Faronheit | A Chicago Centric Music Blog

One of my favorite things about Turntable Kitchen’s “Sounds Delicious” series is that they convince a whole bunch of cool indie artists to record full album covers of often underappreciated classics. Artists like Death Cab for Cutie, Frankie Rose, and Pure Bathing Culture have all participated in the past, and now it’s Cults’ turn. They’ve chosen to cover the 1979 self-titled debut album from California new wave band The Motels, which seems like a good choice for them. You can get a taste of what that sounds like with their version of “Total Control” below. Speaking of covers, the Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty turns 20 years old this week, and plenty of people are feeling nostalgic about it, including Jacuzzi Boys. Their version of “Song for the Man” is a little different from the original, as they turn it into a more energized surf rock/Beach Boys-esque summertime jam. I’ve always held an appreciation for Tokyo Police Club, a band that has spent the last decade writing bouncy, upbeat, and addictive rock songs while somehow never getting the massive fame they so richly deserve. It wouldn’t surprise me if they eventually wind up like Phoenix, Cage the Elephant, or Portugal. the Man, all of whom released a few great records with very little recognition before finally hitting it big. Will this be the one for Tokyo Police Club? Get your first dose of their next long player TPC (out Oct. 5th) with the single “Hercules”. Keep going past the jump and hear more music from artists that include Abbi Press, Cubicolor, Denzel Curry, Howard, Marquis Hawkes (ft. Jamie Lidell), RL Grime, Rubblebucket, Tony Molina, Wild Pink, and more.

Cults – Total Control (The Motels cover)

Jacuzzi Boys – Song for the Man (Beastie Boys cover)

Tokyo Police Club – Hercules

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The new Astronauts, etc. album Living in Symbol will be out in a couple of weeks, but you can get another taste of what’s ahead with the lush and lightly psychedelic “Shut My Mouth”. Up-and-coming Chicago rapper Juice WRLD teams up with Lil Uzi Vert for the very solid and very catchy “Wasted”. Lo-fi electro-folk artist Westerman’s latest single “Easy Money” floats along on only the most relaxed vibes, but it’s still quite a delight. Cruise on past the jump and you’ll find plenty more music to digest, including tracks from Benny Benassi & Sofi Tukker, BIJOU (ft. Way), Blanke & Kayoh, Gold Star, JPEGMAFIA, Majik, Matroda & RICCI, Matt Muse (ft. Femdot), and Thin Lips.

Astronauts, etc. – Shut My Mouth

Juice WRLD – Wasted (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)

Westerman – Easy Money

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Let’s start the post-July 4th weekend hangover edition of Pick Your Poison with a little bit of local love. Fauvely is a talented Chicago-based singer-songwriter whose voice happens to sound a bit like Natalie Merchant. That’s not really of any importance other than to provide a frame of reference. Her latest single “Tides” feels like a step forward for her, as it’s more cleanly recorded/produced and includes additional instruments to really give everything a bigger, more widescreen sound. Speaking of a bigger sound, the new song from Henri manages to feel expansive even as the figurative walls seem like they’re closing in around it. Some remarkably great House music with a guest vocal from Imogen Rose that gives it a very distinctive Chromatics-like vibe. There’s also a lovely new one from Her’s, which adds some energy and synths to the waltzy melody, which makes it easy to get stuck in your head. Keep on driving past the jump, and you’ll also get songs from Lima x Syn, Michael Paradise, Montevideo, The Night Cafe, Nightseason, Sky Keller, Thomas Fehlmann, YK Osiris, and more.

Fauvely – Tides

Henri – Last Dance (ft. Imogen Rose)

Her’s – Harvey

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Tomorrow is the 4th of July, aka Independence Day here in America, so the site will be taking a short vacation for the rest of this week. But before setting off some fireworks though, let me pass along one more collection of tracks for your extended holiday weekend (if you’re celebrating). Norwegian dance-pop producer Bearson has collaborated with electro-pop musician and producer MNDR for an effortlessly catchy track that’s perfect for a day at the beach. One of the more iconic pop/R&B songs of the last several years has been Drake’s “Hotline Bling”. One of the more iconic pop stars so far this year has been Billie Eilish. Pair the two, and the result is pretty solid. I’d argue it’s not as good as the original, but absolutely still worth a listen. And hey, Jack White is releasing a live album as part of his Third Man Records Vault subscription series! It’s a vinyl-only pressing that contains audio from intimate shows he performed in Nashville and Detroit earlier this year. You can hear a wild version of “Corporation” that he performed at Detroit’s Cass Corridor below. There’s more explosive fun past the jump, including songs from ayokay (ft. Future Jr.), Fabian Mazur (ft. Nevve), Hosannas, Inner Wave (ft. Bane’s World), LIINKS, MUGGS x DOOM (ft. Kool G Rap), Nightseason, Rob Garza, and Scott Xylo (ft. Afronaut Zu, Catherine Sera & Marcus Joseph). Have a great 4th of July holiday everyone!

Bearson – I Only Need One (ft. MNDR)

Billie Eilish – Hotline Bling (Drake cover)

Jack White – Corporation (Live at Cass Corridor)

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Welcome to July, where the weather is hot, and the music is even hotter! Ugh, I feel like some sort of cliche advertiser spouting that sort of schtick. But hey, it’s a holiday week, and I want to help supply you with some fresh tunes for your parties, cookouts, and fireworks. There’s a little something for everyone in this set. A short but white hot fire track from A$AP Ferg helps to kick things off. Not sure why NONONO aren’t massively popular yet. The Swedish band had a minor crossover hit with their song “Pumpin Blood” back in 2014, but haven’t released much since then. There’s a new album presumably on the way, but they wanted to share this breezy pop song “Ego” now to help fill out your summer soundtrack. Getting some interesting Screaming Trees vibes from the new Slothrust track “Peach”, which is to say that the guitars have just the right amount of heaviness to make them feel like a blissful punch to the face. It’s muscular but tender at the same time, kind of like the fruit the song was named after. Soar beyond the jump and you’ll find more music from Beezewax, cleopatrick, dijon., GANZ (ft. CUT_), Julia Michaels, Majken, Mr Little Jeans, The Score, and Sevenn.

A$AP Ferg – Not the Boy

NONONO – Ego

Slothrust – Peach

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It’s been a minute (two years, to be exact) since we last heard from Mr Twin Sister, so news of a new song and record are more than welcome. “Jaipur” very naturally marries the band’s offbeat, jazz-infused disco funk with some Indian pop textures, and the result is pretty sublime. If you’re not hip to producer/DJ/multi-hyphenate Roosevelt, maybe his new single “Under the Sun” will inspire you to give his particular brand of synth-heavy electropop a try. It’s basically a cocktail of new wave, house music, and disco that kind of feels like a cross between Hot Chip and Cut Copy. In keeping with that theme, the band VHS Collection named themselves after what’s now (sadly) a relic video format of the ’80s and ’90s, which is a solid description of their music as well. I don’t mean that their music itself is a “relic”, but rather it leans strongly on the soaring synth-pop that was hugely popular a couple decades ago. If that appeals to you, give their latest single “Animal” a shot. Take your time machine beyond the jump to find more music from the past, present, and future, including tracks from Bjorn Torske, Delta Sleep, Exploded View, Moon Panda, Tanukichan, Ukiyo, Valley Queen, Young & Sick, and more!

Mr Twin Sister – Jaipur

Roosevelt – Under the Sun

VHS Collection – Animal

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Singer-songwriter Nik Freitas takes the lead in this edition of Pick Your Poison. It’s more of an alphabetical thing rather than a “you should listen to this first” thing, but his collaboration with Maria Taylor is certainly good enough to call it a highlight. The low-end rumble that courses through the new Ovlov tune below feels a lot like its blood, in that you wouldn’t immediately notice it but just beneath the surface it’s secretly giving everything else energy and life. Another great rock song from that band is what we need right now. One of my favorite things about the band Rubblebucket is their somewhat unorthodox approach to indie rock, which is basically my way of saying that they incorporate horns and woodwinds and beats and samples and vocal harmonies and other non-guitars to craft irresponsibly bouncy and addictive songs. But why read these words when you can simply hit the play button on their latest? Skip past the jump for more fresh music from the likes of Allure, Antra, rx Soul (ft. The Kount), Saint Mesa, Stickybuds (ft. Blackout JA), Tristan Eckerson, WAJU & AIYA, YG (ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean, & Nicki Minaj), and more!

Nik Freitas – Listen (ft. Maria Taylor)

Ovlov – Stick

Rubblebucket – Lemonade

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Happy Summer Solstice! Today marks the official beginning of the summer season, as well as the longest day of sunlight for the year. Unfortunately Chicago is trapped in some severe storms all day, so we won’t get the benefits of the sunshine. It happens. The good news is that there are plenty of songs in this edition of Pick Your Poison to properly channel whatever specific weather event or mood you might be dealing with. Underground legends The Mary Onettes return with a darkly smooth synth-pop single that falls somewhere in the spectrum of The Cure and Depeche Mode. Rising hip hop star MIKE continues his pattern of great releases with his second album in two months. You can stream all 33 minutes of it below. Then there’s multi-instrumentalist Tash Sultana, who’s giving us yet another taste of her forthcoming debut full length album that’s due out at the end of August. She’ll be performing at pretty much every music festival around the world this summer (Lollapalooza included), so make sure to catch her set, as she does incredible, mind-blowing things with looping pedals. Ride on past the jump for more songs from 101, Adron, Dillon Francis (ft. Jarina De Marco), El Ten Eleven, Felicity, Matt Muse (ft. Shawnee Dez), Restorations, Tony Molina, and Tory Lanez (ft. Rich The Kid).

The Mary Onettes – Cola Falls

MIKE – Renaissance Man

Tash Sultana – Salvation

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Rising pop star Colin Magalong has a new single out that showcases his ability to handle some slower, R&B-style vibes, and it turns out well enough to be worth highlighting as part of today’s Pick Your Poison. Local Chicago artist to watch Gia Margaret also has a quieter song in this set, and it’s so intricately composed and lush in its arrangement that the mixture of synths, guitars, and powerful drums is completely spellbinding. The boost of energy you’re looking for can be found in Zeds Dead’s collaboration with Redman and Jayceeoh, which is about what you’d expect when EDM and hip hop collide. If you’re up for exploring past the jump, there’s some other tracks in this set from Clans, Cocoa Futures, FRND, Gallant x A$AP Ferg, Joell, KOLE, Madge, Riley, and more!

Colin Magalong – After Hours

Gia Margaret – Birthday

Zeds Dead x 1000volts (Redman x Jayceeoh) – Kill Em

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I’m always intrigued when artists make the conscious decision to make music for children. They Might Be Giants have done that multiple times over the years, and that strategy seems to work well for them. But it also leaves me curious as to why these artists feel the need to move in a more simplistic direction to fully appeal to that younger demographic. Most kids are smart enough to understand and enjoy complex melodies and lyrics, even as toddlers. The Beatles might be one of the best examples of that, and they never made an album targeted at small children. To each their own I guess, and now Best Coast is jumping into that arena. Bethany Cosentino’s songs and lyrics have always leaned on the simpler side of life, so this feels like a natural extension of that, only with less lyrics about getting high or falling in love and more lyrics about pets and such. Get a taste of the upcoming Best Coast kids album below. One of the things I love most about Laurel Halo is her curiosity and willingness to take chances with her music. Case in point, after her excellent experimental pop record Halo from last year, she’s putting out a new mini-album full of ambient, instrumental electronica inspired by some recent soundtrack work. Strap in for the flowing yet ominous vibes of the 10-minute “Raw Silk Uncut Wood”. One of the great, unsung album treasures of the ’80s is The Blue Nile’s Hats. It’s a gorgeous piece of synth-pop that contains some magical qualities that are tough to define, but keep you coming back for more. Pure Bathing Culture have noticed this, and have chosen to cover the album in full for the ongoing Sounds Delicious series for Turntable Kitchen. Because he likes fun things, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie also contributes vocals to two songs, including “Saturday Night”, which is featured below. Other artists featured in today’s Pick Your Poison include Astronauts, etc., Bugge Wesseltoft & Prins Thomas, Cam Meekins, Sap & Michael Christmas, GODAMN, GoldLink (ft. Miguel), Guts Club, Hosannas, Marquis Hawkes (ft. Ursula Rucker), and Omik.

Best Coast – Cats & Dogs

Laurel Halo – Raw Silk Uncut Wood

Pure Bathing Culture – Saturday Night (The Blue Nile cover ft. Ben Gibbard)

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Really great collection of tracks in today’s Pick Your Poison. That is to say, much better than average. If you’re a fan of The xx and Beach House but aren’t aware of Cigarettes AFter Sex for some reason, get on that train right away. They put out their debut album a year ago, and in celebration of that anniversary have shared an unreleased new song that sounds a whole lot like their other songs. Your excitement level should be determined by how much you enjoy slow burn sexiness. The Australian duo known as Let’s Eat Grandma have given us a couple of fantastic synth-pop tracks over the last couple months, but as we prepare for their new record that’ll be out in a couple weeks they’ve mixed things up a bit with a lovely piano ballad. Then there’s something fresh from Odetta Hartman, who’s got a sound that’s difficult to describe but might fit best into the category of rockabilly. The guitars have a certain twang to them, matched only by her powerful voice, but then there are synths and electronic textures interspersed that provides a modern twist on a classic sound. Reach beyond the jump, and you’ll find more music from artists including Ash (not the British band), Blake Banks, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Cumulus, EMBRZ (ft. joan), Hockeysmith, Ovlov, Pat Lok (ft. JONES), and Sean Gast.

Cigarettes After Sex – Crush

Let’s Eat Grandma – Ava

Odetta Hartman – Sweet Teeth

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