Reviews, profiles and news about music in Chicago

Preview: Dawn Landes & The Hounds/Beat Kitchen

Country folk, Folk, Folk-rock, Pop, Rock, Singer-Songwriter Add comments

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Dawn Landes’ indie-folk, breezy and sweetly assembled, has found its way on various films, television shows and commercials, and for good reason—the middle-of-the-road pop elements keep the songwriter quietly pleasing, and the down-home sitting-on-the-porch personality, which comes through more often than you’d expect, lends Landes some realism. Her new record, “Sweet Heart Rodeo,” bounces between slow-rolling acoustic folk to alt-rock to even harmonica-trickled country and blues, and Landes’ influences remain apparent. (Willie Nelson? Check.) Landes’ husband, songwriter Josh Ritter, enjoys a similar sort of folksy blandness, but with “Sweet Heart Rodeo” she’s able to keep the listener at least remotely interested in what lies just a little further down the road, so to speak. Live, she performs with her backing band, The Hounds, and fans should be grateful, as a major part of Landes’ success is the involvement of the other bits besides her guitar and voice. (Tom Lynch)

February 9 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, (773)281-4444, at 9pm. $10.

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