It is impossible to relay just how excited I am to be bringing you this exclusive listen to the first single from Kicking Bird’s debut album, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Years in the making, these eleven tracks will likely make up my entire vibe for the summer. After getting an early listen a while back, I instantly knew that “Lauren” would be the song to … Continue reading Exclusive: Kicking Bird-“Lauren”
As someone who would like to think that every cloud has a silver lining, I’ve been appreciating all the work artists have been doing to raise money and awareness for Black Lives Matter and others across the country who need help. I’ve donated as much as I could while on the dole, and will get back to supporting those organizations in need when I get … Continue reading GROW: A Compilation In Solidarity With Black Lives Matter
This week marked the second anniversary of Music.Defined. so I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the stuff we’ve covered over the past year via photographs. Kari has taken a lot of great shots over the past year (and I snuck a few in that I took as well). I already posted it on Facebook and Twitter, but if … Continue reading Year 2 In Pictures
When I first brought the idea of Hasty Revelations to Rick Riggs at Handwritten, it was a purely selfish endeavor. How wonderful, I thought, to have bands that I love come in to the studio and play a song just for me. Of course, I would share these songs afterward, but for one hour, they were completely mine and no one else’s. Rick seemed to … Continue reading 60 Minutes Or Less: The Hasty Revelations Album
Back in the first week of January I put up a list of some bands I thought you should keep your eye on for breakouts this year. Some of them were educated guesses, others hopes, and quite a few longshots. Now we’re about halfway through the year, and many of these bands have already delivered some good stuff. Not all of them, mind you, but a good amount. Let’s go over some of them in the order in which I originally listed them.
1. Dastardly-I put them at the top of the list for a couple reasons, chief among them being that I know they have the talent to be something special. At the beginning of the year they released an EP called Bury Me In The Country which featured “Brief Thoughts On Death,” one of my favorite songs of the year so far. In August they’re releasing another EP, Ballads In Blue. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear it already, and it is completely different from what I expected. I tried to describe it a few days ago, and I don’t think I made much sense. Basically I think it sounds like Rodgers & Hammerstein filtered through David Lynch…if that tells you anything.
2. Bhi Bhiman-The biggest success on the list by a large margin. When Bhiman, Bhi’s second album, came out it was met with great reviews by The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, NPR, and Paste among others. I called it the second he opened his mouth last year at SxSw that he was gonna make it. So far this year he’s opened for Josh Ritter, John Prine, Martin Sexton, Joe Pug, and Rosie Thomas and played headlining gigs at some well-known venues around the country. Next week he stops in Chicago for the fourth time since January.
3. Adam Arcuragi-Also garnering much critical acclaim was Like a fire that consumes all before it…Adam Arcuragi’s latest album that came at the end of January. This was my introduction to his style, which he refers to as “Death Gospel.” He toured the US in support of the album, then headed over to Europe for a streak of dates. He also put out a great Daytrotter session back in May that you can check out.
4. Sons Of An Illustrious Father-In 2011 they delivered the album of the year, One Body. They took a bit of a break for a while and now they’ve headed out on their first big tour. They’re hitting Chicago on July 20th with The Canoes and The Buddies, so I’m eagerly awaiting that. They are down a member, as Sofia Albam left to play with her new band Thorn & Shout.
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