LimeWire Music Blog

Our officemates at the Lime Wire Music Store teamed up with monthly magazine Innerview and Schuba’s Matt Rucins to put together an awesome compilation of Chicago’s emerging indie rock artists. From Joe Pug’s acoustic ballads to Skybox’s circus pop, this mix has something for everyone. Oh, and it’s totally free. Download it here.

• Pretty Good Dance Moves
• Sars Flannery
• Maps & Atlases
• Mass Shivers
• Joe Pug
• Essex Chanel
• Brighton, MA
• The Prairie Spies
• Skybox
• Alla
• The Poison Arrows

A list with full band descriptions is under the cut.

The Poison Arrows
At first listen The Poison Arrows seem like another in the long line of capable post-rock practitioners that grace our fair city. After chewing on the music for a bit longer the band’s sweeter tendencies announce themselves quietly…some subtle harmonies here, some synth there. They’re not in danger of being considered a pop band anytime soon, but these touches add a certain charm to the music that could otherwise get lost in their ambitious arrangements.

Pretty Good Dance Moves
Pretty Good Dance Moves came out of nowhere in 2008 and delivered one of the most promising debuts in recent memory. Dual singers Jimmy Giannopoulos and Genevieve Schatz (whose other project Company of Thieves impresses as well) trade sentiments over a lush electronic pop foundation. The trio is a younger, more melancholy brother to The Postal Service.

Sars Flannery
Sars Flannery recently put down roots in Chicago after recording his debut record with producer Brian Zieske. The songs from those sessions are full of warm, Beatle-esque charisma and gorgeously layered vocal hooks, and portend great things for this young songwriter.

Maps & Atlases
In an age where bands arrive and disappear with remarkable speed, Maps & Atlases have maintained a strong upward arc since they started impressing people with their live shows years ago. M&A are one of the rare bands that can indulge their experimental tendencies without losing sight of a song’s melodic soul.

Mass Shivers
It’s hard to tell which direction Mass Shivers is heading at a given moment. Booming tribal drums give way to subtle syncopated percussion, the snarl of distorted guitars yields to droning psychedelia, and when the next track starts the trio is channeling a basement version of Fela Kuti with some muted horns thrown in for good measure. On paper it sounds like a mess, but the innate tension between styles actually works to great effect.

Brighton, MA
Matt Kerstein of Brighton, MA has always been one of the most talented songwriters in Chicago, bar none. With a new LP by the name Amateur Lovers arriving in October the band looks to solidify the momentum they built up with gems like “Bet you Never Thought”.

Essex Channel
Travis Lee Wiggins isn’t shy about releasing material. With his solo vehicle Essex Chanel releasing ten (count ‘em) records over the past few years, he may well have wrested some sort of title from Ryan Adams. Blissfully, his music is the type that makes the term “danceable” more than just an insufferable journalistic fad. The newest record “Dancing at Weddings” was released in January.

Alla
Alla goes a long way towards fully explaining what is great about the Chicago music scene. The stunning diversity of influences on the band’s record “Es Tiempo” could hardly be more at home. With the vocals tracking back and forth between Spanish and English, the music pulses through indie rock, Latin pop, and moody electronica. The result is gorgeously unique.

The Prairie Spies
Despite being relative newcomers, The Prairie Spies landed a full page feature in the Chicago Reader that seemed to focus steadily on the fact that the band didn’t want to try very hard at the music thing. That may be a good operative metaphor for the band, who is big and small, good and bad…all at the same time. Their songs aren’t going to change anyone’s life, and I don’t suspect that’s what the band is aiming for. Instead the band delivers well-crafted indie pop songs with enough charisma and humor to keep people coming back for more.

Joe Pug
His earthy, acoustic tales embody the storytelling that Dylan was trying so hard to demolish. And by embracing rather than lambasting the folk rock genre, there’s a warmth to Pug’s music that is self-actualized but not self-absorbed.

Skybox

One of the best albums Ive heard this year is Arco Iris by this obscure quintet which relocated to Chicago a bit over a month ago. Aside from having some of the best cover art I’ve seen in a while, the album is interesting from post to wire, a wildly diverse journey through musical styles.

(By Don Bartlett & Staff, Chicago Innerview)