Music We Missed Part 2

We combed even deeper into the time we were on hiatus and found a few more excellent projects to share. Make sure to click on the title links to find the album on bandcamp, and give these artists your support and hard earned green backs.

⬐Make sure to click on the playlist button to listen to selections from these records. ⬎

Aitis Band
Aitis Band 2
Self Release
May 1st

We missed this one back in the spring, but wanted to make sure Aitis Band is on everyone's radar. No joke, they are one of the most interesting live acts in Chicago. Melina Ausikaitis stringless guitar is revelatory and their post-everything aesthetic is a welcome reprieve from the standard.

Wreath Of Hogs 
Green House, Green Couch
Self Release
Sept. 12th

With another EP this week, Wreath Of Hogs has used the off time to get down some killer tunes. Their debut full length is an excellent exercise in catchy indie rock hooks and Chicago feels. Andrew Rolfston weaves tales of a realistic life in the city that will surely make more than a few yearn for pre-pandemic times.

Wilmette 
Wilmette 
Mutant League Records
Sept. 25th

Where else does emo punk flourish but the suburbs? Small Northwest suburb Sleepy Hollow (yes that is actually its name), has given birth to screamy, crunchy emo act, Wilmette. With their third EP in three years they’ve sharpened their sound and talents to a finely pointed sonic attack.

Famous Friends,
Elton Aura, Made.Allayne 
Black Stories
Self Release
Oct. 2nd 

Required listening from two underground valued voices. Hip-hop for the masses to understand and learn. More accessible than most of the more experimental hip-hop we report on, Elton Aura and Made.Allayne have crafted six tracks of low down beats and powerful thoughts.

Dustin Laurenzi’s
Natural Language 
A Time and a Place
Woolgathering Records
Oct. 6th

One of the masters of cool nu-jazz, Twin Talk sax man Dustin Laurenzi’s second record working with the Natural Language Ensemble is everything you would come to expect. Swirling currents of notes taking you on spectral chords of beats into the stratosphere.

Slow Pulp 
Moveys
Winspear
Oct. 9th

A proper full length debut from one of Chicago’s strongest up and comers. Engineered and partially recorded after Corona hit, it's a wonder Moveys made it out this year. A testament to one bands perseverance, and the power of music to transcend the everyday.

Dogs At Large 
Jeopardy
Self Release
Oct. 9th

Sam Pirruccello is one of those artists that just keeps producing pandemic or no. With a new album that dropped last Friday, and this fall classic, there is no stopping the bemused songwriter and his jangle indie pop compatriots.

The Cell Phones
Battery Lower
Don’t Panic Records
Oct. 29th

Pulse pounding proto punk from this bass/drums/vocals trio that has been around the scene for over a decade. After taking some time off producing new life (i.e. singer Lindsey Charles gave birth!), they have returned to scorch the earth with their low end decimation.

Knox Fortune
Stock Child Wonder
Knox Fortune and
Nice Work
Oct. 30th

This crafter of catchy alt-R&B jams may have ran off to NYC but Chicago will always be his home. Stretching his palette from striped down Jamiroquai style funk to gorgeous ballads like “Morning Light” with guest Elliott Skinner, Fortune is maturing into a force of his own.

Alayne May
Home is Coming
Self Release
Oct. 30th

A down home country ramble right from the heart of the city, singer/songwriter Alayne May delivers a debut EP that is as beautiful as it is uplifting. We all need music that is comforting right now and May’s songs wrap themselves around you like a close friend’s embrace.

AAVD Trio
Anti Glow
Orb Tapes
Nov. 3rd

Experimental jazz improviser Daniel Van Duerm teams up with drummer Alexander Adams and tenor sax man Danny Andrade for this low key, wonderfully haunting journey that feels like walking through empty city streets at 4am. Recorded live at Elastic Arts in 2017, it’s another potent reminder of the thriving Chicago nu-jazz scene.

Wrong War
Fixed Against Forever
Council Records
Nov. 3rd

Wrong War are pissed off and they want you to know. The quartet of punk scene vets shove this debut full length right down our divided nations gullet. If you love shaking your fist at the system and scream along lyrics, Fixed Against Forever will satisfy your cravings.

Shannon Candy
So Long
Self Release
Nov. 6th

Shannon has graced our pages as a member of Peach Fuzz, Strawberry Jacuzzi, and Bash Bang; but her debut solo record is a true gem. Taking on feminism, relationships, sexual freedom, ignorant assholes, and the general awfulness of living in America in the age of media driven fear. Distortion soaked, humorous, and filled with earworms that just won’t let go, this is one record that will help take the edge of this pandemic winter.

Make sure to check back soon for our Year In Review, on the way in the coming weeks.

If we missed your music please let us know and we will try to fit it in somewhere. Please submit here!