
Voocano ! laid dormant following their 2008 release, Paperwork until earlier this year when Chicago art rockers announced a new record, Piñata . I dug the title track slash debut single that dropped back in March and its fuzzy, synth bass and crooning vocal. But Piñata finds delivers on an array of forward-thinking sounds. "Child Star" opens with video game-like effects on top of a hip-hop heavy groove, while the smooth rhythms of "St. Mary of Nazareth" builds into a spacey feel. For a band to return after four years with new material as [...]

Late last month the Bobby Gallivan driven band Like Pioneers release their sophomore album Oh, Magic through Abandoned Love Records. This album is noise pop at its finest. You purchase or stream the album here. Like Pioneers will be performing at The Burlington Bar with The Runnies on June 8th.

On their website, Like Pioneers describe their newest album, Oh, Magic , as “the document of a year spent collectively dirtying a clean slate.” The Chicago indie rockers, a motley crew of the remnants of other local outfits — most notably Bound Stems, released their first album, Piecemeal , in 2010. Now with Oh, Magic , the group has blossomed into a band and have provided a more complex layering of sounds, especially with the greater incorporation of the keyboard, than the nakedness of their initial offering [...]
Chicago’s Like Pioneers bring catchy indie-pop melodies with their second album, Oh, Magic.

Like Pioneers is the freakishly attractive love child of Chicago indie-rock outfits Bound Stems, The Narrator, and Chin Up Chin Up. Following 20102s Piecemeal , the seven-member collective spent 2011 drinking, writing, and unifying as a solid group - not just a passing side-project. The result of those writing sessions is their nine-track sophomore effort, Oh, Magic . The band is teasing the album's May 22nd release with the Jesse Woghin-fronted "Tell 'Em Ghost". Upon first listen it's easy to tag the track as simple guitar-driven indie-pop, but as the track builds, vocal harmonies, guitar distortion, [...]
One of the many reasons friends decide to work together is because of the familiarity already involved, there's a sense of deep comfort. And the Chicago-based Like Pioneers are certainly no strangers to that. Formed organically between musician friends, the quintet released Piecemeal back in 2010. After a short absence, the group is back with a [...]

Three reasons to shake it on over to Schubas this fine evening... 1. If there's some weird area of space that exists somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and the Black Keys, then U.S Royalty seem to live in it. This DC indie rock outfit is quite flexible as they can do both airy and melodic west coast pop and dingy blues guitar rock with equal focus. LISTEN: "Equestrian" 2. Like Pioneers [...]

This was supposed to be a productive week, those hours after work. But I ended up doing what any solid music nerd would: procrastinate by going through my records and singles, rediscovering old favorites and discovering new treasures hidden within my collection. We listened to The Smiths on repeat for a few days. I dug out an old single by The Rondelles. I got Andi into Crystal Stilts. And despite all this recounting of the past, of all the listening to albums already in my collection, I [...]

Like Pioneers return May 22 with a new album on Abandoned Love Records called Oh, Magic . It's their first new material since 20102s Piecemeal LP on that label, and it finds the band straying slightly from their previous work in that it's not as rooted in folk. "Boggs" is the lead single off the LP. It lacks much of what initially drew me to Like Pioneers. "English Garden" and "Gift From A Holiday" stood out as pop-centric, folk-rock tunes with hints of male/female [...]

Below you'll find a new song called "Boggs" by indie rock outfit Like Pioneers . The song is a fairly straightforward rock number that eventual turns into an extended 6 minute jam. It's pretty similar to older Broken Social Scene eh? Yeah it is. This Chicago based group have a new album entitled Oh Magic coming out on May 22nd via Abandoned Love Records and you should definitely pick it up. Download: Like Pioneers - Boggs [MP3]

Hum It's a big weekend, folks. There's Hum's much-anticipated headlining appearance at the inaugural A.V. Fest and plenty of smaller shows by crazy kids such as Soft Speaker , Dozens and Blah Blah Blah . Let's not waste any more time. Allons-y, Alonso ! FRIDAY GANGLIANS In the mood for some crooked surf rock? Then [...]
Chicago’s own delightful indie pop supergroup Like Pioneers visited Coach House Sounds back in March to play some relaxing new tuneage. The end result of that session is five new foot-tappin’, sparkly pop jams for your grooving pleasure. Like Pioneers, which features members of Chin up, Chin Up; The Narrator; The Vacation and Bound Stems, released its debut album Piecemeal last July and it seems with the unveiling of new material that seems these friends are finally settled into making music together.
Like Pioneers - Crop Circles Plus Legs Buy US: Buy UK:

Just came across another great music blog out there called I am Fuel, You are Friends . She is a great writer, has dyno-mite taste in music, and uncontrollably throws her readers goodie after goodie. One recent post in particular got my attention when I scrolled down the tracklist and saw a bunch of my favourites. Here is the link to the Springtime Playlist as well as the mp32s below for your listening/downloading pleasure. Free mp3: David Wax Museum - Born With a Broken Heart [...]

I rode my bike to work this morning against the winds, and noticed a yellow crocus has bloomed in my front yard since I last looked. Pretty soon I will plant my garden, and for the first time in a long time last week I fell asleep with the window opened to the sound of warm rain. For all the pristine icy clean of winter, the hearth of a fire, the months for introspection, I am thrilled at the thaw. I've been squirreling away songs for this spring mix since January, in an act of hope that [...]

The problem with so-called best-of lists, is that they are really just a collection of items organized based on experience and time, in that there will be plenty of albums heard the following year and beyond that will hold just as much weight as these we dub as "Best." So, as of right now, at this particular time in the tail end of 2010 and the first moments of 2011, these albums are the best. There's no question about it; it will change. My next list (which I've started, but may take a while to publish) is [...]

It appears there is truth behind the popular phrase about time speeding by the older you get. After hitting the ripe age of 30 back in September and taking a nice little road trip from my home north of Seattle to the Southwest town of Albuquerque at the end of that month, time seems to have slipped by with ease. And it appears I haven't done one of these podcast things since July! I took that photo up there somewhere along the side of the highway in northern [...]

Smith Westerns Hope everyone has a fun and frightening Halloween last weekend. Now, it looks like we're in the dog days of Autumn and the stretch run of 2010. But all that really means is it's time to gear up for some amazing shows yet to come for the Windy City! And this weekend is no different. Our picks for top weekend shows this time around include Smith Westerns at Lincoln Hall , Brendan Benson at the Bottom Lounge , Danzig at the Congress Theater [...]
Given the volume of music available for consideration on One Track Mind, we invariably have to pass on a lot of tasty morsels. [tweetmeme] In a desire to share even more great, free music with you, the Sunday Sampler offers a handful of tracks without the usual critical and biographical write-up. Less talk, more tunes. Like Pioneers "English Garden" from Piecemeal [ released 8/17 | indie rock ] [ [...]