Thunders are clearly children of the '90s. There's a bit of Sonic Youth and a tad of early Nirvana in their rumbling, quasi-psych tuneage that rides in sludge-thick bass and muscular rhythms. Loud and turbulent guitars seemingly punch in anywhere with shots of feedback until eventually pulling together to some true alt-rock bliss. Add to that frontman Ryan Reidy's solid vocals that have the just the right grungy timbre to pierce the ferocious noise, and you've got some legit headbanging material here. LISTEN: "Beautiful Baby in the Bummer of Love" | [...]
rabble rabble Three phenomenal reasons to get "psyched" up at the Empty Bottle tonight... 1. Any time Chicago psych-punks Rabble Rabble play the Empty Bottle is a time you want to be around. Within those special four walls the band truly comes alive, leaping off the record with explosive precision. The beats are bigger, the guitar solos border on out of control and the banter is pure gold. Come by and see why Rabble Rabble made our 11 Chicago Bands to Watch in 2011 list. [...]
If you're not already firmly planted on the E+ bandwagon, it is time to reconsider that decision. Every time I listen a track by the spacey, psych-pop outfit - which features members of Disappears, Heavy Times and Verma - the quality gets better and better. E+ and Giant System lighting designer Aleks Tomaszewska's (Magic Key, Aleks + The Drummer) efforts merged during this performance of "Substance D" to create a powerful atmosphere where the music conjures faraway forces as pure white light and dark shadows dance around the band members for equally [...]
Bone and Bell The spring holidays are upon us. So if you're not huddled in a car, riding the highways trying to get to [insert relative here]'s house for the arrival of the Easter bunny, why not check out a few shows? This week we're talking Heavy Times at the Burlington, Outer Minds' record release party at the Empty Bottle, and Bone and Bell at the Whistler. Let's hop to it. FRIDAY [...]
Another day, another rad video from Chicago's underground via Gonzo Chicago . This one features Heavy Times , one of our 12 Chicago Bands to Watch in 2012 , debuting a rather catchy new jam at Situations last month titled, "Might Not Shoot Myself." Anchored by drummer Luca Cimarusti's punchy beats, silky guitar lines and Bo Hansen's sharl (shout+snarl, duh), the take sounds like a keeper. Check out the performance below:
TODAY IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY. And by that I mean, we survived a digital alien invasion to bring you a very special SXSW edition of Weekend Diversions. Won't you follow me...follow me to freedom? Yes. You you will. FRIDAY COMPANY OF THIEVES Chicago power poppers Company of Thieves are making their triumphant return home with a huge show at the Metro after embarking on a 15-date Spring [...]
Happy weekend, guys and dolls! I know it's cold and gloomy outside, but you can't celebrate the fourth annual Windy City Winter Ball without a little snow/sleet/freezing rain. And you definitely couldn't ask for better weather for when Scotland's the Twilight Sad ride a wave of depression into town. Hike up those snow boots and let's get going. FRIDAY THE TWILIGHT SAD You'll be hard-pressed to find a [...]
While we can't be certain Sausage Fest 2012 will actually have sausage, we definitely know it will offer some excellent Chicago rock 'n' roll goodness. Presented by Permanent Records , in conjunction with Captcha Records, Troubled In Mind Records, Rotted Tooth Recordings and Moniker Records, Sausage Fest 2012 is a two-night, SXSW send-off that's set to go down at the Empty Bottle on Saturday, March 10, and Sunday, March 11. The line-up features quite a few known Chicago noise, punk and garage rockers. Running, Bad Drugs, Stacian and Bitchin Bajas will [...]
We've been anxiously awaiting music from E+ , a new project featuring members of Disappears , Heavy Times and Verma , and finally today our anxiety has been quenched. Last week the band announced on their Facebook that they've completed work on a new EP, which was recorded by The Ponys / Bare Mutauts / Football member Jered Gummere. And today, the band unleashed the first song from those recording sessions, "Too Many Voices." "Too Many Vices" is a well crafted exercise [...]
We've been anxiously awaiting music from E+ , a new project featuring members of Disappears , Heavy Times and Verma , and finally today our anxiety has been quenched. Last week the band announced on their Facebook that they've completed work on a new EP, which was recorded by The Ponys / Bare Mutauts / Football member Jered Gummere. And today, the band unleashed the first set of song from those recording sessions, "Too Many Voices." "Too Many Voices" is a well [...]
If you missed experimental psych poppers E+ at Schubas last week or just want to relive the experience, the band posted a few videos from the gig on its Facebook page. E+, a Chicago group made up of members from Verma, Heavy Times and Disappears, conjures dark and mysterious forces while dabbling in distortion. E+ track "Substance D" emits a steady hypnotic rhythm and plenty of groovy synthesizer embellishments. All you need to do is sit back and sway in your chair.
Time for a little bit of aural time travel. Let's look back, reflect, and contemplate... what were we listening to one year ago? Listen to the January 2011 Mix and find out. You can stream (and scrobble ) all the songs in this mix using the ex.fm player at the bottom of the page OR you can just download any or all of the tracks at your leisure and play them using a digital media player of your choice. Downloadables: Constant Future [...]
Photo Credit: Carrie Musgrave - livebabylive.com There are thousands of great local bands playing every week in our fair city. Some you might know and some you might not. Seeing as it's the beginning of a brand new year, we thought we'd point out some local bands who we think you might want to keep your eye on in 2012. And isn't it always cool to say you were a fan of popular act back in the day when they were playing for eight people in a crappy dive bar? Yes, it is always [...]
Seeing how our staff has distinct tastes and opinions on music, it would be nearly impossible for us to determine a 10 Albums of 2011 list as a single entity without excessive bloodshed. So over the next couple of days, we'll be posting Top 10 Albums of 2011 lists as determined by individual Loud Loop Press staff members. Today, associate editor Audrey Leon offers up her list for Top 10 Albums of 2011. I decided to do it a little differently this year. I honestly didn't think I could find another way to describe how great [...]
Whales Cheer up, Chicago! Cold weather may be officially here, but this weekend is lining up to be pretty spectacular (i.e. no rain and possibly some sun). But, we're not here to do Tom Skilling's job; No, we're talking about some sweet shows at Ultra Lounge, The Whistler and Quenchers. Vamos... a jugar por la playa. FRIDAY WHALES Local quartet make some beautiful noise. The [...]
Heavy Times And now three reasons to get rowdy at the Empty Bottle tonight... 1. It's no secret that we really dug Heavy Times' HoZac debut, Jacker , and tonight the band celebrate its release in their hometown. The record finds Heavy Times unleashing a garage-grime covered punk assault that mirrors the Misfits in intensity and sinister song title-ry. LISTEN: "Skull Hair" [...]
![Heavy Times [Skull Hair, Hozac Records]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3846639_lg.jpg)
Hozac Records always delivers a steady stream of primo fuzzy garage and Jacker , the sophomore from Chicago's Heavy Times, is no different. Limited to 550 copies, you can purchase the LP here . Skull Hair
To celebrate our downloads working again we thought we would re-post our best of the month mix from October - more than 20 great tracks selected from our October posts and six new ones too. This time you can download and dive in. Download The Minks – Araby mp3 (from Araby 7″) Endearingly gloomy slice of indie-pop. Download The Bloody Hollies – Dirty Sex mp3 (from Yours Until The Bitter End) The dark side of raw garage punk with touches of organ, violin and xylophone. Download Bare Bones – Hope [...]
Another month, more than 20 great tracks selected from our October posts and five new ones too. Download and dive in. Download The Minks – Araby mp3 (from Araby 7″) Endearingly gloomy slice of indie-pop. Download The Bloody Hollies – Dirty Sex mp3 (from Yours Until The Bitter End) The dark side of raw garage punk with touches of organ, violin and xylophone. Download Bare Bones – Hope & Feather mp3 (from Bare Bones EP) Gallops along on the back of perfectly [...]
Skull Hair Future City Hozac Records is set to release the LP, Jacker , from fellow Chicagoans Heavy Times on October 25...wait, that's today so go buy it ! It's the follow-up to a 2010 debut LP release from Rotted Tooth Records and a 7" [...]
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