Faronheit | A Chicago Centric Music Blog

Today’s Pick Your Poison is one I’m particularly excited about, as it seems like every few weeks there’s a collection of songs that’s just incredible all the way through. You can get another preview of Eleanor Friedberger’s upcoming album, with a track that’s just a little different than what she’s done in the past. Take a slow and beautiful trip with a ballad from Grouper, then get into the groove with a woozy synth pop track from Makeness. Keep going past the jump and you’ll be treated to more awesomeness from the likes of The Bones of J.R. Jones, BOYTOY, Gallant, Chicago’s own Ganser, ggnoaa, Lion Babe (ft. Leikeli47), Michael Paradise, Orchards, and Shakey Graves.

Eleanor Friedberger – Make Me A Song

Grouper – Driving

Makeness – Who Am I to Follow Love

Read More

Hope you had a great Easter! Or Passover, depending on what (if anything) you celebrated. I promised I’d provide a few thoughts on the Lorde and Justin Timberlake shows I attended last week, so let’s do that now in very brief fashion. Basically it boils down to this: Lorde at Allstate Arena was fantastic. The energy and the passion she delivered on stage were remarkable, and the crowd ate up every second of it. Definitely one of the best performances I’ve seen so far this year, and having Mitski and Run the Jewels as openers didn’t hurt either. Justin Timberlake, on the other hand, wasn’t quite on top of his game. Then again, if you’ve listened to his latest album Man of the Woods you probably already knew that. The last time I saw him perform was a few years back in support of The 20/20 Experience, and it blew me away. Not so much this time, as the second half of the show dragged a bit with a half hour of slow acoustic numbers around a campfire. Also, I take small issue with artists that don’t perform their songs in full, and Timberlake would do a verse or two of his hits before moving on (while holding out his microphone and telling the crowd to sing along half the time too). The dancing was great though, as was his band. Let’s say the show was good but not quite great. So those are my capsule reviews of last week’s pop double header in Chicago. On to the business at hand, which is today’s Pick Your Poison. Highlights include new tracks from Club 8, DJDS (ft. Khalid, Charlie Wilson, and Charlotte Day Wilson), and Luna Shadows covering a Dua Lipa hit. Cruise past the jump for more music from Berel, Colin Magalong, DanielOG, Holy Boy, Matt Costa, The Rare Occasions, Steve Aoki & Loopers, Win and Woo (ft. Ian Gott), plus Jacques Greene’s remix of a Rhye track.

Club 8 – Give Me Love

DJDS – No Pain (ft. Khalid, Charlie Wilson & Charlotte Day Wilson)

Luna Shadows – Be the One (Dua Lipa cover)

Read More

Taking a couple of days off for the Easter weekend coming up, but certainly don’t want to leave you empty handed for the holiday. There’s a pretty boss new Flatbush Zombies track you need to hear below. Fujiya & Miyagi have unleashed something fresh in celebration of their new U.S. tour kicking off, and I’d suggest giving that a try too. For those in search of something longer and more ambient, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is diving into long-form electronica with a brand new record label and a 22-minute song called “Abstractions”. Devote some time to that adventure as well. Other artists with tracks beyond the jump include Ama Lou, BE3K, Blu & Nottz (ft. Sene & Elisa Meri), Erin Rae, L8LOOMER, Laura Jean Anderson, Paris (ft. Gunna), Spielbergs, and Mogwai’s remix of a song from Frightened Rabbit offshoot mastersystem. have a great weekend!

Flatbush Zombies – U&I (ft. Dia)

Fujiya & Miyagi – Subliminal Cuts

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Electronic Series Vol. 1: Abstractions

Read More

Sad to hear that Frog Eyes will be calling it quits after their upcoming album is released. Then again, they’ve been active for nearly 2 decades and have put out close to 10 LPs in that time. It’ll be interesting to hear what Carey Mercer does next. In the meantime, get your first taste of that final album below. You’ll also want to dive into a new one from illuminati hotties, a band that’s definitely one to watch. And Frightened Rabbit side project mastersystem has shared another song off their forthcoming debut, which you might dig. More good stuff after the jump too, including songs from Air Waves (ft. Kevin Morby), Bhad Barbie (ft. Lil Yachty), Chicago’s own Deeper, Jaunt, River Whyless, Synead, Violet, Westerman, and YellowStraps (ft. VYNK).

Frog Eyes – Idea Man

illuminati hotties – Paying Off The Happiness

mastersystem – Old Team

Read More

Always a delight when Black Moth Super Rainbow drop a new track into our collective laps, and you can hear one such song right below this paragraph. Big Thief’s Buck Meek has also shared something new from his forthcoming solo debut that you’ll hopefully enjoy. Then get a taste of South American R&B with Florentino & Bad Gyal’s collaboration. Slide beyond the jump and take in additional songs from boerd, Coping Skills, The Dead Tongues, Harlequiin (ft. Amelka May), House of Feelings, joan, Kitty, Still Woozy (ft. ODIE), and ViVii.

Black Moth Super Rainbow – Baby’s in the Void

Buck Meek – Ruby

Florentino & Bad Gyal – Por Ti

Read More

Today’s Pick Your Poison is a particularly interesting and diverse collection of tracks that I hope you’ll explore from top to bottom. Seriously, it’s packed with goodness, and the highlights up top are just the start. Dive into new ones from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Gold Connections, and Wavves (covering The Electric Prunes) – all of which do something worthwhile and just a touch unexpected. After the jump, you can find more delights from the likes of Aisha Burns, Chad Valley, The fin., Ganser, Little Boots, Sama Dams, Split Cranium, Whethan (ft. Broods), and WHIPPED CREAM & KTRL.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Right Moves

Gold Connections – Bad Intentions

Wavves – Onie (The Electric Prunes cover)

Read More

Beware the Ides of March, lest you be stabbed in the back. That’s the lesson we’re supposed to learn today, right? Fairly certain that only happened to Julius Caesar, but a few others may have befallen the same fate on the same date in the many years since then. After all, somebody gets stabbed somewhere in the world pretty much every day. These and more morbid thoughts are available in my new book, “Everyone Wants to Kill You”, not available in bookstores anywhere. Let’s lighten the mood with a fresh batch of songs, yeah? Highlights in this set come from the brilliant minds of Jacques Greene, Salt Cathedral, and SOHN. If you choose to proceed past the jump, you’ll also discover additional songs from Bluestaeb (ft. Noah Slee & MAIA), Bodywash, Chris McClenney, Cold Fronts, Daze (ft. Cool Company), Francobollo, Kasbo (ft. Frida Sundemo), Ruth Koleva, and Tee Grizzley (ft. Moneybagg Yo).

Jacques Greene – Nordschleife

Salt Cathedral – No Love

SOHN – Hue

Read More

Wishing you a very happy Pi day. In honor of this annual “holiday”, allow me to recite as many digits of Pi as I can remember off the top of my head: 3.1415926535…and so on. Go out and grab yourself a slice of pie as well, because it’s only fitting and also delicious. Had myself a bit of banana creme this afternoon, and it really hit the spot. Hoping these Pick Your Poison tracks will do the same for you. The B-52’s Fred Schneider has an interesting new song with his band the Superions, whicn you can find below. Also don’t miss streams from MONOGEM and the DJDS remix of St. Vincent’s most recent single “Los Ageless”. Beyond the jump you’ll also find songs by Breathe Panel, Caitlyn Scarlett, EMBRZ (ft. Harvie), Henry Fong x Vlien Boy (ft. Lisa Mercedez), Last Japan, mmph, Mountain Bird, Murlo & Conducta, and SACRE.

Fred Schneider & the Superions – Konnichiwa

MONOGEM – Get You High

St. Vincent – Los Ageless (DJDS Version)

Read More

Don’t know about you, but I’m in a bit of a collaboration mood today. Musically speaking, of course. When two artists record a track together, the creative forces at work often result in something a little new or different compared to what might otherwise have been done on their own. So when The Black Lips and The Khan Family collaborate, there’s excitement and intrigue about how that’ll turn out. The Bones of J.R. Jones bringing in Nicole Atkins has real potential as well. While Dinosaur Jr. didn’t have any guests or collaborators on their new song below, the pleasure of hearing J. Mascis play guitar is interesting enough on its own. Head past the jump to hear additional songs from the likes of Cienfuegos, Indigo Husk, Kassin, Lil Texas, Little Vic, Nedelle Torrisi, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, and A Winged Victory for the Sullen.

The Black Lips & The Khan Family – Too Much In Love

The Bones of J.R. Jones – Burden (ft. Nicole Atkins)

Dinosaur Jr. – Hold Unknown

Read More

Variety is the spice of life, and today’s Pick Your Poison has that in spades. The band Sloppy Jane have their debut album coming out in a couple of weeks, and it’s the best kind of weird, lo-fi scuzz rock. If you’re in a more international mood, Thievery Corporation are back with new material. The track below features LouLou Ghelichkhani on vocals, which is interesting to say the least. Then there’s an odd one-pff collaboration between EDM artist ZHU and psychedelic rock band Tame Impala. If you’ve heard a ZHU track before, then you’ll already know what to expect, just this time Kevin Parker’s vocals are in the mix. It’s not the best from either artist, but still worth a listen. Go beyond the jump for more songs from Anemone, Boys, Dune & Twemty9, Garden City Movement, LA Riots, Peluche, Superheart, Thyla, and Will Long.

Sloppy Jane – Bark Like A God

Thievery Corporation – La Force de Melodie (ft. LouLou Ghelichkhani)

ZHU x Tame Impala – My Life

Read More

I’m very excited about today’s edition of Pick Your Poison, mostly because it’s got some incredible tracks pretty much from top to bottom. That’s not to discount most of the other days and playlists, it’s just that every day can’t be an A+ collection of songs (hard as I might try to make that happen). I can’t control what music is sent my way, nor can I control your tastes either, which is why you might not love these songs as much as I do. But I hope you’ll give them a try anyway. There’s new ones from Elle Exxe, Hinds, and Hot Flash Heat Wave that I think you’ll really dig. But keep going beyond the jump and you’ll also discover tracks from Bok Nero & Ricky Remedy, Katelyn Tarver, Lemaitre, LOVE SICK, Matt Costa, Potatohead People, Quinn Lewis, QUIX (ft. JVMIE), and Set Mo.

Elle Exxe – Queen

Hinds – The Club

Hot Flash Heat Wave – Glo Ride

Read More