
Maps & Atlases (Photo by Drew Reynolds) Hey Chicago! Once again: Thanks so much for voting for us for in the Chicago Reader's Best Of Chicago 2010 Reader's Poll. WE WON ! Oh yeah! You can celebrate in our name at plenty of show this weekend including three chances to catch Maps and Atlases , My Gold Mask at the Hideout , The Melvins at the Double Door and more! Let's get to it, shall we? [...]

We really try to keep things hyperlocal to Chicago here on LoudLoopPress.com , but occasionally there are cool happenings two and a half hours south of our fair city. Champaign-Urbana's Pygmalion Music Festival returns for it's sixth year this September 22 - 25 and offers a pretty wicked lineup. Just a little more than a week ago, the festival announced the additions of indie stalwarts Built To Spill , punk elder statesman Ted Leo and the Pharmacists , indie power rockers Surfer Blood , Canadian psych outfit Holy Fuck [...]

Our pals Rodeo Ruby Love have a new album, This Is Why We Don't Have Nice Things , coming out June 29. And not only did the band allow Buzzgrinder to stream the whole thing , but the guys were also kind enough to take over posting duties for the day. That means we get to paint watercolors of hummingbirds and humvees. Hello people of Buzzgrinder! In this entry, I’m going to recap a few of the best live shows I’ve seen so far this year. Feel free [...]

As much as I enjoy geeking out by building best-of album lists, song lists are infinity more interesting. A song is a high-wire act: one slip, one faulty step and you've got a mess on your hands. Albums, almost by their very nature are more forgiving: great albums still have awful, awful songs. So a list of the best songs of a period tend to be more inclusive of different types of talent. Quite a few of these bands here don't have enough of it to sustain an album (yet?), but they have enough to absolutely crush one. So, culled [...]
Labels have not worked in music for the past few years. How do we describe the latest Rihanna release? What about Yeasayer or Animal Collective? In a world where Kesha actually qualifies as 'good music' to some people, perhaps labelling what a band sounds like nowadays is akin to describing [Read more]

Crush is that rad ass bad ass monthly party showcasing “Dance Bands We Love” – bands whose music makes us feel like we’re bathing in champagne and skipping through meadows. They don’t make us dance like say, the cabbage patch or running man, but they move us all the same. Now, with the L Magazine's Northside Festival approaching next week, the Crushers are getting in on the action. [...]
More news from the ladies of Crush coming down the pike, as Jen Lyon and Ruthie are still locking down more guests and bands for the first Crush Fest, which happens to be falling on June 24, right on the first night of this year's Northside Festival and, oh look at that, it's in Brooklyn [...]
(photo by Annabel Staff) Two arms! Two arms! The Crush Fest is coming! And so, with an alarm call like the redcoats arrival on the shores for battle (but not with nearly as much patriotic or military implications), Jen Lyon...

From Sargent House: In honor of all BBQ’s across this great planet we bring you the Sargent House / Rodriguez Lopez Productions $5 or less for any file size you want download sale! This weekend through June 1st. All artists in our digital record shop will have full albums / tracks/ eps ranging anywhere from FREE to $5 and if you just want to hear their albums you can do that too, that is always Free. Also remember, if you want to kick down some extra you can always [...]
While summer does not technically begin until mid-June, it has become something of an American tradition that Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer time. And perfect timing for folks on the west coast, where it has been an unusually cool, cloudy and rainy spring. Now that Memorial Day weekend has arrived, it's time to [...] Related posts:Indie Cover Songs, Vol. V: The Format, Ruby Weapon, Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, Dr. Dog & Band of Horses SXSW 2010 Bands to See, Vol. I: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Princeton, Real Estate, The Drums and Surfer Blood Valentine's Playlist [...]

Have I written much about Fang Island since SXSW? No, I suppose I really haven't. That doesn't change the fact that they're one of the most energetic, exciting new acts of 2010. It's fitting that the opening track on their album begins with fireworks - the music explodes into bursts of fizzing color, burning hard and fast and fun. It's definitely bro music, but bro music by smart, art school grads. Plus, there should be specials galore at Cake Shop for the end stretch of their 5th anniversary month. MP3: "Dreams Of Dreams" - Fang Island [...]

Chicago summer festival season is right around the corner - as if the crazy high 80-degree weather in May didn't clue you in already - and we've got some festival lineup updates. We've already told you about Wicker Park Fest , Do-Division Street Fest and the second annual Metronome Celebration . Now here's the scoop on Taste Of Randolph and the Green Music Fest lineups. Taste Of Randolph, Friday, June 18, through Sunday, June 20, at 900 W. Randolph in [...]
![Fang Island: Daisy [Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2575548_lg.jpg)
Few bands can call the small state of Rhode Island home. In fact, I'd be surprised if, over the four years FensePost has been in existence, we've covered more than a small handful of artists from the state. Fang Island , then, could very well be the first. Of course, the band originated there, but have since relocated to a place a bit more familiar - Brooklyn. The music they create is indicative of the burb, or what some West Coaster like myself envisions of the place. It's centered around [...]

Let's be honest with ourselves here: it's barbeque season. This necessitates that we put aside all of the dark, sleepy lyrics we've been cuddled up with for months and we get really, really, unintelligibly silly. Let's listen to Fang Island and ride bikes! Fang Island - Daisy
Monday: Love As Laughter @ Bruar Falls 8pm $8 [ info ] In a world of passing fads and buzz bands isn't it nice to know there are still life long indie rockers such as Love As Laughter making music? It warms our hearts every time we see their name mentioned somewhere and this week they stop by NYC for a quick show at Bruar Falls. Chance are it won't be that quick and it will totally be worth skipping the 24 series finale for. [...]
So, any one have the urge to take it back to the days of not giving a shit about anything? When everything was care free and your fists pumped high in the air for no apparent reason. Here is your chance Brooklyn's Fang Island will be here This Friday at the House of Blues at [...] Related posts: House of Blues 1204 Caroline Street Houston, TX 77002 (888) 402–5837 Hours of Operation Lunch: Daily 11:00... 5/14 Minus the Bear at House of Blues [...]
Pitchfork digs them , so I guess we should too, right? Any way you slice it, this week's guest on Dirty Laundry is none other than Fang Island who are currently on tour for their self-titled debut. In this episode, the band sit and dish with Olivia about "Andrew W.K., their Keanu Reeves connection and NBA Jam." Interesting combo, no? Check out the latest episode and more "after the jump" [...]
Enjoy the full feature below. Fang Island recently performed on KEXP. MP3: Fang Island - Life Coach
Fang Island recently released their self-titled album and has been receiving rave reviews. The Flaming Lips may have a caught a whiff of the new tunes and decided to have them to open certain tour dates for them. The two bands will be touring North America together in July,... Click the link to read more

ARTIST: The SWAG Report 008 with freebie downloads courtesy of The Dead Weather, Sloan, Said The Whale, Richard McGraw, Kylie Minogue, Fang Island and more! So much more! DATE: 05-19-10 WRITER: Don Loder Alright ya mugs, So here it is, your newest load o' stuff that my sticky little fingers could - shall we say - liberate from the greater clutches of the music business. I'm still a little amazed at how easy it is - I'm not gonna lie; what with the [...]