The pandemic has constricted all our worlds—especially in its early months, I rarely went past my apartment’s front door. It’s been enough to make me want to scream, and Chicago multi-instrumentalist Juan Diego Bustillos reached that point at the end of 2021. “I’d been having a really shitty year,” he says. “In January, a really […]

The post Sometimes the best thing to do is scream appeared first on Chicago Reader.

When my colleague Leor Galil looked back on 2021, he said he’d listened to 750 new-to-him releases that year. I won’t pretend to be in his league, but in 2021 I did have a clear favorite album—not a common thing for me—and I figure it’s never too late to share.   The duo Raja Kirik, based […]

The post Raja Kirik refit a subversive Javanese trance tradition for modern uprisings appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Over the past few years, Nate Barksdale has become one of my favorite emerging Chicago soul artists. His releases tend to arrive in clusters, and so far this year they include a handful of singles and the late-January full-length The Colors I’ve Never Seen, a collaboration with Canadian producer Chong Wizard. The producer’s label, Chong […]

The post Soul man Nate Barksdale makes disciplined songs that can help you relax appeared first on Chicago Reader.

I still often think about Atom & His Package, the one-man, one-sequencer band that charmed and annoyed the U.S. punk scene from 1996 till 2003—that is, mostly before I knew how to find my way into that world. I love the novelty factor of the act: bespectacled Philadelphia punk Adam “Atom” Goren would yelp over […]

The post Atom & His Package tweaked the punk scene where it counts appeared first on Chicago Reader.

My nightly TikTok binge was going as it normally would. I swiped through comedic videos made by couples; calming videos of people recounting their day as they clean their homes, shop, and go out to eat; and other videos of people dancing to dancehall, soca, and Afrobeats music. When I was new to the app, […]

The post Ebony’s first and only album still Reigns appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini are better known from the Kids in the Hall than for their 80s queercore band, but the lead single from their retrospective compilation is no joke.

The post Mouth Congress confront anti-abortion violence and bigotry in “The People Have Spoken” appeared first on Chicago Reader.

I can’t tell you precisely how I came across URBN DK, but I’ve thought of them often since I first felt the creeping dread of “World Gone Crazy,” off the Chicagoland punk band’s 1982 self-titled seven-inch. URBN DK were hardly the only local punks to saturate their music with depravity—Deerfield’s the Mentally Ill, for instance, […]

The post The most disturbing punk song that ever came from Waukegan appeared first on Chicago Reader.

I’ve been hyperaware of my body lately, which I realize sounds insane. How could I possibly not be aware of it? I’m living in it! And I would answer: Have you ever found a tick on the back of your neck? How long has he been there? How much of your blood has he removed? […]

The post Finding solace in Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Every October I go hunting for music that captures the Halloween spirit. Chicago has no shortage of options, but today I’m sharing a find from Saint Louis. Postpunk trio Trauma Harness summon the creeping dread and giddy fun of horror stories with cavernous bass lines, foreboding laughter, and sheaths of echoing guitar effects. The playfully […]

The post Saint Louis postpunks Trauma Harness invite you to their “Bat Barn” appeared first on Chicago Reader.

All music worth listening to reveals more about itself with repeat listens, and sometimes our interpretation of it changes with time and our own growth. This is true for albums that lay out what they’re about as though they had a sandwich board for cover art, and it’s doubly so for albums full of intriguing […]

The post Adia Victoria’s bluesy new <i>A Southern Gothic</i> begs for repeat listens appeared first on Chicago Reader.

In 2005, I was working in Los Angeles for a few weeks on an outdoor collaborative project with an art group called Temporary Services that I was part of at the time. We were gathering materials and building structures on a vacant lot in Echo Park, across the street from a branch of the Los […]

The post Okay’s best song balances sunny and sinister appeared first on Chicago Reader.

On Tuesday, September 14, my friend James Kennedy publishes his second novel, a sci-fi thriller called Dare to Know. (His first, the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish, was reviewed in the Reader in 2008.) I’m not going to attempt to rate the new book, because I’ve destroyed my credibility on that front by admitting […]

The post Kampala-based producer Slikback soundtracks the death algorithm appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins this evening, and for the second year in a row I have to figure out plans that stay within my pandemic comfort zone. That means forgoing anything resembling a large celebratory dinner full of friends, their relatives, and strangers whose vaccination status is unknown to me. As I […]

The post A song for our second pandemic Rosh Hashanah appeared first on Chicago Reader.

I was walking through Fulton Market on my way home from a work event a few weeks ago when “Yes, I Know” floated out into the summer air from the PA of a nearby restaurant. The song appears on Jiaolong, the 2012 full-length debut of Daphni, a dance-music project by Dan Snaith of Caribou. It’s […]

The post Buddy Miles wrings every drop of emotion from “The Segment” appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Joan Armatrading isn’t always recognized here in the States with the same kind of accolades that she receives in her native England, but her new album, Consequences (released in June on BMG), showcases her seasoned voice and songwriting skills in a way that should convert some more Americans.  Armatrading played her first concert at age […]

The post Joan Armatrading had a pandemic plan in 1980 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Qari’s new solo EP IGOTPROBLEMS emphasizes his soulful melodicism.

The post Nuanced Chicago rapper Qari drops a rare solo release appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The new album from pioneering Gothenburg death-metal band At the Gates confronts the absurdity of existence.

The post At the Gates’ The Nightmare of Being confronts the tragedy of being alive appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Steel Pole Bath Tub made lurid, thrilling, messy noise rock that didn’t sound quite like anybody else.

The post Flowers for an unsung casualty of the post-Nirvana feeding frenzy appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Chicago label Parlour Tapes recently released four experimental solo cassettes from its four founders.

The post Parlour Tapes shares the music of the future on a format from the past appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Kuwaiti conceptual artist and composer Fatima Al Qadiri merges traditional Arabic poetry and futuristic electronics on her new album.

The post Fatima Al Qadiri creates a contemplative space outside history with Medieval Femme appeared first on Chicago Reader.

If four-on-the-floor club music doesn’t move you, try Dengue Dengue Dengue’s omnivorous tropical fusion.

The post Dengue Dengue Dengue create humid beats for the techno averse appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Sugar Pie DeSanto’s seven-decade career has included touring with James Brown, writing for Chess Records, and recording the 1966 hit “In the Basement” with Etta James.

The post Sugar Pie DeSanto brings her unbreakable AAPI spirit to soul music appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Ten years ago, Heccra collided emo, metalcore, and electronics—and today his music is finding a legacy.

The post A Chicagoland emo obscurity resurfaces to influence the genre’s fifth wave appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Hollering along with Bad Noids’ punk rock is more fun than arguing with COVID deniers—and it’ll probably do more good.

The post Bad Noids give you something non-terrible to scream about appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Original copies of Me & E’s Rap have sold for hundreds of dollars, but Canadian archival label Mixed Signals is about to burst that bubble.

The post A barely documented 1989 Chicago rap record gets a surprise reissue appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Revisiting an old favorite by Sam Mangwana’s 80s band Tiers Monde Cooperation

The post A slice of sunshiny soukous for spring appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Fifty-six freely downloadable in-store tapes hosted by the Internet Archive include the soundtracks of 30-year-old Bluelight Specials.

The post Attention Kmart shoppers appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Jazzy Copenhagen psychedelic group Mythic Sunship rewrite their instrumental language once again.

The post Mythic Sunship’s new Wildfire feels as untamed and alive as spring appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Ezra Furman’s soundtrack for Netflix’s Sex Education provides coming-of-age anthems for all stages of life.

The post Ezra Furman scores life’s uncertainties on Sex Education appeared first on Chicago Reader.

OK Cool write oddly inspiring songs about having a hard time being alive.

The post Chicago emo duo OK Cool are not OK appeared first on Chicago Reader.

A year after the death of pioneering Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, a posthumous album highlights his work with younger generations.

The post Tony Allen, Skepta, and Ben Okri become one with the universe on ‘Cosmosis’ appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Catherine Ringer’s famous duo, Les Rita Mitsouko, are no more—but she performed their punky, jazzy synth-pop songs for a recent live release.

The post Catherine Ringer keeps Les Rita Mitsouko’s music alive appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The new album from Austin “supergroup” USA/Mexico is the musical antidote to consciousness.

The post Time to dissolve your brain with ridiculous noise rock appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Dale Jenkins’s 1985 oddity was released last week in an expanded version by Spanish label Guerssen and Chicago-based label Got Kinda Lost.

The post Dale Jenkins’s private-press postpunk finally gets a proper reissue appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Written shortly after Nixon’s resignation, James Brown’s “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” speaks to today’s political corruption too.

The post James Brown’s “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” is unfortunately relevant again appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Rowdy UK postpunk band Black Country, New Road dropped their eagerly awaited debut album on Friday.

The post Black Country, New Road bring the heat to the polar vortex appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Sometimes you learn more from a machine when it stops working.

The post This carousel calliope has a message for you—and you’re not going to like it appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Monster Mike’s new video, by local crew New Trash, may be your only chance to see a rapper duel a cetacean with katanas.

The post Chicago rapper Monster Mike takes on the porpoise police appeared first on Chicago Reader.

On the new Celestial Tyrant, Sacramento metal Battle Hag look to Greek mythology for a story of renewal.

The post Battle Hag capture the sound of an ascent from the underworld appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The letter “Q” may be ruined, but the conspiracy can’t have Quarterflash.

The post Q: What do you listen to for self-care? A: Saxophone rock from 1981 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Did 2020 set the bar low enough that it’s safe to hope this year will be better?

The post A music poll to start 2021 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

A new two-disc compilation from Angry Peasants hopes to help “save CIVL-zation.”

The post A new Chicago punk and metal compilation benefits local music venues appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Neptunian Maximalism’s recent triple album, Éons, imagines a future Earth dominated by hyperintelligent elephants.

The post Neptunian Maximalism deliver a funeral rite for the human species appeared first on Chicago Reader.

“Fall Apart” will appear on Daniel Knox’s next album, Won’t You Take Me With You, which is due in January.

The post Daniel Knox’s new single holds up a mirror to a year of unraveling appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Chicago singer-songwriter Ian Iversen does his part to redeem Christmas music with the cheeky retro new wave of “Santa.”

The post Fringe Christmas music is the best Christmas music appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Delia Derbyshire is most famous for her 1963 arrangement of the Doctor Who theme, but she composed her own pieces for more than 200 radio and TV shows.

The post Delia Derbyshire Day celebrates a pioneer of electronic music appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Philadelphia has been in the news a lot lately, and some of the reasons are way better than Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

The post Tierra Whack embodies Philly’s transformative party energy appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Mardi Gras Indian troupe 79rs gang play music for staying loud in the streets.

The post Make some joyful noise with 79rs Gang appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Chicago bedroom-pop songwriter Serena Isioma can give your brain a 15-minute vacation with the Sensitive EP.

The post Serena Isioma has an antidote for election anxiety appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Everything else may suck in 2020, but the Damned are as much fun as ever on their new EP.

The post The feel-good music of the Damned appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Tift Merritt’s “Trouble Over Me” isn’t exactly about love, but its emotional ambiguity is what makes it so relatable.

The post Eighteen years ago, Tift Merritt made an almost perfect country song appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Secret Drum Band’s latest record makes a wordless case for environmentalism and antifascism.

The post Secret Drum Band build their beats as an act of collective strength appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Is there a better place to find a pseudonymous hardcore song than a low-budget 80s zombie movie?

The post The mystery punk from The Dead Next Door appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Gillette and 20 Fingers hit “Short Dick Man” taps into a universal truth: pissing off jerks by insulting their penises is fun.

The post In 1995, Gillette and 20 Fingers were the rulers of the dance floor appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Flying Nun Records has revived Straitjacket Fits' catalog, giving the band a second chance at the huge audience they deserved.

The post Rediscovering New Zealand shoulda-beens Straitjacket Fits appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Sixteen years after Karate’s final studio release, the band’s influential music—which blends emo, slowcore, and jazz—is entirely out of print.

The post Why isn’t anyone reissuing Karate records? appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Take it from her roommate, who hears every note.

The post Amira Jazeera’s dreamy pop makes a perfect quarantine soundtrack appeared first on Chicago Reader.

New Zealand metal trio Ulcerate look into the face of tragedy through a beautifully constructed, unrelentingly dark haze.

The post Ulcerate confront the inevitably of death and tragedy on their latest album appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Despite the pandemic and an apartment fire, local punk trio Aweful have managed to create and release an infectiously fun new video.

The post Aweful keep their chins up while everything breaks down appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The Afro-Brazilian grooves on Bixiga 70’s Quebra Cabeça could get your feet moving on a mortuary slab.

The post São Paulo big band Bixiga 70 cook up a life-giving brew appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Kendrick Lamar was nine years old when Japanese stoner-metal freaks Greenmachine named their debut album D.A.M.N.

The post Greenmachine reissue a sludgy, noisy cult favorite appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Remembering Mexican Werewolf front man Rick Linus through his band’s last album

The post Mexican Werewolf front man Rick Linus helped Chicago metal feel like a family appeared first on Chicago Reader.

The late-80s solo project of UK songwriter Harvey Williams still resonates with indie-pop misanthropes.

The post Another Sunny Day wrote a theme song for the disillusioned appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Portuguese collective HHY & the Macumbas release a live album that captures their entrancing flood of percussion, brass, and “skull cave echo.”

The post HHY & the Macumbas soundtrack the bonfire at the end of the world appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Hyperactive Kansas City punk act Silicone Prairie recently released an EP that includes a cover of notorious Chicago band the Mentally Ill.

The post Silicone Prairie sound like new wave played at the wrong speed appeared first on Chicago Reader.