Best Of Around Hear – 2007

Each January, we dedicate part of “Around Hear” to those low-profile local artists who are our favorites from the passing year – the results of our staff and freelancers combing clubs and stacks of CDs for more than the booze and adulation we normally receive. This is by no means an attempt to make a definitive guide of “the best” acts, rather 10 friendly suggestions to our loyal readers looking for something fresh or that elusive next-big-thing.

Lou Carlozo may be best known as a Chicago Tribune entertainment columnist, but he has also stepped away for artistic offerings on several occasions. After finding local fame with rhythmic rockers Blue Lit Souls, the singer-songwriter recently went solo, combining the jangle pop worlds of The Byrds and R.E.M., Beatles-esque power pop, plus electric aggression akin to The Smithereens. His recent release, Stick Figure Soul (co-produced by Wilco/Billy Bragg knob-twirler Mike Hagler), is ripe with eclectic instrumentation and poetic lyrics, and Carlozo remains the consummate storyteller in concert. (www.myspace.com/stickfiguresoul)
– Andy Argyrakis

Like Spinal Tap – in corpse paint – Cealed Kasket understand mocking heavy metal isn’t funny if you can’t play heavy metal. That’s why their two CDs, Cealed Kasket and Penetration, have as many excellent riffs (thanks to guitarist/500-year-old wizard, Sarsicus) as clever jokes. Songs about steeds and swords and magic and murder are good on disc, but awesome live because Cealed Kasket are built for the stage, where the characters (Sarsicus the wizard, Maurice Pearlman the diamond baron/bassist, Mortal Death the egomaniac frontman, and Scott Jackson the party boy/drummer) created by the members – good luck finding real names – come to life in irresistibly stupid fashion. (www.myspace.com/cealedkasket)
– Trevor Fisher

While it’s smart for a band to capitalize on the current hot sound, it can also be a curse as they endure endless comparisons and “knock-off” labels. But Chicago’s own Emerald Lizards are one of those rare bands who figured out how to be simultaneously relevant and envelope-pushing in their sound. While they embody the best of the new-wave garage rock sound of Arctic Monkeys, White Stripes, and The Hives, they constantly inject new directions, creativity, and intensity on Electric Earthquake. And that is only their debut album. (www.theemeraldlizards.com)
– Carter Moss

Ezurate‘s brand of old, bag-of-death black metal can stink up the joint faster than you can say “Kelefa Sanneh.” With shooting-spree drums, attention-deficit riffs, and an overweight, corpse-painted ghoul named Holo-causto Inferni on vocals, Ezurate have no shame, no tolerance, and no beauty. And the press has little interest. In a year where pop critics from The New York Times to The Portland Mercury couldn’t resist black metal’s antithetical temptation, most writers overlooked one of the truest bands while hyping genre benders like Enslaved and Nachtmystium. Blasphemous Hierarchy is a whiff of putrid, ungodly mess that hauls this music back to the asylum. (www.myspace.com/ezurate)
– Mike Meyer

Icy Demons‘ Tears Of A Clone continues to impress so many months after submission for the same reasons as before: an individualistic electronica sound via Zappa/Eno that never repeats from song to song, which, while challenging the listener, nevertheless remains invitingly inclusive. Afraid neither to get too heavy nor take themselves too seriously, duo Griffen “Blue Hawaii” Rodriguez and Chris Powell cut such a unique musical path that they edged out others’ slightly more predictable offerings, even if one worries about their seeming lack of activity since. (www.icydemons.com)
– David C. Eldredge

What makes Lonesome Times stand out is the total self-assured musicianship of the Long Gone Lonesome Boys that permeates every aspect of the band’s recording. The songwriting competently mines the C&W canon – rhyming about booze/broads and love/life both lost and won, getting in a good aphorism while avoiding the cliché – while not being afraid to laugh at themselves, the storytellers, in the process. Add two great vocal leads, the solid chops of the core band, and smart support choices, and the result is a winning and engaging sound that’s hard to resist. (www.longgonelonesomeboys.com)
– David C. Eldredge

If Mike Mangione‘s voice were alcohol, it’d be a single-malt Scotch. Oaky and warm, it might not be the only reason to get lost in his new LP, Tenebrae, but it’s a damn good one. While he does the kinda predictable, Ray Lamontagne thing and wraps it in dark textures, bluesy turns like “First Time: Please Forgive Me” and foot-stomper “You Don’t Wanna Leave” suggest working “roadworn” into the list of qualifiers for his voice would be a plus. More cheap bourbon, less red wine. (www.mikemangione.com)
– Steve Forstneger

Singer/guitarist Michael D gives My Were They a haunting yet familiar vocal presence reminiscent of David Bowie or The Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler. He’s also a versatile songwriter who composed all the material on the recently released After They Threw Me In The River And Before I Drowned, a follow-up to their 2005 full-length debut Epigrams And Interludes. The band, who formed around 2003, sound like the Psychedelic Furs on melodic songs like “Afterglow” and evoke vintage U.K. shoegazer groups via slower, shimmering arrangements, though “Sixteen” has more of a dance-club beat. (www.mywerethey.com)
– Terrence Flamm

Well-crafted songs and gorgeous harmonies set Utah Carol apart from the countless other co-ed indie rock duos. Vocalist/guitarist Grant Birkenbeuel and wife JinJa Davis began writing country & western-flavored tunes back in 1995 and sing duets on almost all of them. The easy-going “Come Back Baby” shows a definite Neil Young influence, and the toe-tapping “Can I Ride With You” and “Ruby” are irresistible. Birkenbeuel and Davis also occasionally add elements of techno and hip-hop. Three critically acclaimed CDs have helped Utah Carol develop a worldwide following. (www.myspace.com/utahcarol)
– Terrence Flamm

In less than two years working together, Yea Big And Kid Static produced an album that made this progressive hip-hop duo sound like they had been collaborating for ages. Static, a dynamic MC formally of The Cankles, and Big, an experimental instrumentalist, share a restless energy and penchant for pushing boundaries that makes their self-titled debut tough to turn off. And, as seen in the action-packed video for their glitch-laden single, “The Life Here,” the duo’s hyper presence isn’t contained to studio sessions. (www.myspace.com/yeabigkidstatic)
– Max Herman

Category: Around Hear, Columns, Monthly