January 2024

Torres, Lily Seabird and TNK Fest Chicago

Jan 04, 2024

I decided I’m going to make electronic music and learn how to DJ this year. I started things off the other day by downloading Reaper and mixing some random audio files from my laptop. I’m telling you this to hold myself accountable–I tend to launch into new hobbies full-force only to abandon them a couple of months later.

As we enter the first full year of Ro’s Roundup, I want your help improving the newsletter. What’s working for you? What would you like to see me do differently? You can give me feedback over email or in the comments. I’ll also be putting some polls up on the new Ro’s Roundup Instagram later this month.

We’ve got plenty of new releases to start off the new year, especially from singer-songwriters. Little is happening in the way of tours, but you can still catch sets by local artists as well as DJs making one-off trips here and there. Chicagoans have Tomorrow Never Knows Fest to look forward to.

SPOTLIGHT: Chicago’s Tomorrow Never Knows Festival

For nearly two decades, Chicago music venues have teamed up for an assortment of shows by out-of-town artists shortly after the winter holidays. I spoke with Lincoln Hall and Schubas Tavern marketing coordinator Claire Adams about this year’s festival.

Why put on a festival during the winter?

The initial goal was to offer an oasis of fun (and warmth) in the midst of bitter Chicago winters. January is a time when music fans otherwise have slimmer pickings and the press is hungry for something to cover. As time has gone on, we've found it to also be great timing for showcasing the best of what's to come.

To what extent do you plan TNK Fest independently versus collaboratively with other venues?

While each venue books their own TNK shows, as the organizers of the festival, we lead conversations and planning with participating venues. We don't want to step on each other's toes, but we coordinate logistics and promo.

How was it planning the festival this year without Golden Dagger? (For those who don’t know, the Lincoln Park venue changed ownership earlier this year and has reportedly experienced road bumps affecting, for one, its musical programming.)

This was a very interesting year of TNK to plan. Some venues had to take this year off, while we added others. TNK has always had a somewhat variable venue lineup, depending on what was happening in a given year. We also had some staff changes this year and this is the first year of our now Senior Talent Buyer Dan Apodaca booking both Schubas and Lincoln Hall.

Which sets are you most excited about?

This is a super hard question since we're insanely stoked and very proud of everything booked this year. However, I personally am super excited to see Nabihah Iqbal at Lincoln Hall, Buggin at Schubas Tavern, and Alice Longyu Gao at Sleeping Village will be insanely fun.

Ro’s Recommendations for TNK Fest 2024

Jan 18 – Torres with My Brightest Diamond and Aisha Burns (folk/pop) at Lincoln Hall

Jan 19 – Alice Longyu Gao with Fraxiom (hyper-pop) at Sleeping Village

Jan 20 – Wishy (Kevin Krauter) with Sports Boyfriend (rock) at G-Man Tavern

Jan 20 – Nabidah Iqbal with Rahill and Girl K (electro/dream-pop) at Lincoln Hall

Jan 21 – Mali Velazquez with Sluice and Modern Moon (folk) at Schubas

New Music (worldwide)

January 5

Pile, Hot Air Balloon (Exploding in Sound), post-punk

Sprints, Letter to Self (City Slang), Irish garage punk

January 12

Lily Seabird, Alas, (self-released), indie rock / alt-country

Alas is a catharsis for unresolved memories.

“I wrote this album in 2021 and 2022 on the road, trying to figure out who I am,” Lily “Seabird” Seward said in a press release. “A lot of them also deal with the time when my close friend passed away. The title Alas, meant a lot to her.”

Seward’s period of self-reflection and grief comes to life in mournful lyrics and somber melodies. The opening track, “Angel” builds from straightforward acoustic guitar and vocals to rich layers of atmospheric folk.

Alas has its high-energy moments. “Grace,” an ode to a girl who enamored Seward back in high school, opens with an upbeat piano riff and eventually breaks into a noise rock interlude.

The wistfulness of Alas makes it an album for solitary reflection. I will be playing it on an upcoming solo drive through winter-gray Indiana.

Kali Uchis: Orquídeas, (Geffen), neosoul

Marika Hackman, Big Sigh (Chrysalis), folk-pop

Nailah Hunter, Lovegaze (Fat Possum), ambient folk/soul

@, Are You There God, It’s Me, @ (Carpark), folk-pop

Folly Group, Down There! (So Young), British experimental post-punk

The Vaccines, Pickup Full of Pink Carnations (Thirty Tigers / Super Easy), pop / rock

January 19

Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope (Loma Vista / Concord), punk / riot-grrrl

Bolts of Melody (Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin), Film Noir (Outer Battery) ft. J. Mascis and the Besnard Lakes, experimental / psychedelic

Glass Beach, Plastic Death (Run For Cover), post-emo / bedroom pop / experimental

Packs, Melt the Honey (Fire Talk), garage rock

January 26

Torres, What an Enormous Room (Merge), rock / synthpop / singer-songwriter

Mackenzie Scott’s latest album is aptly named, bearing her trademark spacious sound and tall vocals. Stunning synth layers provide a lavish bed for strikingly existential lyrics. What an Enormous Room sees Scott grappling to find hope despite the state of humanity, challenges in her own life, and the struggles of those around her.

More than ten years into her musical career, Scott has not run out of novel melodies or beats. “Life as We Know It,” her second track, weaves together various frenetic melodies that at times evoke a haunted circus.

What an Enormous Room covers the entire spectrum of human emotion. “Wake to Flowers” smiles upon the small joys amidst looming difficulties while “Collect” sneers through vindictive lyrics and low-pitch power chords. Scott resolves to choose the more positive side of these feelings in “Jerk into Joy,” whose lyrics birth the album’s title. Speaking to a friend inadvertently responsible for someone else’s death, she sings, “I don’t have a clue how somebody moves through that, but if I can help to carry you, we can try to jerk into joy.” The melody underpinning her message is upbeat in just the right way, a feat unachievable for most artists.

Scott’s ability to match lyrics and instrumentation carries throughout her album. In “Artificial Limits,” she switches from minor to major key with a stirring organ entrance just as she says “Took me this long to realize the flame casts no shadow. / I’m not saying I’ve let my darkness go, but. . .it’s like I’m starting to glow.” The tracks are not only cohesive within themselves but together, forming one evocative arc.