Chicago Music

Soma Sound

Soma Sound is making significantly better psychadelic jam rock than normal. I usually hate this genre, but I found myself listening to this for a long time without complaining. I do wish that the track on their BandCamp called “15 Minute Ride” were fifteen minutes long though. It comes up short at ten minutes and forty seconds. It’s a live track though, which is probably why I liked it more. This kind of music is always better live than recorded and over produced. Jam bands are meant for playing shows. I would actually probably like the genre way more if every single recording from every psychedelic rock or jam band were live.

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Verma - 'Unending Night'

Ethereal yet unyieldingly heavy, this track from Chicago's genre-crossing outfit Verma sounds like shoegaze pinned down by a million lead bullets at once. Check them out at the Hideout on the 21st.

&amp;amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://verma.bandcamp.com/track/unending-night&amp;amp;quot;">http://verma.bandcamp.com/track/unending-night&amp;amp;quot;</a> href=&amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://verma.bandcamp.com/track/unending-night&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;Unending">http://verma.bandcamp.com/track/unending-night&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;...</a> Night by VERMA&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Russian Circles

I don’t normally write about really heavy bands, nor bands with 34,000 fans on Facebook, but I just discovered Russian Circles. Sometimes you just need something loud and constant. This band delivers.

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The Dogs

Beauty! Individualism! Surprise!

The Dogs don’t have to move, speak, or do anything. That’s what camping is about, and those are the basis of the lyrics to their song, “We Don’t Have To Do Anything” from their album Camping. I must say, I love camping for exactly those reasons. Go out into the woods and do whatever you want. Don’t do anything you don’t want to. Listen to The Dogs, but only if you want to, though they would make for a wonderful soundtrack of freedom and liberation.

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New Year's Eve Show Roundup

Ring in 2012 with great live music

I guess it's that time of year again--the time when it ends and people celebrate the numerical divisions of time by going out, drinking too much, and watching brightly lit objects drop from a high place to a low place. If you're like me and huge crowds make you want to eat your own esophagus, you probably skipped out on heading to New York City this New Year's Eve. Thankfully, the Windy City has about as much to offer us in the ways of year-end jubilations as the Big Apple. And why not wring in 2012 with a killer soundtrack, enjoying some of the best live acts the city has to offer? Here's what we're scoping out for the eve this year.

Arctic Sleep - 'Hemlock Shadows'

Arctic Sleep's third release combines elements of post-rock, space rock, and stoner doom metal to construct something of a journal of the end of days. This mellow cut from Earth to Earth reminds me equally of Mogwai, Hum, and The Angels of Light.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://arcticsleep.bandcamp.com/track/hemlock-shadows&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;">http://arcticsleep.bandcamp.com/track/hemlock-shadows&amp;amp;amp;amp;am...</a> href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://arcticsleep.bandcamp.com/track/hemlock-shadows&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Hemlock">http://arcticsleep.bandcamp.com/track/hemlock-shadows&amp;amp;amp;amp;am...</a> Shadows by Arctic Sleep&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Whales

Whales is a rock band. There’s no other way to say it. This four piece band uses all the standard instruments and makes straight to the point rock and roll. This is not an insult. These folks are doing rock and roll very well.

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Mars Argo - 'Please Don't Forget Me'

This Chicago electro-pop duo is getting into the holiday spirit with a brand new Christmas single. Jingly, shiny, and almost irresponsibly cute, Mars Argo's take on the children's Christmas song "Please Don't Forget Me" ought to get you in the mood as we close in on the big day.

&amp;amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=&amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://marsargo.bandcamp.com/album/please-dont-forget-me-ep&amp;amp;quot;">http://marsargo.bandcamp.com/album/please-dont-forget-me-ep&amp;amp;quot;</a> href=&amp;amp;quot;<a href="http://marsargo.bandcamp.com/album/please-dont-forget-me-ep&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;Please">http://marsargo.bandcamp.com/album/please-dont-forget-me-ep&amp;amp;quot...</a> Don&amp;amp;#39;t Forget Me EP by Mars Argo&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Windbreaker

Need some sick electronic music? Then check out Windbreaker! It’s the newest project from Nick Reed of Lazer Crystal. I probably like this stuff way more than Lazer Crystal, and maybe you will too. People from all over the world have been commenting on his tracks on Soundcloud and telling him how great his songs are.

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L’éternèbre

L’éternèbre is a two piece improvisational experiment currently floating around the Chicago sound scene. The biography on their facebook is most definitely the perfect thing to read while listening to their abstract synth-based drones. Among many other notable snippets, their biography includes the totally tripped out observation of a fish tank includes the phrase “ghostly waves rise ad infinitum in the microscopic space between the water and the glass.”