Reviews, profiles and news about music in Chicago
The Church has embarked on several retrospective projects like its current “Starfish” thirtieth anniversary tour, taking the opportunity to explore its massive back catalog (twenty-five studio albums and counting), but the band has never been one to rest on its reputation.
Dosik’s rich, caramelly, velvet-smooth voice sets off little pings of recognition in your head, like Pop Rocks on your tongue—recalling the golden age of soul crooners like Luther Vandross and Gladys Knight, and even eighties inheritors like Boy George and Lisa Stanfield.
Dead Sara is one of the best rock bands you’re not listening to. Its raging music is infectious, filled with searing guitar riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Emily Armstrong is an unforgettable frontwoman, whose gritty vocals have earned praise from Grace Slick and Courtney Love.
Wilcox’s latest album, “The View from the Edge,” reflect the laid-back vibe of Western North Carolina. Wilcox says that living in the mountains influences the kind of songs he writes. “Because there’s no music industry here,” he explains, “you’re there to play for the people, not the industry.”
When Fantastic Negrito emerged onto the music scene in 2015, he looked to all the world like a new, emerging artist. In fact the man born Xavier Dphrepaulezz—winner of that year’s Tiny Desk Contest for his song and video “Lost in a Crowd,” which showcase a sound that builds upon the blues, but didn’t conform to most people’s ideas about what blues should sound like—had been making music for quite a few years.
The band has become a critical darling with the release of its latest release, “Twin Fantasy (Face to Face),” a complete rerecording of an earlier cult-favorite album;
Touring his final Childish Gambino album—and on the wave of his viral music video “This Is America,” a commentary on race and gun politics—Donald Glover leads the wave of must-see acts in Chicago this month.
This fall don’t miss these upcoming shows.
These days the group functions more as a legacy/nostalgia act than a creative going concern, but there’s not a thing in the world wrong with that.
