Music Top 5: March 2021
Outstanding new album releases by stellar Chicago artists, available now.
Hip-Hop Symphony: A Review of Greenlights Music’s “The Art of Poise”
The collective’s lines and rhymes are so dense, it’s hard to parse the language on even one composition, and that’s to the ensemble’s credit.
Ardor for Community: Last Word Quintet’s Album Release Gig Doubles as a Club Benefit
The similarity in vocalist Al Day and poet Marc Kelly Smith’s voices gives an illusion of hearing two competing strands of the same restless consciousness.
Heavy Meta: Daniel Knox Goes Beyond the Concept Album
Knox is charting an emotional and aesthetic landscape across his recorded output. He’s playing a very long game, one that—with this new album—has begun to pay off.
On the Virtual Road: Todd Rundgren Plays a Multi-City Tour—Entirely from Chicago
“We’re fooling ourselves as much as we’re fooling the audience,” Rundgren says with a smile. “We’re self-hypnotizing that we’re in that town… Buffalo or Indianapolis or San Diego.”
The Idea of the Blues: It’s Time for Chicago to Capitalize on the Heritage that Changed the Course of Music
No city has better music stories to tell than Chicago.
Music Top 5: February 2021
Outstanding new album releases by stellar Chicago artists, available now.
Psychedelicacy: A Review of Reality Anonymous’ “The Ghost Host, Vol. 1”
Lyn Vaus’ vocals, the rich layers of instrumentation and throwback sounds transport us to a groovy sixties cellar, with an off-kilter Jim Morrison (pre-leather trousers) at the mic.
Eclectic Charge: A Review of Origin of Animal’s “Confined to Infinite Space”
The title of the band’s new studio album, “Confined to Infinite Space,” is an apt description of how it views the lockdown: as more opportunity than handicap.
Legacy and Loss: Looking Back On, And Forward with, Emily Blue
Blue’s solo purview for the past three years has been synthetic electropop, danceable at its core, with lyrics that perfectly exhibit her sense of humor, sensuality and intelligence.
