On Our Radar: Baby Teeth Thieves

The second group of thieves to be appreciated by Chicago’s Independent Review are kindred spirits to Andrew Bird – their vocal melodies do not immediately pop out at you, but upon multiple listens you will find some hidden hook-nuggets, but, like Bird does so successfully, they are not fully formed phrases – but worms diving in and out of the dirt, staying away from a hawk, or, ha! a thief.

I won’t be content to push them into a pop corner – their use of staccato violins and strings make Baby Teeth Thieves that 7 foot guy standing in front of you at every show…they’re bobbing their head and you can’t get it out of your sight.

BTH tease you with counter melody from all angles, violins and cellos do more than fill the space in these tunes, they make the songs what they are. The esoteric recordings can be appreciated by those with a true ear and the organic quality of this band is sure to last with you long after you’ve closed your laptop, car doors, or taken your headphones out. Give them an introspective listen and your heart will never forget it.

This band hails from Nashville and will be playing dates in the area soon, so stay tuned here for an announcement.

Review Recommends: The Biggest Backyard and I think your a bird brain

Baby Teeth Thieves

7 Leaf Clover – Clover Sky

Well, there’s good rap music (see Keith Masters) and then there’s this…if you took as many cliches as you could and shoved them into a song, then this is what you would come up with. A repetitive beat, highly uninspired lyrics (I spit sick shit, and I got a thick f**kin dick) coming from self referential white guys has already grabbed America by the collar, but it no longer has any power or influence this day in age. Its not about being white or black, but its about being talented and really taking your time and killing it lyrically and in your music. Next time, take a listen to the most talented artists in the game, take what they do and put your own spin on it. There is some inspiration in the sounds, although the beats could be sampled cleaner, and really pushed to the front of the mix. Keep at it fellas, you’ll get there eventually. Stop by and take a listen to “Slow Down” – its a string heavy take on urban America.

www.myspace.com/seven7leafclover

Sugar Pusher – Get Out of Here, Matt’s Song, Kisses Review

Sugar Pusher, not to be confused with the much darker and decidedly more underground Squarepusher, is a sugary sweet pop band, complete with multi layered vocals and a very high quality recording that is caught between wanting to sound “live” and wanting to sound polished. According to their soon to be completed website, they are bouyed by some of Chicago’s top talent, and the musicianship is apparent on the majority of the songs. Take the time to listen to the Randy Jackson-esque (yes, of American Idol fame – for those of you who don’t know, let me educate you – he is a ruler in the land of bass) bass line in Get Out of Here. Matt’s Song is a No Doubt song, circa 1998 that’s landed in my headphones – Gwen Stefani has a step up on Lauren Ritchie, but not a large one. As far as pop music goes, I have to say that I haven’t heard any that compares as of yet, but then again, a lot of pop music would not consider itself independent. Although slick, I think Sugar Pusher could use a shove more in the direction of danceable tunes – they are playing in limbo – between an almost pop record and an almost rock record, but they aren’t landing a punch in either place.

www.sugarpusher.net

Company of Thieves – Double Door Review

I do my best to keep this site focused on taking relatively unknown music, distilling it through my words and experiences, and then presenting it to an audience that would have not otherwise listened to said tunes had it not been for a notable “review” from yours truly (wink-smile-’tinkle sound’). On a whim this past Thursday I went to Double Door and saw Chicago’s new favorite sons – and daughter: Company of Thieves. Having recently been signed to Wind-up Records, they have risen above the likes of this humble blog, but I feel that they deserve some hometown love, and I also think that this band presents truly independent music – independent of genre, of comparison, of pigeon-holing, and on this particular night, of all the other bands on the bill. The Thieves have been on a success escalator (sucesscalator?) since first I saw their lead guitarist, Marc and their lead singer, Genevieve perform at the Uncommon Ground on Addison and Clark a few years prior. After that, I caught an acoustic set at Schuba’s – where wonderfully, I recalled Marc and Genevieve talking about how scared they were to perform together for the first time at the Uncommon Ground.

They aren’t nervous anymore. The swagger and absolute confidence radiating from the band was awe inspiring. It’s as if a rock band got confused and started playing caberet, but then as they played the first few notes of caberet, decided it wasn’t funky enough, and started playing bass heavy Billie Jean-like riffs – but then, in decidely unbandlike fashion, turned the guitar down, and allowed the feathery folk stylings shine through, all while jumping, dancing and powerfully uplifting their audience to highs previously unknown. The bottom line is that Company of Thieves aren’t a carbon copy of someone else – their music doesn’t sound like Coldplay, it isn’t similar to Radiohead, there aren’t any Disturbed references, no Jason Mraz present here – their particular form of thievery, much like John Lennon has said before, is taking something they enjoy and throwing the piece through their own compacter – the chords might be the same, but the way the Thieves play them are much different. For a band with only one guitar, a bass, a drummer and a singer – they play better and are more interesting than most 5 or 6 piece ensembles playing on any other night of the week.

I’ve considered myself lucky to be part of some great shows in the Chicago-land area, and I like to think that I know what I’m talking about when I say these guys are the real deal – prepare yourself to hear alot about them in the upcoming years.

Company of Thieves

Iron Vein – Citizen Review

More rock! More metal! February is turning into Metal Month for the review! Another hard rocking band, Iron Vein, or more affectionately, the “main vein”, (wink wink/childish snickers) – is cock rock at its (almost) finest. Pinched, soaring vocals and a Toolesque stomp near the end of the song make an otherwise typical melody instantaneously more enjoyable. Although not as hardcore as From the Broken, Iron Vein holds its own in the metal genre. Despite my wanting to call them a more serious Tenacious D, they are toeing the “we take ourselves much too seriously” line. Here’s a six pack that says they fall the right way and end up causing you to defecate yourself at their many upcoming shows, one of which is for the Rockstar Mafia CD at the Elbo Room. ReVenge, on the other hand, does itself right and lends itself as a perfect soundtrack to the uber alpha male fight match, otherwise called the MMA – being hosted in Kenosha, Wisconsin at Marina Shores – visit their Myspace and get yourself hyped up for a death match.

www.myspace.com/ironveinrocks

Blah Blah Blah Music Review

Take note Killers, Blah Blah Blah are on your heels. With glam rock vocals, a slamming rhythm section and enough oooohs, ahhhs, and moans to make you feel funny in your pants Blah Blah Blah has something special that I haven’t heard in the Chicago scene as of yet. Their drummer, especially in “Why am I the Only One laughing” goes from straight up rock drumming, to a techno influenced kick, snare, hi-hat club banger, except without the club, or the banging really – the drums sit fairly low in the mix. A nice pad introduction in “They Don’t Dance” along with a constant four to the floor kick speeds up an otherwise boring beginning to a song. Blah Blah Blah has a great name, a pretty decent sound, but could use a sexual kick in the ass – they create music that could easily be dancey and interesting, but instead feels a bit impotent. They could really pound out songs and make you feel them, but the mixes don’t really pump, and the tunes don’t really vary much. I want some love makin’ music from you guys, so please deliver -my girlfriend’s waiting…Catch them February 26th at Betty’s Blue Star Lounge located on Grand and Ashland.

www.myspace.com/blahblahblahchicago

Blue Island Bridge Review

After I got past the initial recording quality, although, to be fair, I believe it is the myspace page that’s to blame, I found the interesting sound of Blue Island Bridge. The sound is heavily influence by Pink Floyd, analog synths abound, guitar breaks, pianos and Beach Boys-ish harmonies. It’s a very interesting hearkening back to a time when sounds were truly furnished and created, instead of sampled from a computer. Having said that, this music, this type of music has been done before – and has been championed by other bands who weren’t afraid to really push the line and challenge the listener to enjoy a pure creation, whereas Blue Island Bridge is rehashing a sound that has already been perfected. My recommendation would be to push yourselves as musicians and yank yourself out of this particular genre – take a listen to some more recent recordings, then mash up your vintage sound with some newer techniques – this would create a really special band, instead of just another Floyd sounding band. All the players in Blue Island Bridge sound like accomplished and talented musicians, we’re just waiting for them to push themselves a little bit further toward the edge, fall off, and immerse themselves in the beauty of a new sound.

http://www.myspace.com/blueislandbridge

the Green Dome – Jungle, Against the Wall, Funktion Review

To put it aptly, this is solid, funky music with a twist. Whenever you expect a right turn, the Green Dome gives you a left. In “Jungle” they chug along with a 16th note beat that choppily pushes the tune forward until the melodic breakdown, led by a metal toned riff created to sear into your memory.

“Against the Wall” rocks your face off in the opening bars, and continues in this fashion until all you have left is a Skeletor looking abscess, with eyeballs, but no discernible features, or skin, to speak of. It isn’t until midway through the tune that you start to restore your facial expressions to their normal, well toned features – and then they tear it off again.

Funktion is pretty much what you would think. A bass heavy, ode to the 70’s – the guitar and bass provide the “funk” while the drums do their own thing, all leading to another metal sounding lead – I’ll tell you what – the Dome shreds – they remind me of a jam band that got a contract with the NFL, spent 7 years getting pounded, and then came out as a clairvoyant, ripping and rocking jazz styled rhythm fused with the intensity and grandiosity of a metal band.

www.myspace.com/thegreendomechicago

Chicago’s Independent Music Review on Chicago’s Best Blogs!

We are proud to announce that Chicago’s Independent Music Review has been added as one of Chicago’s Best Blogs! See the link below:

http://www.chicagosbestblogs.com/artsandculture.html

The Hudson Branch EP

The Hudson Branch writes odes to regret-laden love. Their singer’s restrained; sometimes cracking tenor is very good at reflecting the utter sadness that permeates their music. Like Ben Gibbard and Conor Oberst before them, The Hudson Branch uses a combination of a catchy melody and a well written line or two to their absolute advantage: “between the windshield and the wiper, where I’ll be pinned”. Ryan Adams’s ghost can be heard in the songwriting, with references to rivers, drowning, and wind all mentioned within two lyrics.

The EP is down tempo and pretty – there are echoes of Coldplay, and on Did They Really Care, a Radioheadish squealing, delay swirling intro. The low end plays it safe, staying in the box (for the most part) and following the melody almost note for note. They are a radio ready soft rock band born from the downtempo, delayed- guitar heavy trio of U2, Coldplay and (early) Radiohead. They also have a nice, tasteful affinity for horns, which makes me believe they can come up with more interesting arrangements than shown here. It seems to me they want to be a truly sorrowful rock band (see Stars) – but lack the power in the guitars and the slamming drums to do it.

I say after this EP, turn the amps up to 11, dust off those distortion pedals and put the piano in the corner – put some real oomph behind those rain cloud lyrics and we’ll be in for something special. None the less, it is still a wonderful EP. Listen to it during a short rainfall in Autumn, when the weather just starts creeping below 50.