Jonathan Sharp : Neon Night Ride

It’s 1984. You’re up late on a Friday night with a beer buzz and searching for something to fall asleep to. You pause on USA Up All Night and see the neon glow of L.A.; buildings shimmering in a dusk-lit landscape, twinkling lights like doomed stars pulsate in the inescapable push of night, and an […]

Causa Sui : In Flux

Causa Sui hit – to my ears at least – a career high with last year’s excellent From The Source. It picked up where 2020’s Szabodelico left off. Szabodelico was steeped in tropicalia vibes; clean guitar lines, moody keys, and delicate percussion and bass gave the album a very vibe-heavy feel. A sound that was […]

Billow Observatory : The Glass Curtain

The duo Billow Observatory -consisting of Auburn Lull’s Jason Kolb and Causa Sui’s Jonas Munk- are a transatlantic ambient/instrumental project. Since 2012 these two musicians have been sharing, manipulating, cutting and pasting music files back and forth across the Atlantic. They turn guitars and electronics into something completely new and engaging. With their 2012 debut […]

Vacation Time

Been a minute, I apologize. Wait, no I don’t. I’m on vacation you heathens. Just kidding. I know you’re not all heathens. Last I checked in I was dealing with a fresh batch of pre-vacation Covid. Thankfully that is well on its way out. No fever since last Wednesday. Still dealing with some head congestion […]

Sick Again

Today is the official start of my vacation. Off today and tomorrow, then all of next week. Our biggest plan on this vacation was heading down to Indianapolis tomorrow to hit a museum, visit our oldest, and then get some dinner at a Detroit-style pizza joint. My wife’s birthday is Monday, so you know cake […]

Kills Birds : Crave

When I was 18 oldies rock and roll were bands like the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, and surf music. Those bands seemed light years away from what I was listening to. Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, Garbage, etc…they were the future. The British Invasion and the Beach Boys were the past. Well fast forward 30 […]

Le Matos : Turbo Kid Original Game Soundtrack

10 years ago the French-Canadian filmmaking trio RKSS released their film, Turbo Kid. An ode to 80s post-apocalyptic B-movies, it was a fun nod to movies like Metalstorm, Steel Dawn, and Mad Max but with the light-heartedness of BMX Bandits, Explorers, and E.T. Over the top gore that was more ridiculous than offensive, and a […]

Macie Stewart : When The Distance Is Blue

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser Macie Stewart has had a hand in quite a few amazing tracks over the last five years. Whether working with Makaya McCraven, Japanese Breakfast, Tweedy, Mannequin Pussy or SZA, Stewart adds her unique and singular musical voice to whatever she’s collaborating on. She mainly works with piano, prepared piano, violin, […]

Miki Berenyi Trio : Tripla

Lush were one of the big ones in terms of late 80s/early 90s shoegaze bands. Along with Ride, Chapterhouse, Slowdive, Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine, Lush established their hazy, dreamy, and ghostly sound through delayed guitars, ghostly vocals, and guitarist/singer Miki Berenyi’s delivery. Berenyi’s vocals were clear, but always just a bit under the mix, […]

4/16/25 Check-In : The Last Few Days

Greetings. It’s been a few days since I checked in with the outside world, so here we go. It’s been a few interesting days since we last talked. I usually do these check-ins at the beginning of the week, but I admit I’ve been slacking in my open book policy here. I guess I’ve just […]