Around Hear Page 3

Thaddeus Rex may not be a household name, but he recruits Chicago legends Koko Taylor and Pinetop Perkins as well as Alan Gershwin to bolster his playful and quirky pop style and inspirational message to kids. There’s a satisfying, punchy crispness to “Daddy Lived Inside A Boxcar” and an admirable update of the Violent Femmes on “Running In The Sun Again.” The title track is a true standout with Perkin’s jumbled piano zipping through the swampy blues. (www.thaddeusrex.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Marcus Singletary is a native Chicagoan who now calls Hollywood home. His self-titled CD shows a great deal of skill on both Singletary’s part and on the part of the other players and production staff. Many of Singletary’s songs, however, are kind of familiar sounding and cop a psychedelic Hair/Jesus Christ Superstar kind of vibe. Singletary also pushes the peace-and-love thing pretty hard, which can be annoying. Singletary is certainly a good musician, but his writing needs to catch up with his playing skills. (www.marcussingletary.com)
– Mike O’Cull

Shelley Short‘s playful vocals and low-key arrangements can be charming, and she has a crew of indie vets helping on her latest effort, Water For The Day. But oddball choices undo some of the songs, particularly when Short warbles “Oh Death, where is thy sting a ling a ling?” on “Sting Along.” The CD works better when Short skips the gimmicks and earnestly performs her pretty ballads. (www.hushrecords.com)
– Terrence Flamm

After opening for Tapes ‘N Tapes, Chin Up Chin Up, and Magnolia Electric Co. (to name a few), melodic indie poppers Smallwire turned in the somber though sophisticated Songs For Sleeping In. Frontwoman Kristin Barendregt evokes Feist throughout the peppier premises of “Is It What You Thought?” and “Aftercast,” while the dreamy backdrops of “Blur The Lines” and “Passing Plane” conjure production images of Brian Eno. (www.myspace.com/smallwire)
– Andy Argyrakis

There aren’t many musical genres singer-songwriter Stolie doesn’t explore on her third CD, Between The Fake And The Real. Luckily, she’s fluent in them all, though she could have ditched the dated synthesizer on “Benjamin.” “O Baticum Da Fé” sizzles with a Latin beat, while “When I Die” is an acoustic blues song. “I Had To Leave” is a country & western tearjerker, and Stolie taps into hip-hop with the quick and clever rhymes of “Tendency.” (www.stolie.com)
– Terrence Flamm

If progressive rock was reborn through the beeps and blips of an Atari 2600, it would sound something like the odd “We Prefer A Little Hair Down There” from Them, Roaring Twenties‘ Future Sandwich. Not only is that assimilation gratingly annoying, but so is the nearly incessant noodling throughout “Labia Arabia” and the deeply repetitive “10 Million Scientologists Can’t Be Wrong.” The cheeky titles (and goofy vocals throughout other tunes) suggest a comical perspective, but the general public isn’t likely to be in on the joke. (www.myspace.com/themroaringtwenties)
– Andy Argyrakis

It’s tough to tell if hip-hop collective 3Da Hard Way is reaching out to the true school or club set on its new album, Black Chicago. Not that the group has to reach one demographic, but the only consistent things on this disc are the midtempo synth beats. Lyrically, JFK, Just Biznez, and Ace Da Vinci offer a mixed bag of battle raps and flossy club narratives. While this variety might be appreciated by some, this group could benefit from more topical congruity. (www.miscellaneousmuzik.com)
– Max Herman

Sarah Vonderharr is a multi-talented singer-songwriter with a sharp sense of bright pop melody. Are You Listening Now? has a shiny, radio-friendly sheen that highlights her playful, enticing voice and punchy acoustic guitar. There’s the typical mix of upbeat, slick pop numbers (“I Got Sunshine,” “Sing Me To Sleep”) with a piano-driven ballad “Just Go” that’s predictable; but that doesn’t detract from Vonderharr’s sharp performance and elegant flair. (www.sarahvonderhaar.com)
– Patrick Conlan

As the title Crazy Rhythm (Delmark) implies, the latest offering from Mike Walbridge’s Chicago Footwarmers is loaded with forceful jazz flourishes, stylish bits of banjo, and vibrant tempo shifts. New recordings such as the Dixieland-drenched “I Never Knew” and the howling “Tin Roof Blues” aptly augment cuts from a coveted 1966 session (specifically reissued for this release), which unfurls the retro fury of the title cut and the robust romantics of “My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms.” (www.delmark.com)
– Andy Argyrakis

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Category: Around Hear