Dig ‘in: Naked Raygun, Bnny, Hop Along
Dig ‘in for our Pitchfork 2021 edition with us as we comb through the latest releases that’ve caught our ears, plus the resurrection of a prior, under-appreciated gem, and find out what performances we’re excited to see and hear that are coming to Chicago’s stages.
INCOMING
Naked Raygun - Over the Overlords (Wax Trax! Records LP)
While their audience consists of more chrome domes than finhead youth these days, Naked Raygun still maintain a significant relevance in today’s music climate. Wax Trax, whose Chicago Lincoln Park store served as the epicenter of the Chicago punk scene when it opened in 1978, has partnered with the band for this release with deceased co-founder Jim Nash’s daughter Julia now handling the reigns. The label duly notes that the late bassist Pierre Kezdy appeared on its first release (Strike Under’s Immediate Action) as well as this recording. Over the Overlords is a fitting document to his legacy, and another bygone Chicago music luminary receives a heartfelt tribute in “Ode To Sean McKeough,” heaping praise on the Riot Fest founder who also used the band as inspiration for his All Rise brewery. Despite not releasing an album of original content since 1990’s Raygun…Naked Raygun, the band is in top form, benefitting from semi-regular gigging over the last fifteen years. Vocalist Jeff Pezzati leads the charge; rallying against social injustice in “Living in the Good Times” (which also turns up in an alternative mix from Ministry’s Paul Barker), lamenting unrequited love (“Superheroes”), and pondering the perils of materiality (“Amishes”). While a pervasive sense of loss surrounds this effort, it’s comforting to know that Naked Raygun continue to fight the good fight. “Swing while you can against the undertow,” they call out and what could be anymore life-affirming than that? -Bruce Novak
Bnny - Everything (Fire Talk LP)
You belong to Bnny from the first breath Jess Viscius draws on the band’s debut album Everything. The world-building soundscape carved out by her fellow band mates gives her so much room to work with, but most of the time she’s happy to drift in and out of the frame as you take her hand and descend. The gauziness of her voice as it plays off of the hefty desert bar band guitar licks achieves a stunning effect, maybe most prominent at 0:47 of the song “So Wrong.” This is a Chicago band to pay attention to. - Wade Novak
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir - Marriage License (Electric Muse LP)
With its dual middle finger cover salute, DBAGC announce that they’ll be seen as well as heard. Residing in the conservative South Korean city of Daegu has strengthened the group’s resolve to fight for gender rights (the country doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages) and against sexual exploitation (spurred on by the Nth Room criminal case). Whereas their debut, Keep Drinking, was full of irreverence, Marriage License is more steely-eyed and focused. Perhaps they’re following the course of label mates Say Sue Me whose last record was titled We’ve Sobered Up. While much of the album is voiced in their native tongue, there’s enough snippets of english and general tone-setting to suggest that things are far from OK in the land of K-pop. Song titles like “There is No Spring” and “Hit the Corner” indicate an activist mentality and surging tempos convey an urgency to the band’s messaging. As DBAGC note themselves, they’re holding out hope for a better world, but you better believe that they’re not going to sit back idly waiting for it to just happen. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING (Pitchfork 2021 Edition)
Dogleg
Where: Pitchfork Musical Festival (Red Stage) / Directions
When: September 10 1:45 PM
I’ll go on record in predicting that Dogleg will elicit the greatest emotional crowd release of this year’s Pitchfork Festival. The Detroit Rock City trio utilize a stage like a parkour course; tumbling, flipping and altogether proceeding with reckless abandon. Couple that with high-octane tunes framed by anthemic choruses, and the conditions are ripe for the perfect storm of audience frenzy. Their 2020 aptly-named release, Melee, is delightfully bruising - a true head banger that leaves listeners on the verge of concussion protocol. - Bruce Novak
Hop Along
Where: Pitchfork Musical Festival (Red Stage) / Directions
When: September 10 3:20 PM
Bonus show at Metro September 11 9:00 PM
Hailing from Philadelphia, Hop Along started as a solo freak-folk project by lead singer/main songwriter Frances Quinlan. Their sound has continued to evolve into the realms of indie rock, power pop, folk, and emo across three outstanding albums, most recently releasing Bark Your Head Off, Dog in 2018. Quinlan also released their debut solo album Likewise in January of 2020. Quinlan's lyrics are hyper-personal, and their voice is powerful, expressive, and full of emotion. - Mark Joyner
Waxahatchee
Where: Pitchfork Musical Festival (Green Stage) / Directions
When: September 11 4:15 PM
Waxahatchee is Katie Crutchfield's long-running solo project that rose from the ashes of her seminal pop-punk band P.S. Eliot featuring her twin sister Allison. Waxahatchee's sound has continued to evolve over their five releases from the lo-fi indie punk of American Weekend and Cerulean Salt to alt-indie country of last year's outstanding Saint Cloud. This will be Waxahatchee's first trip to Chicago since Saint Cloud came out last April, expect a set filled with powerful songs from that album that touches on Crutchfield's journey to sobriety. - Mark Joyner
UNCOVERED
Strike Under - Immediate Action (Wax Trax! Records EP)
Immediate Action was the initial release for the then nascent Wax Trax label as it expanded its footprint beyond the seminal Chicago record store. The band was fronted by the Bjorklund brothers (Chris & Steve) on guitar and backed by the rhythm section of Pierre Kezdy and Bob Furem. Although they had a brief existence after forming in 1980, Strike Under provided a template that would come to characterize Chicago punk of that era - muscular drumming, prominent bass, economical guitar work and vocals constructed around repetitive phrases. The opener, “Sunday Night Disorientation,” announces the band’s presence with a sinewy guitar intro, followed by a brief rhythmic flourish before Chis Bjorklund punctures the proceedings with a snarl as he bemoans another day lost to unemployment. “Closing In” alternates between middle eastern textures and staccato guitar interludes and is carried along with a rousing tag team chorus. The original five songs were reissued by Wax Trax in 2020 with versions also containing two live tracks from Strike Under’s first performance. Steve Bjorklund went on to form Breaking Circus and relocate to Minneapolis, while the remaining members morphed into Trail By Fire before Kezdy achieved greater prominence with Naked Raygun. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: