Thu, May 21 - 8pm - $12adv/$15door

Secret Colours "Dream Dream" Record Release!  If you didn’t know these guys were from Chicago, you’d assume they’re a bunch of Brits, with their insanely Britpop-influenced sound and their unusual spelling of colour, but the Windy City exports manage to capture the soul of the UK in the late ’90s/early ’00s and mix in a good amount of 70's Psychedelia for a sound all their own. Ample amounts of fuzz and pop combine to sound something like if The Stone Roses and The Black Angels decided to mate, and their offspring is something to be cherished. With the release of Dream Dream, Secret Colours continues to craft a sound that reaches far beyond the city limits of their hometown of Chicago, IL. Heading back to Dripping Springs, TX and recording their fourth full length LP at Dandy Sounds Studios with engineer/producer Dan Duzsynski, Dream Dream relishes on the current level of the demand on society to rely on their screens, devices, and multi-media influence. Dream Dream takes its musical cues from indie, britpop, psychedelia, and garage rock, captivating listeners through a myriad of melodies that make up Secret Colours signature sound. Songs like “Changes in Nature” and “Pins and Needles” are homages to their influences while “Habitual Ritual” drives a fast-fueled charge of modern life while “Feed the Machine” delivers a pounding vibe of bass with an attitude of 70’s London. Vocals, Guitar / Tommy Evans, Guitar / Mike Novak, Bass / Max Brink, Drums / Matt Yeates  

 Under duress from the USM (Unified Society of Milkmen), Joseph Daley, Blair Douglass, Paul Foreman and Nicholas Rocchio shut down their independent milk delivery service in 1929. A smattering of unsuccessful endeavors followed, until they discovered an undeniable chemistry blending finger-picked guitars with lutes and clarinets. Although initially less lucrative than the milk business, the quartet, who settled on the name Sanftsprecher (trans. “Soft Speaker”), were championed by Austria’s Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in 1932 and subsequently enjoyed a period of massive popularity in their newly-adopted home country. The band split following Dollfuss’s assassination in 1934. Their only official recording, the 78rpm single, I’ll Tend Your Garden, is highly sought after by record collectors. In 2008, enthusiasts of the band purchased sheet music for a number of unrecorded Sanftsprecher songs that were discovered in Rocchio’s safe deposit box in UniCredit Bankengruppe. Austria’s Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich has been recording interpretations of these songs and releasing them for the public’s listening pleasure. Separately, a ramshackle group of Chicago-based musicians has taken it upon themselves to perform and record these songs in a strikingly rudimentary manner with crude electric instruments, much to the dismay of purist fans that prefer the orchestral versions.

"The dirty, blues-influenced garage-rock band has suddenly become an archetype for American music. The White Stripes and The Black Keys have taken the formula to massive heights, but neither seem to be having as unapologetic of a good time as Chicago's The Van Goghs. Having shared stages with a true mix of genres (from Megafaun's artful Americana to Tin Tin Can's charging, dark indie-rock to The Hounds Below's enigmatic, old-school sound), The Van Goghs' self-proclaimed "American laundry washed in British detergent" can fit any palette, while remaining unique. Mixing a plug-and-play aesthetic with huge nods to 60's guitar-pop acts like The Byrds and the almost symphonic production choices of George Martin, these guys are in a league of their own and coming up fast.

 Using an array of auxiliary instruments coursing over hook after catchy hook, BBM straps the boots on once again to kick down a few more walls with their third release, EP “Run Through the Middle.” Recorded at Chicago’s world-renown Engine Studios (Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse), this collection of tracks starts with a kick, downshifts and then kicks even harder. Bad Bad Meow has solidified its voice since bringing some Carolina twang to the Chicago scene, and it’s not an inside voice.