Dig ‘in: Kills Birds, Poster Children, Green
INCOMING
Kills Birds - Married (Royal Mountain/KRO Records LP)
Nina Ljeti describes her life as coping under a perpetual state of anxiety. With her family having fled Bosnia when she was 14 months old before receiving asylum to settle in Canada, Ljeti has never quite been able to cultivate a sense of home or trust. A budding filmmaking career led her to depart New York for Los Angeles where she crossed paths with guitarist Jacob Loeb, who had also recently relocated from Chicago for acting work. The superficial aspects of tinsel town proved even more alienating for the duo who found an emotional outlet composing songs together that eventually coalesced into Kills Birds. Their self-titled debut in 2019 was a shot across the bow to the staid music they observed happening around them. Married is an extension of the same impulse with emotions running raw and souls laid bare. But the pandemic pause also served as a time for self-reflection for band members and the album displays a more subtle nuance and guarded optimism. Creating music again served as great therapy for the group and in a sense we’re all in a better place because of it. - Bruce Novak
Dummy - Mandatory Enjoyment (Trouble In Mind LP)
Mandatory Enjoyment brings together a vast number, and sometimes seemingly disparate, elements for a record that is shape shifting and richly textured throughout. Psychedelic drone, noise distortion, and motorik beats share the same table with new-age synths, ambient interludes and avant-garde flourishes. It’s an amalgamation of sounds that runs the risk of coming across as overly manipulated, but Dummy places their focus on the overall tactile sensation of the music rather than individual elements. There are many surface pleasures to be found on Mandatory Enjoyment while still possessing deeper layers that can be peeled back listen after listen. - Bruce Novak
EggS - Greatest Hits (Prefect Records EP)
Apparently EggS are a band of great mystery. When Prefect Records co-founder Mark Dobson (most notably of The Field Mice) tried to track down the band in their native Paris, he was stymied by their lack of a social media presence and so nearly two years elapsed before he was able to procure an email address that led to a connection. Titling the resulting three song release as the band’s Greatest Hits is a bit of a stretch for a fledging group who’s output previously consisted of a pair of EPs and 7” singles. What’s not in debate is that this is top-shelf material. Frontman Charles (no last name provided, all part of the mystery apparently) provides the ringing guitar jangle to go along with his pleading voice. Keyboards wash over the songs for a majestic effect and the drumming propels things forward with pace and purpose. All of which makes for a promising introduction for a band who hopefully stays in the game for even greater things to come. - Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Dry Cleaning
Where: Empty Bottle / Directions
When: November 16 & 17, 9:30 PM
It’s a bit ironic that Dry Cleaning formed when members Lewis Maynard, Nick Buxton and Tom Dowse met up during a karaoke night, considering they later recruited visual artist Florence Shaw as vocalist, who had no prior band experience and who generally eschews singing in favor of spoken word narrations. Her often non-linear tales emanate from everyday observations and are sometimes fueled by marketing slogans and greetings cards. This stream of consciousness approach lends itself to the band’s unpredictability where phrases and music can turn on a dime. In the wake of hum-drum existence, Dry Cleaning is a like a rip current bringing turbulence and disarray. Give way to their power and keep focused on the horizon. - Bruce Novak
Poster Children
Where: Bottom Lounge / Directions
When: November 26, 7:00 PM
It’s understandable that the level-headed make-up of Rose Marshack and Rick Valentin would compel them to put down roots in central Illinois where their academic and technological pursuits were well enabled in the college think tanks of U of I and ISU, not to mention the affordability component of raising their family in those parts. Thankfully, it has also provided an environment where they can continue to pursue their musical ambitions which started with the formation of Poster Children in 1987. While always harboring activist inclinations, the Trump presidency and resulting erosion of trust and civility provided an additional impetus for the band to return with their first album in nearly a decade and a half with 2018’s Grand Bargain! This show is their only foray out on the road for the year, so be prepared for a no holds barred performance because it takes a lot of clatter to cut through the rest of the noise in the world these days. - Bruce Novak
Rookie
Where: Empty Bottle / Directions
When: November 26 & 27, 9:00 PM
With rock ’n’ roll now having entered its eighth decade of existence, it’s not uncommon but perhaps a bit surprising to come across a contemporary band that’s heavily influenced by the music their parents listened to at a similar age in their youth. After all, wasn’t one of the original tenants of rock to rebel against the music and values typically held by your parents’ generation? When executed properly, this ‘70s revivalism can produce endearing results such as renderings of Philadelphia’s Sheer Mag and in this case, the Chicago outfit Rookie. It definitely helps when your source material is culled from the likes of relatively unappreciated icons such as Dwight Twilley, Gram Parsons and Alex Chilton. Rookie had the unexpected misfortune of releasing its debut record on March 13th of last year, coinciding with the pandemic shutdown in the states. But alas, their music can be heard back in its natural element—on stage, full throttle, bottle in hand. - Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Green - Elaine MacKenzie (Pravda Records LP)
If you acquired Elaine MacKenzie back when it was released in 1987, it was like having your dream record collection come to life and a bit of a crash course of rock ’n’ roll up to that point. The wail of Little Richard, harmonizing of the Miracles, swagger of T.Rex, storytelling of The Kinks and pulse beat of the Buzzcocks distilled into a comprehensive sixteen song pop juggernaut. And while those artists, sans the Buzzcocks, had become broadcasting staples, Green’s eclecticism seemed to play against them despite having a radio-ready sound. Not that the band didn’t already anticipate such a reception, after all on their previous self-titled debut they proclaimed that they just wanted to be “Big in Japan.” Nonetheless, the sting must have been palatable for songwriter Jeff Lescher, who four years later put out an EP with “Bittersweet” as its title track and which also included the wry commentary of “The Record Company Song.” While the band still plays an occasional show around town, it’s their records that continue to carry the day—timeless from the moment that they were pressed into wax. - Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: