Dark Dark Dark Gets Written Up In The Chicago Reader

Minneapolis-based Caberet-folk trio Dark Dark Dark played in the Windy City last night to an appreciative crowd of about 50 people. Here's what venerable alt-weekly the Chicago Reader said in Previewing last night's gig at the Heaven Gallery:

Minneapolis-based Dark Dark Dark makes lulling cabaret-folk with a chilly edge, floating haunting male and female vocals over an ocean tide of accordion, banjo, cello, and upright bass. On the quartet’s full-length debut, The Snow Magic (Blood Onion), front woman Nona Marie Invie engages her squeeze box in a lonely not-quite duet whenever she sings, as though she’d been separated from the rest of the band during a blizzard—the plinking banjo is like a radio beacon calling out to her through the storm. Fortunately the group’s gothic air is lightened by a touch of impishness, especially in Invie’s winkingly insidious vocals—imagine a mellower Dresden Dolls, with less fashion sense. -Monica Kendrick

I attended last night's show, and the band did a stellar job of playing material from their new twin releases, full-length The Snow Magic and EP Love You, Bye in the Gallery's intimate setting. By my estimation, the turnout for the show was not bad by any means, considering it was a Thursday night. The crowd was very enthusiastic for the most part, as Dark Cubed played several waltzes, including "Benefit Of The Doubt", in a row; the band even joked about that fact. The show also marked the start of a series of "Folk Music Nights" at the Heaven Gallery. Wonder what groups from MPLS could grace my beloved hometown with their presence...anyone up for The Parlour Suite?

Listen to a track from Magic at the top of the post. The song is called "Colors", and it's a very good representation of what the band's sound is like. Also, the track includes the memorable line "There's no ocean in Minneapolis." If you like that, buy the album here.

Dark Dark Dark MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Chicago Reader Article About Bird Names

Download: Bird Names - "Nobody Loves Me"
Download: Bird Names - "New Mexico"

Click here to read a story about experimental/je nois se quoi Chicago rockers Bird Names. The article serves as a backstory for their new album, Wooden Lake Sexual Dinner, for which they will be playing a free show tonight at the Empty Bottle. The 21+ show starts at 8 p.m. and is FREE. So that's most definitely incentive to see one of the most utterly original, unique, bands in Chicago. You'll be both confused and engaged, and the article does a great job describing the group's fractured, yet additive, sound. You'll find two MP3s from Wooden Lake at the top of this post

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Cool Kids Featured In The Chicago Reader

Download: The Cool Kids - "Mikey Rocks"
Download: The Cool Kids - "Gold and Pagers"
Download: The Cool Kids - "One Two"
Download: Flosstradamus - "Act A Fool"
Download: Flosstradamus - "Overnight Star"
Download: Kid Sister Feat. Kayne West - "Pro Nails"
Download: Kid Sister - "Control"

The Chicago Reader has an article about the burgeoning Chicago Hip-Hop sound which you can read right here. The article mainly focuses on the MySpace success of The Cool Kids, but the article also mentions groups like Flosstradamus and Kid Sister. Definitely check it out, it's a great read.

Speaking of Flosstradamus, here is a video for their remix of Matt and Kim's "Yea Yeah" which was just posted on the Floss's MySpace bulletin:



(Jonathan Graef)

Q101: Now Shuffling For Relevance By Tangoing With The White Stripes

So remember that White Stripes versus alternative-rock cesspool Q101 battle about the Chicago based station playing a leaked version of the now newly-released Icky Thump a week in advance?

The Chicago Reader (Chicago Reader= Chicago as City Pages=Minneapolis) had an article about the dust-up and what the aftermath of the confrontation says about the way music is now being consumed, in the age of the iPod, and how terristrial radio is getting lost in the shuffle. Spike, the music director from Q101, openly admits that radio is being made irrelevent by the internet.

It's a very interesting read, and you can see the article for yourself here. In addition, P4K has a review of the album on its website right now. Expect an MFR review of the album in the next few days.

(Jonathan Graef)