Several months ago, Mean Jeans released their latest full-length on Fat Wreck Chords, entitled Gigantic Sike. We recently caught up with singer/guitarist Billy Jeans and talked about the inspiration behind the album’s name, the quick manner in which the record was made and what some of its songs are about. Gigantic Sike features a stripped-down approach to the Ramones-influenced punk that fans have come to know, but there’s now a greater sense of honesty found in the lyrics. To be fair, there’s still plenty of songs about partying, but it also addresses the notion of what to do when the partying days are over. Additionally, we discussed how all three band members currently live in different states, their show this fall at Cobra Lounge, future plans and more.
We’re excited to announce that The Arrivals will be playing two shows this December, one in Minneapolis and another in Chicago. Since 2013, they’ve only performed twice, (in San Diego at Awesome Fest in 2016 and last winter at Ian’s Party). In 2010, they released their latest full-length and fourth overall, Volatile Molotov. The album is unmistakably the band’s most complete effort, combining various genres and really evolving punk in a way that few bands have. And it sounds just as relevant and urgent today as it did when it was released. Expect their sets to feature many songs from this record, along with some old favorites and perhaps some surprises from Exsenator Orange or Marvels of Industry. The first show is scheduled for Friday, December 27th in Minneapolis at Mortimer’s. The second will take place on Saturday, December 28th at Reggies in Chicago. That show starts at 7:00 PM, is 17+ and tickets go on sale this Friday.
The 13th annual Ian’s Party will take place Friday, January 3rd – Sunday, January 5th at both Chop Shop and Subterranean. The first wave lineup was revealed today and includes performances by Meat Wave, The Brokedowns, Vacation, The Bobby Conn Experience, Absolutely Not, Ono, C.H.E.W., No Men, Lung, Paper Mice, Typesetter, Howardian, Joshua Virtue, Malci, and Two Houses. In addition, the following acts will also appear: Blacker Face, Hitter, Masonic Wave, Bruges, Wood Chickens, Lovely Little Girls, Bev Rage and the Drinks, Topomaka, Hawley, Wig, Clickbait, Nonnie Parry, Abertooth Lincoln, and American Draft.
Early Bird weekend passes will go on sale Friday, November 1st at 10:00 AM and are available for $30 each. Purchase them here and be advised they’ll remain at this price until Sunday, November 3rd, but will increase after that. Single day passes will be available soon and more bands will be announced at a later date.
On their previous album, 2017’s After the Party, The Menzingers made significant strides in evolving their sound and advancing their songwriting. With Hello Exile, they’ve raised the bar again, a feat that most bands rarely accomplish. In short, they remain committed to breaking new ground and are remarkably consistent and successful in doing so. The record begins with “America (You’re Freaking Me Out),” which is undeniably one of the strongest songs they’ve ever written. While not overtly political, it really captures what it feels like to be living in America right now and also features a huge yet seemingly unforced chorus. “Strangers Forever” presents a unique, alternating rhythm and lyrics that address a dissolved relationship. The back and forth nature of the tempo mimics the conflicting emotions that often occur in situations such as this. Additionally, the song is a great example of their continued growth with crafting layered and intricate arrangements.
“Portland” is one of the more upbeat songs on the album, with numerous melodic guitar leads present throughout. It’s catchy without being predictable and includes a rousing, shout-along chorus. “Strain Your Memory” examines a relationship at a crossroads and contains some of the record’s most heartfelt lyrics. It’s mature, slightly suggestive of late ‘70s Tom Petty and seems much shorter than its actual duration of four minutes. Without question, it’s one of the top songs on Hello Exile. Another noteworthy track is “Strawberry Mansion,” a somewhat throwback to their earlier sound that embraces a subtle Clash influence.
The album is brought to a close with “Farewell Youth,” a somber entry that details the passing of a close friend. In many ways, it’s the perfect album closer as it represents a letting go of the past while simultaneously looking to the future. This same feeling is reflected in the evolution that The Menzingers continually display on Hello Exile. The end result is not only their most adult record to date, but also one of their most comprehensive.
Last month, we caught up with Ramona after their set at Riot Fest. We spoke with singer/guitarist Diego Medrano and singer/bassist Abby Vigderman about their debut album, called Deals, Deals, Deals! (Drummer Shannon Ledbetter couldn’t be present and was presumably roaming the festival grounds). We talked about how the band connected with Red Scare for the record’s release, as well as what recording was like, some of the album’s lyrics and more. Deals, Deals, Deals! finds Ramona combining melodic punk with indie rock, and emphasizing personal, introspective lyrics. Thanks to the unique songwriting found throughout, the record is easily one of the most promising debuts of the year. In addition, we discussed the band’s performance at Riot Fest, their plans for new music and more.
We’re premiering a new song below, called “Fake It,” from Chicago’s The Addisons. It was produced by Jeff Dean, (Airstream Futures, All Eyes West, The Bomb) at Million Yen Studios and represents the band’s first recording since the addition of drummer Jesse Carmona, (formerly of God’s Reflex). When speaking about how the song came together, bassist Rick Uncapher said “It developed around the drum beat that Jesse came up with and sort of took on a life of its own. We’ve been doing the melodic pop thing for a while and it’s fun to see where else we can take the songs without straying too far from our sound.” The song is available now on all digital platforms and also marks The Addisons’ first new music since releasing their Here It Comes Again EP last year. Catch them this Saturday, October 5th at The Elbo Room with Pollinators, The Last Afternoons, Gooey, and Frankie B. The show starts at 7:00 PM, is 21+ and tickets are $7 in advance.
Earlier this year, CJ Ramone released his latest solo full-length via Fat Wreck Chords, called The Holy Spell. He recently played Chop Shop in support of the record and we met up with him before the show. We talked about the album’s writing and recording process, including how several of its songs were written in the studio. We also discussed the passing of his close friend Steve Soto, (Adolescents, Agent Orange) and CJ’s decision to write a song that celebrates Steve’s life. Additionally, he recalled his time in the Ramones and talked about his most memorable show as a member of the legendary band. We also conversed about CJ’s Australian tour that just got underway, his plans for the future and more.
On Friday, August 30th, All Eyes West is set to release their third full-length, titled Like Lightning. The album marks the band’s first new material in over four years and we’re premiering one of its songs below, called “Kick the Clouds.” We recently spoke with singer/bassist Justin Miller and talked about how the record came together. He cited a hectic touring schedule and various issues in the band members’ personal lives as the main reasons that it took several years to finish the album. Miller explained, “On my end, my mother was diagnosed and very quickly taken by pancreatic cancer. A day after the funeral my first child was born. So, everything kind of flipped upside down. I eventually moved out of the city, fought some demons, dove headfirst into raising my kids and kind of started doing a little repair work on my life. So, obviously all of this left a little less time to focus on the band. We still remained active, but it slowed down quite a bit.”
Miller indicated that a few of the songs on Like Lightning were written in 2015, shortly after drummer Ronnie DiCola joined the band. Some of the songs that followed would unfold from a single riff, while others were primarily arranged by guitarist Jeff Dean and DiCola. When commenting on the overall writing process, Miller said “It was pretty strange. With all that was going on outside of music, it bled into the band for sure. I mean, there was a bit of tension between us for a while during the writing and recording of the album, but we always pushed through. All that shit we were going through is on the record. It’s in the music and it’s in the lyrics. We pulled it together and it means a lot to us. For me, it’s a very personal album. It was the glue that kept us going.”
In regards to the song “Kick the Clouds,” both internal and external factors played a role in its creation. Miller said, “Lyrically it was inspired by a bunch of different things. With everything going on in my life at the time, I was bursting with a million things I wanted to express. The music really spoke to me as we wrote it and I wanted to shove everything into it.” He continued, “I’d say the overall inspiration was this feeling of ‘Is everything fucked? Should we just burn it all down?’ Not just my personal life or the band, but all the politics, the state of the country, social media, anxiety, and all the angry people I seemed to encounter on a daily basis. It just felt like everything was boiling over. Still kind of does, I suppose.”
Check out the song now and be advised that it’s highly representative of the urgency, concise writing and exceptional performances that are displayed throughout Like Lightning. Be sure to pre-order the album from Jump Start Records here and look for the band to announce a record release show in the coming weeks.
Earlier this summer, Billy Liar released his debut album via Red Scare, called Some Legacy. With the record primarily being a full band affair, Liar demonstrates that he’s capable of more than the typical singer/songwriter. He routinely displays his ability to put together unpredictable arrangements and craft unique vocal melodies. The first song, “The View from Here,” is just one example of this. It’s a rousing sing-a-long that contrasts an upbeat rhythm with lyrics that are slightly self-deprecating. One could easily envision Liar playing this song in a packed club with a sweaty, beer-soaked crowd screaming the words back at him. “The Righteous & The Rats” is a topical song about borders and how society’s problems repeat throughout history. With Liar hailing from Scotland, this song clearly isn’t sung from an American perspective and instead has more of a universal appeal. “Pills” might be the album’s catchiest track, as it features a huge chorus that seemingly comes out of nowhere, but transitions in a manner that’s natural and not forced. The song also has somewhat of a loose and reckless feel, sounding like it could go off the rails at any moment, but never does. “Change” is the record’s fastest and most aggressive song, with Liar shouting, “I want see your blood spilled on the stage / I want hear your heart beat through the PA / I want to hear true adolescent rage / I want to be inspired, I want to see something change.” Despite him being seemingly disillusioned with contemporary music, listeners who might feel the same are sure to find plenty of inspiration on this album. Some Legacy was produced by Joe McMahon, (Smoke or Fire) and his influence only helps to solidify what is a decidedly complete debut. In many ways, this is a promising and distinctive record, and it should be very interesting to see where Liar goes from here.
Milwaukee’s Telethon released their latest album and fourth overall last month, called Hard Pop. The record spotlights the band’s exceptional musicianship and their ability to seamlessly merge various styles and genres. At their core, Telethon is a power pop band, with influences ranging from The Hold Steady to Motion City Soundtrack, and a trace of classic rock extravagance. In short, Hard Pop is a great summertime album and one that finds the band further perfecting their sound.
The record opens with “Loser / That Old Private Hell,” a six-minute rock opera that even after dozens of listens only seems about half that long. It starts with the line, “The magic of being a loser is that nobody has to find out,” which really sets the tone for the rest of the album’s lyrics, (an ongoing discussion of what it’s like growing up in the Midwest). A subdued intro gives way to a huge, ‘70s stadium rock guitar lead, followed by piano accents and skillful drumming that recall Born to Run-era Springsteen. The song is filled with hooks, but also retains a significant amount of driving rock ‘n’ roll. Simply put, it’s as ambitious as it is catchy. It’s followed by “(I Guess You’d Call It) An Undertone,” a unique song that features a swing-like rhythm, a horn section and crunchy guitar riffs. There’s also an element of ‘80s pop and from a stylistic standpoint, this is just something that not a lot of bands are doing nowadays. Additionally, near the end of the song, a jaw-dropping guitar solo emerges that would likely impress anyone outside of maybe Slash or Eddie Van Halen.
“Chimney Rock” is one of the record’s faster tracks and includes a prominent keyboard lead. It boasts a notable guest vocal cameo from Willow Hawks, (singer of The Sonder Bombs) and yet another blistering guitar solo. It’s also an example of the band successfully experimenting with loud/soft dynamics, which only helps to emphasize the song’s finer moments. The album ends with “Manila,” a somber closer that evokes both The Beatles and The Get Up Kids. It flips between genres, but never sounds disjointed and even manages to incorporate a ska/punk breakdown. The song eventually finds its way back to melodic rock ‘n’ roll and sing-a-long vocals, appropriately ending on one final riff.
With Hard Pop, Telethon has streamlined their sound without sacrificing any of the distinctive traits that make them great. They remain quirky, diverse and unafraid to experiment, yet there’s now more of a focus on cohesion and overall execution. They’re currently one of the most underrated bands in independent rock, but with any luck Hard Pop will allow them to attract a wider audience.
Originally a printed zine from 1998 – 2004, our goal is to provide coverage of Chicago’s expansive independent music community, and to occasionally highlight some of our past work. National and international bands will be featured as well, but above all, we hope to create lasting content for music fans everywhere.
Photos by Katie Hovland
