week on local jazz imprint International Anthem.
You can hit Sleeping Village for a taste of Resavoir’s talents on July 26th for their LP release show. Tix are $10.
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib
Giannis (feat. Anderson .Paak)
The potent combo of Chicago native Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, (the best beat maker out there,) have been teasing their new project for months now, and the newest track “Giannis” (feat. the fine talents of Anderson .Paak) is the last single before Bandana finally drops June 28th.
The duo are set to hit Pitchfork on July 20th. Tix are $85 and up.
Purple Mountains
Darkness and Cold
A great rolling single from Chicago’s Purple Mountains (David Berman). His self-titled debut is due out July 12th, and we can’t wait to hear the rest. If “Darkness and Cold” is any indication, this is gonna be a killer record.
Sleeping Village is hosting the local troubadour on August 24th and 25th. Tix are available for both nights for $28 each.
Burial
Claustro/State Forest
The first singles since Burial’s 2017 12”s tryptic Subtemple, Pre Dawn / Indoors, and Rodent, is “Claustro,” and it drops like a UK garage bomb ready to sizzle the fringes and eyebrows of unprepared but party-ready disco divas and duvas (dude + divas = let’s make it a thing!) The clapping beats are irresistible, and the clipped funky frazzle vocals and bright electronics that slice through the soppy rhythms add to its sense of motion and mystery. It’s a slightly cryptic, surely slanted-sounding crowd pleasure with a punch. An unexpected opening gambit in 2019 from this usually dower DJ. The B-side “State Forest” is equally surprising, a resonantly ambient spectacle of dewy bluster with a subtle sour Carpenter twist. Burial is clearly trying on some new sounds for size with these tracks, and it will be interesting to see what he keeps and what he put back in the ground on future releases.
-MDR
Burial has no upcoming tour dates.
Catie Turner
The Sad Vegan EP
An American Idol contestant that we can actually like, Catie Turner crafts indie pop tunes on The Sad Vegan that are as thoughtful and compelling as anything full-fledged adults are releasing, but at the age of 19. Talk about promise.
Robin Alice
Here & There
Coming together on the set of a film (yes, it was Pitch Perfect 3), Kelly Jakle and Jeff Hortillosa (Whiskey Shivers’) impromptu improvisations led to a full blown act. Here & There, their debut EP as Robin Alice is full of soulful country roots and a playful spirit you don’t hear everyday.
Sleater-Kinney
The Future Is Here
The second full-length from Sleater-Kinney since re-forming in 2015 is only two months away, and if “The Future Is Here” is any indication, The Center Won’t Hold is going to be epic.
Read about their last Chicago show in Issue # 62.
Black Belt Eagle Scout
At The Party
“At The Party” is the first single and opening track from Katherine Paul (aka: Black Belt Eagle Scout)’s sophomore record At The Party With My Brown Friends, (due August 30th,) bringing her atmospheric indie rock to new heights.
Black Belt Eagle Scout is opening for Devendra Banhart at Thalia Hall on November 3rd. Tix are $31 - $41.
Julien Baker
Red Door/Conversation Place
A favorite of CCS, Julien Baker’s tunes hit all the right buttons, and latest singles, “Red Door” and “Conversation Place” continue her stellar work as a premiere modern singer/songwriter.
She was just at House of Vans last night, June 19th. She’ll be opening for Bon Iver and Lord Huron at Summerfest in Milwaukee next Saturday, June 29th. Tix are $58.50 and up.
Another Sky
Life Was Coming In Through The Blinds EP
The genderless voice of Catrin Vincent grabs your ears and just won’t let go, making Another Sky’s Life Was Coming In Through The Blinds one of the week’s most interesting releases. The English, Goldsmith University, products are slowly making a name for themselves with their second EP, which hopefully garners them enough attention for a stateside run.
Vagabon
Flood Hands
Laetitia Tamko’s latest tune as Vagabon continues her excellent tenure as an electro folk pioneer. “Flood Hands”is a sweeping epic of a single, the first off her sophomore full-length, All the Woman in Me.
She is opening for Angel Olsen at The Riv on November 14th. Tix are $32.50.