Tours: Sybris

Spotted at the Sybris MySpace Page:

Sept. w/Colour Revolt

25 The Marquee - Norman OK

26 Hailey's - Denton TX

27 Creative Incubator - McAllen TX

28 Austin City Limits Festival - TX

30 Birdy's - Indianapolis IN

Oct. w/A Decent Animal

1 Canopy Club - Urbana IL

2 Cactus Clb - Milwaukee WI

4 7th St. Entry - Minneapolis MN

7 Sunset Tavern - Seattle

11 Spaceland - Los Angeles CA

12 Rhythm Room - Phoenix AZ

13 Moonlight - Albuquerque NM

14 Larimer Lounge - Denver CO

15 Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence KS


(Sybris - "Oh Man")

Sybris MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Cross-published on CIMI.

New Sybris - "Hurt Hawk"

Download: Sybris - "Oh Man!"
Download: Sybris - "Hurt Hawk"


Chicago-based psychedelic-pop band Sybris's upcoming effort Into The Trees, their sophomore release, and first for Absolutely Kosher, doesn't come out until June, but the band is slowly but surely giving its listeners a foretaste of the feast to come. First off was the bouncy, jangly punk-attitude of "Oh Man!" (that exclamation point is key), a track that was premiered by Forkcast a few months back.



Now, a second leaf from Trees has fallen and it is called "Hurt Hawk." You can stream the track at the band's MySpace page, or listen to it at the top of the post.

As you might have gathered from the title, "Hurt Hawk" is all vulnerability, with a finger-picked acoustic guitar and singer Angela Mullenhour's wounded-puppy vocals being the focal points of the track. The song is brief--it's run time is barely a-minute-and-a-half--but that's more than enough time for Mullenhour to convey the sadness of a...well, a hurt hawk. Also, assuming your listening on MySpace, the track makes a great segue into "Oh Man!". With this latest track, Sybris is proving itself to be a band to watch.

Into The Trees is out on June 3rd.

Sybris MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Band To Know: Sybris - "Oh Man!"

Download: Sybris - "Best Day In History In Ever" (from Sybris)
Download: Sybris - "Breathe Like You're Dancing" (from Sybris)
Download: Sybris - "Happy Birthday America"
Download: Sybris - "Oh Man!" (via P4K)

Not to sound like Jon Q. Derrierbaisent, professional asskisser, but Chicago-based indie label Flameshovel Records has been having a hell of a year. In 2007, they've put out great records by the likes of The Narrator, The Race and Mannequin Men. Judging by the quality of "Oh Man!", the first track released from Chicago "newgazers" Sybris' forthcoming full-length Into The Trees, both the label and the band should be in high spirits come 2008.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Sybris are a Chicago band. They've been playing together since the Spring of 2003, when a chance encounter at a local bar lead to a jam session which consisted of "sonic gluttony". From there, the quartet created a sound which blended the youthful, rambunctious energy of punk with the more serene sounds of shoegazer. In 2005, the group released their kid-tested, Pitchfork-approved self-titled debut album for which they toured constantly over the next two years.

During that time, Sybris also managed to record a follow-up at Pachyderm studios, the Cannon Falls, MN, studio where Nirvana recorded In Utero and PJ Harvey recorded Rid Of Me. That album, as mentioned before, is titled Into The Trees and will be released in the spring of next year.

A few days ago, P4K posted and reviewed "Oh Man!" on their website. The track starts off with a guitar part which is both droney and melodic, like Goo-era Sonic Youth with a steadily shuffling beat anchoring the music. It's all pretty, upbeat and straightforward, song structure wise, until the band abruptly slows down into a more atmospheric section before roaring back to conclude the song with an enthused last rendition of the main refrain. Sybris may be the ones wanting to go find some shade in the trees, but if this track is any indication of what the band has in store for next year, they'll have many other people wanting to keep them company under the branches.

Listen to "Oh Man!" at the top of the post, as well as two songs from their self-titled debut and a 4th of July-themed B-Side from earlier this summer.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Happy Birthday America!

Courtesy of shoegaze-influenced Chicago band Sybris, who have put one of the first songs that the band had written up on their MySpace page, a song called (appropriately enough for today) "Happy Birthday America." If you want to catch the band live, they will be playing the Wicker Park Street Fair on July 28th-29th, and then will be going into the studio to record the follow-up to their self-titled debut. Good times.

Download: Sybris - "Happy Birthday America"

Happy Fourth of July!

(Jonathan Graef)