Pick Your Poison: Wednesday 9-24-14

There’s so many great shows happening in Chicago over the course of the next week, I could wax poetic about one every single day if needed. I’m not going to do that, but would like to take a quick moment to try and provoke your interest in Slow Club’s forthcoming show at Schubas tomorrow (Thursday) night. The Sheffield duo’s latest album Complete Surrender came out this summer to strong reviews, and most importantly a small change in direction that feels particularly suited to their strengths. More specifically, over the course of three records they’ve evolved from this lighthearted folk band who could easily soundtrack a dozen quirky indie films, into something darker, more atmospheric and soulful. The lynchpin holding it all together has been (and remains) the superior vocal interplay between Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson. They’ve both got incredible voices, Taylor in particular, and the soul influence on the new album really allows her to let loose in a way we’ve never heard her before. A song like “Suffering You, Suffering Me” is a great example of that, and shows where the band is at these days sonically. Check out the title track if you’d like to hear something a bit more playful and pop-influenced. Overall, Slow Club have built a strong early catalog for themselves, and every indication suggests their star is going to continue to rise. Best to see them now at an intimate venue like Schubas before people really start to catch on. Not only that, but Nick Mulvey is opening the show. His debut album First Mind is acoustic folk at its finest, so much so that it was just shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. That’s another reason to go, in case you needed one. Anyways, the show starts at 9PM, it’s 21+ and you can buy tickets for $15 by going here. Okay, let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. There’s some good tracks in this set from Andrew Judah, The Beggars, The Foreign Resort, n.Lannon and Todd Tobias. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Arp, Black Milk (ft. Bun B), Field Report, John Wesley Coleman III, Radical Dads, White Laces and more.