No Expectations 072: As You Are
A new playlist and Finom’s 'Not God' record release show at Hideout. Shorter one this week.
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Headline song: Finom, “As You Are”
Short newsletter this week.
Thanks for being here. ICYMI: Last week, I wrote a longform essay about my trip to see Dead & Company play the Sphere in Las Vegas. My thinking behind it was, “If I can’t write 7000 words about seeing members of the Grateful Dead play Vegas in my personal newsletter, what’s the point of having a newsletter?” I appreciate all the nice notes from readers who dug the piece. I’m still really proud of it: the most ambitious swing I’ve taken in No Expectations. I’d love to do more (at a much later date) so consider updating to a paid tier if you can swing it.
This week, I also realized that writing 7,000 words is a lot of work, especially crammed into just a couple of days. Even with the three-day holiday weekend, I’m still pretty exhausted. So, right now, I have no good ideas for the main essay. I started and deleted softball topics like, “Why you should be more like Bill Walton” and “Why you should have friends over for beers and burgers on Memorial Day.” You are all lucky I decided to scrap that.
Still, No Expectations has great recommendations to get you through the rest of this short week. Start with the excellent new record from Chicago band Finom called Not God and then dip into another weekly 15-song playlist featuring quite a few recent favorites. I’ll see you next week.
What I listened to:
Gig report: Finom at the Hideout (5/24)
Finom is the long-running duo of Chicagoans Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. Since 2014, they’ve made some of the most inventive, playful, and impressive art-rock across four albums and three band name changes. (They started as Homme, then Ohmme, and now they’re Finom). There is no band I’ve interviewed more in my career and no two musicians I admire as songwriters and people as much as Macie and Sima. In 2017, I wrote at VICE that they are “the heart of Chicago’s music community” and it’s still true. Since then, their community building, welcoming vibe, and uncompromising approach to their music have only strengthened.
Last week, Finom put out their fourth LP, the Jeff Tweedy-produced Not God, and celebrated the release at Chicago’s Hideout. Front-to-back, it’s their strongest full-length yet. Finom also did the power move of releasing both the album opener and the closer as singles. It’s still knotty and adventurous indie rock with pristine vocal harmonies but here, they’ve honed some of their pop sensibilities for a tighter, more confident, and wholly mesmerizing effort. “Haircut” boasts a Devo-like bounce while a propulsive post-punk groove anchors the highlight “Hungry.” Think of it as Kate Bush performed by Deerhoof or if Joni Mitchell signed to Drag City in the ‘90s.
I’ve seen the band dozens of times over the years. From duo sets at Constellation in 2015, trio gigs at Pitchfork Music Festival in 2016, and massive productions at Thalia Hall, a Finom show is always a blast. But Friday was my first time seeing them with both drummer Spencer Tweedy and bassist V.V. Lightbody rounding out the lineup. (Tweedy flew in from Denver that morning after finishing up a tour as the drummer for Waxahatchee to make the gig). It was awesome. Finom has always been a guitar duo but with a bassist it was incredible to hear the mix filled out with Lightbody’s tasteful playing.
The gig made me think about all the times I’ve seen them play: a band soundtracking almost the entirety of my twenties. I thought about them DJing my New Year's Eve parties at GMan Tavern years back and how they were better at spinning records than every dude band I booked too. Six years ago WTTW, where I now work, asked me to appear on a Chicago Tonight segment to talk about the band’s history and musical evolution, and I happily agreed. My great experience then made me pursue the job more than most opportunities over the past year and it paid off. I’m nearly a decade in as one of Finom’s loudest fans and it still feels like they’re just getting started. I can’t wait to see what’s next at their November 2 show at Metro.
What I watched:
Shōgun (Hulu)
No Expectations is a newsletter where you can occasionally read about musicians before you hear about them in big publications. That said, it’s also a newsletter where you’ll read about TV shows several weeks, even years after they air and other outlets have already raved about them. I’m late to Shōgun, FX’s sweeping miniseries about 17th-century Japan, but I’m happy I waited to knock it out in a few days rather than course it out live over 10 weeks. If you dug Game of Thrones, this is arguably better. It’s an immersive and high-budget epic about the first Englishman to visit Japan and the political turmoil ailing the country. There are tense power struggles, fascinating world-building, and immaculately staged set pieces. More than anything, it made me want to watch more Kurosawa films and finally catch up on Scorsese’s Silence. The writing is excellent though, especially in the episodes penned by Emily Yoshida. I haven’t watched much TV this year but I won’t be shocked if this tops the year-end lists.
What I read:
The Messy Suburban Drama Surrounding Evanston’s Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban (Blair Paddock. WTTW News)
The police showed up twice within an hour.
They didn’t say anything to Juan Mora or his crew, who had just begun their morning landscaping job in Evanston: one worker trimming the edges of his client’s lawn with a weedwacker, the other two cutting grass atop roaring mowers.
Police rolled up and parked outside of the property, left, and came back 10 minutes later to watch the landscaping job for a bit longer, only to leave shortly after, Mora said.
Mora and his crew hadn’t yet begun what could have been the punishable offense: leaf blowing.
“You see, I’m scared,” Mora said.
Since April 1, 2023, the landscaping community in Evanston has been tasked with making a drastic change for climate and noise concerns: switching from gas- or propane-powered leaf blowers to electric.
Mora and his company, Juan Mora Landscaping, ceded to this change and spent around $6,000 for two electric blowers. This sunny April morning was his first time bringing out the new equipment, but already, he wasn’t satisfied with the job: battery life gone too soon and weaker blowing power, drawing out a task he’d have swiftly finished with a gas blower.
The No Expectations 072 Playlist: Spotify // Apple Music
1. Robber Robber, “Backup Plan”
2. Nap Eyes, “Ice Grass Underpass”
3. Margaux, “What Could I Say?”
4. Luke Temple, “I Can Dream”
5. Joshua Moshier, Macie Stewart, “Fountain Glass”
6. The Folk Implosion, “Bobblehead Doll”
7. Sinai Vessel, “Best Witness”
8. Another Michael, “Hub of Dreams”
9. The Bures Band, “Green Town”
10. Why Bonnie, “Dotted Line”
11. Youth Lagoon, “Lucy Takes a Picture”
12. Finom, “Not God”
13. Chris Cohen, “Sunever”
14. WHY?, “The Letters, Etc”
15. Nathan Bowles Trio, “The Ternions”
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar
Thursday, May 30: Horsegirl, TV Buddha, Donkey Basketball at Empty Bottle. Sold out.
Thursday, May 30: Drain, Terror, Angel Du$t, and more at Metro. Tickets.
Friday, May 31: Do Division Fest: Horsegirl, Bnny, No Star and more.
Friday, May 31: Wine Lips, Dangüs Tarküs at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Friday, May 31: Drain, Terror, Angel Du$t, and more at Metro. Sold out.
Friday, May 31: Another Michael, Tenci at Schubas. Tickets.
Friday, May 31: Jeff Tweedy at the Vic. Tickets.
Friday, May 31: Divino Niño DJ Set at Sleeping Village. Free.
Friday, May 31: Andrew Bird at Old Town School of Folk. Tickets.
Saturday, June 1: Do Division Fest: Divino Niño, Free Range, Susto, Tobacco City, and more.
Saturday, June 1: Melt-Banana, Tomato Flower, and more at Bottom Lounge. Tickets.
Saturday, June 1: Guided by Voices, Kiwi Jr. at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
Saturday, June 1: Ceremony, Smut, Stress Positions, Uniflora at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Saturday, June 1: Francis of Delirium, Sharp Pins at Schubas. Tickets.
Saturday, June 1: Jeff Tweedy at the Vic. Tickets.
Sunday, June 2: Do Division Fest: Avey Tare, Pink Siifu, Kacy Hill, and more.
Sunday, June 2: Kacy Hill, Hamond at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Sunday, June 2: Case Oats, Call Me Spinster, Julia Blair at Hideout. Tickets.
Monday, June 3: Bill Frissell Trio at Space. Tickets.
Tuesday, June 4: Isaiah Rashad at House of Blues. Tickets.
Wednesday, June 5: Spencer Krug, BOECKNER at Empty Bottle. Sold out.
Hey - awesome no-theme-subject newsletter this week. Don't feel pressure to always have one. Sometimes the theme emerges between the lines after you publish.
Q: why can't I get your playlists on Apple Music Canada?
wahoo go Finom! I’m proud to have interviewed em for each LP, and this new one might be their best! Planning to catch them in my neighborhood at Midsommar Fest.