Jordan Mainzer/Since I Left You

Though some songs on Magic Tuber Stringband's excellent new album Heavy Water (@thrilljockey.bsky.social) summon the ghosts of the land, many treat the present state of the Savannah River Site as its own world worthwhile of exploration. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8242001...

Peaches! is the best album by @theblackkeys.bsky.social in 15 years, and their show earlier this month at the Vic felt like a return to their heyday. Don't sleep on The Animeros, an Austin psychedelic cumbia band signed to Easy Eye Sound, who opened sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8235761...

Collected my thoughts on @missmargoprice.bsky.social, Hurray for the Riff Raff, this year's @squarerootschi.bsky.social, folk tradition/@oldtownschool.bsky.social, and Alynda's stellar band at the fest and on Live Forever (@nonesuch.com) sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8230316...

Went deep with Jacob Augustine about his new album I Love You Forever (and @teamloverecords.bsky.social debut), wherein he sings about his grief in the broader context of societal ills. RIYL ANOHNI, Roy Orbison, classic country, daring songwriting. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8223899...

Chalk’s Crystalpunk collects sounds that suggest an emotional spectrum–pained vocal turns, wincing drops of noise, giddy synth arpeggios–and lays them over pummeling beats, as if to emphasize the dance floor as the center stage for living sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8210292...

"It’s been an intense time to be a human in general. It’s important to find the joy and cry where you can, and take everything one step at a time. It feels like every step is such a leap of faith." Per usual, had a great conversation with Shannon Lay! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8202208...

The contemporary listener can take in @mandyindiana.bsky.social the same way they might opera, following a story of emotional high stakes rather than one comprised of plot or narrative structure. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8194927...

Warm Love Cool Dreams - Sunday at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social, aka when Falcon from Being Dead asked, "Who did you come to see today?" and the entire crowd shouted, "You!" (I also came to see Moin, Nourished By Time, etc.) sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8189507...

Warm Love Cool Dreams - Saturday, aka "the goth day" aka the day of bands at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social who sounded like nobody else but themselves. Headlined by @themarychain.bsky.social with stellar sets by Tortoise, Smerz, YHWH Nailgun, and Kumo 99 sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8184956...

perfect billing at the Hideout with @anjimile.bsky.social and Oyeme last Wednesday sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8178543...

As Hen Ogledd's DISCOMBOBULATED (@dominorecordco.bsky.social) goes on, it becomes simultaneously more urgent and more hopeful. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8177738...

Wednesday at the Hideout, North Carolina-via-Boston singer-songwriter @anjimile.bsky.social performs from his terrific third album You're Free to Go, out now via @4ad.com. Spoke to him about the making of the record, its striking cover art, teaching music sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8169577...

"'The Callous Man'" is a great focus track in juxtaposition to the two more straight forward singles that came before it. It offers a deeper look in to where the album goes if you sit with the whole thing." Thanks to Primitive Ring for premiering with me! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8166834...

Max Clarke and company can extract the universality out of and abstract the chronology of any song, theirs or others’. Review of Cut Worms at Lincoln Hall from Saturday. Transmitter's out now via @jagjaguwar.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8164139...

Opening for their label founder Mac DeMarco at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social last Thursday, Mock Media offered a preview of the disparate areas they’ll be traversing in the future. Words on and photos of their set, and photos of Mac's set, too! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8164084...

Wrote about LP8 from Mitski, her cat album sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8159656...

Open your ears listening to a SUNN O))) album or live show, and you can hear into the past and future. @subpop.bsky.social @saltshedchicago.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8157750...

"Part of me staying in music and being lucky enough to get a budget for my 13th rock and roll record as a middle-aged man, [is my ability to say,] 'What do you think?'" Read my interview with White Denim. 13 out now via @bellaunion.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8150535...

"My favorite music is music you don’t know what direction it’s gonna go in…and it surprises you." Spoke to Selwyn Birchwood about Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues (out now via @alligator1971.bsky.social) sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8145091...

"I think we can see…not just as artists today…that the confusion of the world is mirrored by the confusion of so many people materially." Spoke with Thomm Jutz about alchemy, psychology, and his great new album Ring-A-Bellin' sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8138772...

mclusky hasn't lost a step on record (@ipecac.com) or live (@metrochicago.com), while @pile.bsky.social's embrace of post-hardcore on Sunshine and Balance Beams (@sooperrecords.bsky.social) has made them a looser live band sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8134253...

Have found myself returning all year to Tragic Magic, LP1 from Lattimore x Barwick, made in partnership with @infinemusic.bsky.social and the @philharmonie.bsky.social. Wrote a review! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8131503...

"Foo Fighters’ 'Big Me' video is iconic, so I didn’t try to compete with it. I went in the opposite direction and kept things really personal." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8127915...

On Saturday at Lincoln Hall, Cass McCombs stretched out even the most taut and punchy songs from his latest album Interior Live Oak (@dominorecordco.bsky.social), while Danny Arakaki reined in his compositions, reducing them to their bare elements. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8127877...

Had a great chat with Carlos Niño around his new album Bubble Bath for Giants and releasing music consistent with his values sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8125172...

Check out my interview with Cass McCombs about Interior Live Oak (@dominorecordco.bsky.social) and the "flimsy" way he and his band play live. Catch him Saturday at Lincoln Hall! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8120607...

Did Michael Shannon and @jasonnarducy.bsky.social know that their tribute to one of the finest rock bands of all time would somewhat follow the evolution of @remhq.bsky.social themselves? My review of their @metrochicago.com show on Friday. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8115232...

From the opening samples (!) of “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”, it was clear that “stripped-down” wasn’t synonymous with “unplugged.” Reviewed @joyformidable.bsky.social's set at @oldtownschool.bsky.social last month sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8113323...

"I feel like the live versions naturally evolved from the recorded versions because we all bring our own sensibilities to them...That’s the beauty of the alchemy of a band." @softcult.band speaks to me about touring When A Flower Doesn't Grow. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8103455...

Max Clarke of Cut Worms told me his upcoming album Transmitter (@jagjaguwar.bsky.social) is "a product of being alive for longer." Maybe he'll discuss it with Jeff Tweedy (who produced it) tonight at @oldtownschool.bsky.social? sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8102566...

"That’s...what I’m trying to do with this album: do a more rock and roll album, something that will make you dance and move and inspire you to have fun with the social commentary." Spoke to @lowcutconnie.bsky.social about the upcoming Livin in the USA sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8100879...

Thanks to Ritzy from @joyformidable.bsky.social for talking about the band, being vulnerable in revisiting older material, she and Rhydian's solo projects, and their stripped-down duo show tomorrow night at @oldtownschool.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8097067...

Talked to Langhorne Slim in the middle of his current tour for The Dreamin' Kind, which includes a stop tomorrow night at @thaliahallchicago.bsky.social. "This set is 95% the new record, which is super fucking exciting." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8094518...

Despite the album title Laughter in Summer (@transgressive.bsky.social), the symbol of the preceding season, spring, and its connotation of cyclical rebirth, is exemplary of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s remarkable story and eventual legacy. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8093417...

Spoke with actor and musician Adam Goldberg about his new The Goldberg Sisters album When the Ships of My Dreams Return, out tomorrow, why he doesn’t often play live, and allowing himself to be sad while listening to Elliott Smith and Sparklehorse. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8089880...

Like the best indie rockers that preceded them, Westside Cowboy’s ramshackle nature seems not just intentional, but downright holy. @pitchperfectpr.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8087110...

Don't try to define Westside Cowboy on their sophomore EP, So Much Country 'Till We Get There sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8087110...

Jana Horn's new record is a balm. Previewed her show at Judson & Moore tonight, with James Elkington opening sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8083552...

A thudding snare hit from @noochiez.bsky.social introduces a level up for @ratboysband.bsky.social, 30 seconds into their new album Singin' to an Empty Chair. The band doesn't look back. Review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8082590...

"Recording layers of guitars and proper fuzzy guitars is so much fun. It’s very easy to get carried away." Spoke to Lande Hekt about everything Lucky Now, her great new album out via @tapeterecords.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8078108...

Was here too. Can confirm, SPRINTS rips. Read Jordan’s write-up!

Thursday at Lincoln Hall, in the middle of “Coming Alive”, a standout from their second album All That Is Over (@subpop.bsky.social), SPRINTS made it clear they had leveled up. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8074739...

Friendship's Caveman Wakes Up (@mergerecords.bsky.social) is a series of earnest barroom confessionals...Natalie Jane Hill's Hopeful Woman (@dearliferecs.bsky.social) is content to drift even though she knows she’ll hit rough patches. Both playing 2morrow sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8069935...

Wednesday night at Schubas represented a remarkably confident beginning of an assured new era for Brigitte Calls Me Baby sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8065402...

You could say A Brief History of Blindness (@propellersound.bsky.social) is a lifetime--of fandom, hard work, leadership, struggle--in the making. My interview w/ physician and power pop aficionado Stéphane Schück about the latest from The Salt Collective sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8063600...

Austra's Chin Up Buttercup (@dominorecordco.bsky.social) works because it’s not linear; a lesser artist might have succumbed to the temptation of telling us what happened. Katie Stelmanis instead mirrors the imperfect timeline of heartbreak. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8059025...

"How one’s lived experience colors the interpretation of a song is as different as there are as many people on the earth." Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu spoke to me about the band's new covers record out Friday via @polyvinyl.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8057239...

From daring experimentalists @maryhalvorson.bsky.social and @orenambarchi.bsky.social to pop geniuses @sparksofficial.bsky.social and FKA twigs: SILY's top albums of 2025 sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8052860...

Lilly Hiatt's Forever is full of swagger and new love heightened by its instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8034022...

"The suggestion that music is an artform rooted firmly to 'the moment' seems absurd to me... If we take my seemingly habitual use of reverb as perhaps the most potent example, the so-called 'present' is rendered invisible by it." Spoke with KRAMER sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8026456...