Radio Free Chicago

Album Review: Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain

Sean Bonette and Ben Gallaty are busy guys.  The duo, who perform under the name Andrew Jackson Jihad, both have day jobs in their home town of Phoenix, Arizona, spent a good portion of this summer touring the United States and have just released their tenth studio recording in less than seven* years, Can't Maintain.  Previously relying almost completely on the pairs acoustic guitar and upright bass, Can't Maintain finds the band expanding their sound, from going electric on the first track, "Heartilation," to adding strings and horns, making their sound alot more on the "indie folk" side of things than the "folk punk" we're used to hearing from the fellows.

The Neutral Milk Hotel influence that the band has always had but I never heard before is audible on a vast portion of the cd, from the horn section in "Love Will Fuck Us Apart" to "Truckers Are The Blood," which starts out sounding incredibly similar to the band's recent cover of "Two Headed Boy."  Can't Maintain finds the band at their strangest ("Kazoo Sonata in C Major" is exactly what the track would lead you to believe.) and their most darkly optimistic .  "I have seen the darkest heart of humanity,"  Bonette sings on You Don't Deserve Yourself before insisting "But I believe we are capable of good as well."

Andrew Jackson Jihad - Love In The Time of The Human Papilloma Virus

Free Booze Alert: Vivian Girls @ The Bottle

The peeps over at MyOpenBar are once again looking to get you schlitzed on free Colt 45 this weekend. This time they're offering up the tall boys as an incentive to get you over to the Empty Bottle on a Sunday night to see the vivacious antics of the Vivian Girls. RSVP here to get in the door for just 10 bones, the malty fun commences at 8pm sharp.

Album Review: fun.

It's an interesting thing, reviewing a band's debut album.  You never know what to expect when you start the first track and there's a slight sense of trepidation - Will it be awful?  Will I hate it?  Will I love it? 

fun.'s debut, Aim and Ignite, was nothing what I expected.  Not that I was exactly sure what I expected - Considering I'd heard they were indie pop, I suppose I thought they'd be in the vain of Jason Schwartzman's Coconut Records and knowing of their forthcoming tour with Miniature Tigers, perhaps I was thinking they'd share some of the Tigers' lazy, sunny pop sensibilities.  While that's not completely off base, fun. is a lot grander than any of their peers and sound as if they're on their way of being the Queen of indie music.  Dramatic and energetic, fun. relies on layered vocals, the occasional orchestra, lyrics about girls and is the very definition of power pop.

fun. - Be Calm

AA Bondy Readies New Album, Releases New Track

Langhorne Slim is not the only great alt-country/folk hybrid gentleman releasing a new album this fall. Following up 2007's debut, American Hearts, AA Bondy will be releasing When The Devil's Loose on the first of September. The wonderful title track made the blog rounds earlier in the summer and recently, Bondy has put out another taste of what's to come with the new track "I Can See The Pines Dancing." Slightly slicker than the Bondy we first heard on American Hearts, "I Can See The Pines Dancing" is lackadaisical, smooth and lyrically right in step with the first track Bondy released off his forthcoming album. 

AA Bondy - "I Can See The Pines Dancing"

Album Review: Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs

If you've ever seen Kevin Devine in concert, chances are you've encountered Brian Bonz .  The curly haired scamp to the far right of the stage, beat boxing during "I Could Be With Anyone" and cracking jokes throughout the entire set?  That's Bonz for you. Doing double duty as leader of Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs as well as synth-ing his way into Kevin Devine's Goddamn Band, Brian Bonz is fresh off a solo tour opening for Nightmare of You and has just released his first full length album, From Sumi to Japan.

Full of well composed, accessible indie pop and featuring guest spots from Devine and Brand New front man Jesse Lacey, Brian Bonz delivers an album that's more akin to Broken Social Scene than the Brooklyn crew he hangs out with.  The immediate standout second track, "Judy and the Alpha Queen," is a catchy bit of dreamy, melodic sci-fi pop which might not work on paper but after one listen, it's near guaranteed that you'll find yourself whistling the infectious opening riff. 

Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs - Judy and The Alpha Queen

Jeff Pianki @ Schubas 8/17/09

Unless you have roots in Michigan, chances are you don't know who Jeff Pianki is.  And that's a shame  because he's quite the gem of modern folk and deserves more attention than he's getting.  But everyone has to start somewhere, right?  Pianki, for one, is starting by self-distributing cds and mp3's of his lovely songs and youtube-ing a buzzworthy cover of Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal. 

He seems like the archetypal sensitive indie guy - Laid back with a sense of humor and quite proficient with his guitar, how can anyone not be charmed by a gentleman who writes a love letter to the perfect girl he hasn't met but knows is out there?

Jeff Pianki featuring Christie DuPree - Throwing Coins

Langhorne Slim Reveals New Track

I'm a latecomer to Langhorne Slim.  I wasn't completely ignorant of his existence - I knew who he was and what he did, I just didn't know how fantastic he was up until the past month. I was fortunate in the way that, when I finally came around to Sean Scolnick, the gentleman who is the driving force behind Langhorne Slim's intricate guitar picking and deceptively simple sounding lyrics, I had five years and six releases to digest before the September release of Slim's next album, Be Set Free.

Via various outlets, two tracks off of Be Set Free have been revealed and if the two tracks that have been posted so far are any indication, the album will give us a smoother sounding Langhorne Slim.  He's still the same guy, just with a slightly bigger budget.

After hearing the catchy, sunny melody of Say Yes, it's my conclusion that Slim would be a perfect opener for the forthcoming Monsters of Folk tour and not just because the first Monsters of Folk song to be released was called Say Please, although that coincidence just solidifies this idea in my head.

Langhorne Slim - Say Yes

Daniel Johnston @ Metro 8/15

I don't think it would be going out on a limb to say that Daniel Johnston is a living legend.  There are few  artists that are still with us that have had the affect that Daniel Johnston has had on music today - From inspiring countless up and comers to having a documentary made about him and even having a toy in his honor, Daniel Johnston is known for the simple truths he's been writing about for nearly 30 years.

On August 15th, Daniel Johnston brought those songs to the Metro.

He walked out on to the stage to thunderous applause from the small but tight knit crowd, carrying a binder of his songs and a six pack of diet coke.  Looking less like an influential indie musician and more like your goofy, beloved (albeit troubled) uncle, Daniel Johnston opened his set solo with a mix of old tracks and new material off his forthcoming fall release.  Daniel Johnston was nervous and shaky in front of the crowd at the Metro as he played by himself, not gaining his footing until his college friend, Brett Hartenbach, joined him as accompaniment.

Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You In The End

Get on the List: The Ettes @ SubT 8/28

The Ettes are back in town next week for a Friday night gig at Subterranean and we want to hook you up with a spot on the guest list. What? You're not familiar with this stylish trio? We've raved about them multiple times here on RFC, so if not, you better go back and do your homework. For everyone else, proceed directly to your email accounts and drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Ettes@SubT" in the subject line for your chance to win. Good luck!

RFC TV - MR RUSSIA - "The New Standard"

Endorsed by Chic-A-Go-Go? Hey, that's good enough for us. Check out MR RUSSIA for free Wednesday night at Double Door.

Shearwater @ Millennium Park 8/10/2009

The worst part about taking the train in Chicago is that, despite what certain billboards may lead you to believe, it is not always on time and thus, I did not to get to catch all of Shearwater's set in Millennium Park on August 10th.  I wasn't disappointed however because being late gave me the wonderful experience of making my way down Madison, past Starbucks and 7-11 with Jonathan Meiburg's melodic voice guiding my closer to the shore of Lake Michigan.

The best thing about Shearwater is not the understated and commanding drums, the intricate guitar or use of atypical instruments like glockenspiels but the fact that it's all anchored by lead singer Jonathan Meiburg's impossibly smooth voice.  Ethereal and beautiful, Shearwater defines pretty indie but not in the way you might expect.  While Shearwater is conceptual and doubtlessly gorgeous, their music is so real that it prevents it from being nearly as pretentious as it sounds.  Sure, Shearwater is art rock but instead of finding their influence in post punk, Shearwater relies on nature and Jonathan Meiburg's seemingly favorite subject, birds.  Shearwater, to me, exemplafies the place in between waking and sleeping where you're not ready to face the world yet but you can't quite go back to bed.

Shearwater - Rooks

RFC Interview: Ezra Furman

One of the many bands playing Lollapalooza this year was the hometown act Ezra Furman and the Harpoons.  Early on Day 2, Ezra brought his sunny, catchy indie pop to Grant Park before the heat got unbearable and the concert goers got too fatigued to properly appreciate what was happening. 

In between the release of their last album, Inside the Human Body, and recording their third lp, Ezra's music is musically upbeat and lyrically wordy without being convoluted.  Propelled by Furman's yelping, urgent voice, comparisons to The Violent Femmes aren't completely off base.  After his tenure on the dauntingly large Playstation stage, I got to sit down with Ezra in the shade and talk to him about his music, Kirsten Dunst and leaving Chicago for New York.

Ezra Furman and the Harpoons - "The Faceless Boy"

More Actors Go Musical

Actors turned musicians are nothing new, but it seems lately that the caliber of thespians laying down tracks has increased.  From Zooey Deschanel's M. Ward collaboration She and Him to Scarlett Johansson's debatable Tom Waits cover album, some fairly respected actors are making their way into the indie world as musicians. 

Some of the latest to do as much are Ryan Gosling and Zach Sheilds, who have decided to join forces as Dead Man's Bones and cite their influences as Disney's Haunted Mansion and doo wop, both of which are prevalent on the duo's first song to reach the masses, "My Body's A Zombie For You."  Featuring the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir singing the catchiest song about zombies I've ever heard, the immediate reaction from most is that this album is looking to be incredibly creepy.  Fantastic for the sheer novelty, the song is made better by the fact that it's actually good. I think Dead Man's Bones would be getting quite a bit of blog attention if it weren't for their Oscar nominated lead singer but that no doubt is helping matters along.

Dead Man's Bones - My Body's A Zombie For You

Get on the List: Lucero @ SubT 8/15

No rest for the wicked! OK, by now everyone should be all rested up and recovered from Lollapalooza, however perhaps your pocketbook may need a few extra days? (or weeks?) No problem, that's why we've got another ticket freebie for you today. Drop us a line at radiofreechicago(at)gmail.com with "Lucero Tix" in the subject line for your chance to pick up free admission for two to see the punkish good ol' boys of Lucero at an all-ages gig at SubT this Saturday. Good luck!

Lollapalooza Madness

For me, the craziness of Lollapalooza started on August 5th and by the time the festival reached it's end, I was tired, sweaty, muddy and had acquired a fancy new blister.  Would I have it any other way though?  Not at all.  Lollapalooza is a summer music staple and I'd feel like an awful Chicago-based music fan if I missed the festivities.  Pre-shows included Kevin Devine and the Decemberists and while Day 1's weather left much to be desired, the music made up for at least a portion of the climatic misery before the rain gave way to the expected heat of Days 2 and 3.