No Expectations 070: Can You See Me Tonight?
Five inventive and excellent LPs to check out now. Plus, Duffy x Ulhmann at Constellation.
No Expectations hits inboxes on Thursdays at 9am cst. Mailbag email: Noexpectationsnewsletter@gmail.com. (Please, no PR pitches).
Headline song: Good Looks, “Can You See Me Tonight?”
Thanks for being here. If you’re reading this on Thursday, I’m in Las Vegas for the opening weekend of Dead and Company’s residency at the Sphere. I’ll be writing about that here next and I expect it to be kind of a long one. So, to save newsletter space, I’ve included gigs up until May 28th in the weekly Chicago show calendar below.
5 New LPs To Enjoy Now or Whenever Is Convenient for You. Seriously, No Rush
Amen Dunes, Death Jokes
10 years ago, I was 22 and just starting out as a writer. At the time, getting advanced copies of new albums was pretty novel and exciting. Now, I still try to listen to whatever hits my inbox as much as possible but back then I checked out everything sent to me and viewed it as a moral failing if I didn’t (that changed soon after more than a dozen publicists found my email lol). All that’s to say hearing Amen Dunes’ Love blew my mind a decade ago. That LP reminded me of a lo-fi Astral Weeks: just raw, overwhelming beauty and palpable feeling crammed into its tracklist.
Amen Dunes’ Damon McMahon hasn’t been super prolific since, only releasing two LPs in that span. But everything has been terrific and worth the wait. His latest Death Jokes, which is his first in six years since the excellent Freedom, continues this trend while taking his songs into a glitchier and more chaotic zone. Even with the warped samples, electronic beats, and freewheeling experimentation, his melodic sensibility is as strong as ever. Tracks like “Boys” are pristine pop that eventually dissolve into a haze of samples and electronics while others like “Purple Land” are a little more understated despite the bubbling synths. It can be a challenging listen but that makes it fun: you’ll find new things to love with each listen.
Jackie West, Close To The Mystery
Jackie West writes smoky and moody pop songs that wouldn’t feel out of place on the jukebox at a neon-lit diner somewhere in the desert. The St. Louis-raised, Brooklyn-based artist’s debut album Close To The Mystery is full of warm, beguiling, and evocative tunes that soar thanks to her inviting voice. Opener “End of the World” is sparse and haunting with its starting lyric, “It isn’t hard to say / it’s the end of the world.” From there, the LP slowly fills out: the arrangements progressively get more lavish, and eventually shift into cathartic rock atmospherics on epic slow burns like “Moose.” Though this is a remarkably gorgeous record, it is at its best when the volume is ramped up like on the singles “Snow Amplified” and the slinkingly psychedelic “Ruins.” I had to double and triple-check that this was a debut because of how confident and cohesive its 12 tracks are.
Lamplight, Lamplight
I keep an ongoing list in my Notes app to check out bands and new albums I missed. Usually, I can remember why I put down a given artist but with Lamplight, I have no clue. My best guess is because of its engineer Kevin Copeland, who plays in the bands Lightning Bug and the Big Net. He also worked on my AOTY Keeper of the Shepherd by Hannah Frances so that’s likely why I made the note. Whatever the case, I’m so glad this LP is in my life.
Lamplight is the project of Virginia’s Ian Hatcher-Williams, whose debut self-titled LP is one of the best albums of 2024. It’s a deeply introspective and thoughtful collection of pastoral folk rock that’s as intricate as it is immediate. No song sounds alike but its nine tracks somehow fit together seamlessly from the 6/8 shuffle of the understated opener “Play” to the raucous, penultimate tune “Empathy.” The whole thing sounds pretty, lush, and considered but never expensive or glossy. As a writer, Hatcher-Williams has strong instincts for hooks–some songs are so catchy and immersive that they feel like they wouldn’t feel out of place on Coldplay’s Parachutes. (Your mileage may vary but this is a big compliment imho). If you liked any new releases I wrote about here from Minor Moon, Blue Ranger, or Wildflower, this should be up your alley too.
Also, I have to respect whenever an artist releases a song with the same title as the band name. Lamplight’s “Lamplight,” off the debut album Lamplight is a highlight here.
Tapir!, The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain
The first time I heard about the U.K. avant-folk collective Tapir! was via a joke from Friend of the Substack Ian Cohen. He posted a screenshot of the album and wrote, “Would you believe a band with that name putting that cover on an album with that title sounds like raw, uncut 2006 (complimentary).” He’s dead on. If you grew up loving the earnest art-folk of Sufjan Stevens, the fist-raising catharisis of early Arcade Fire, and the exuberance of the Polyphonic Spree, you’ll find a lot to love about The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain. It’s a three-act album full of biblical allusions, monsters appearing, tempestuous storms, and spoken-word narration. You can guess that these folks went to art school but the songs are undeniable. “Untitled” is breathtaking, closer “Mountain Song” is galvanizing, and “My God” is lyrically fascinating even if the melody takes a bit too liberally from the Replacements’ “Swinging Party” (or Nancy Sinatra’s “Something Stupid”). Trust me on this one.
Tara Jane O’Neil, The Cool Cloud of Okayness
Orindal Records is a Chicago-based independent label run by Advance Base’s Owen Ashworth (who you might also know from his time playing music as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone). Whenever it puts out a new LP, it’s appointment listening. Its catalog is usually so incredibly in my wheelhouse (Friendship, Wednesday, Gia Margaret, and that Little Kid record I wrote about a couple of weeks ago) but when it isn’t, it’s challenging and interesting in a way that always expands my tastes. The Cool Cloud of Okayness from the multi-talented California artist Tara Jane O’Neil hits that sweet spot perfectly. It’s knotty, dense, and patient listening that veers off into drastic genre departures. One minute it’s mesmerizing folk, the other it’s psychedelic drone or glitchy ambient. O’Neil’s career has spanned multiple decades, musical projects (the iconic Louisville post-hardcore outfit Rodan is a notable one), and mediums. It’s a body of work that can’t fit into a blurb just as The Cool Cloud of Okayness is a record best experienced than explained.
What I listened to:
The No Expectations 070 Playlist: Spotify // Apple Music
1. Good Looks, “Can You See Me Tonight?”
2. The Ar-Kaics, “Stone Love”
3. Finom, “Cyclops”
4. Jordana, Paul Cherry, “My Idol”
5. Dehd, “So Good”
6. Zero Point Energy, “Disintegration”
7. Amen Dunes, “What I Want”
8. Tara Jane O’Neil, “Fresh End”
9. Cassandra Jenkins, “Only One”
10. Valebol, “Tragitos Verditos”
11. Wishy, “Love On The Outside”
12. Floating Action, “Storm Days”
13. Jackie West, “Dreamscape”
14. Lamplight, “Lamplight”
15. Duffy x Ulhmann, “Etch”
Gig report: Duffy x Uhlmann, Whitney Johnson x Lia Kohl at Constellation (5/9)
Meg Duffy is one of my favorite guitar players both in their songwriting project Hand Habits as well as their past work touring with artists like Kevin Morby, Perfume Genius, and more. Gregory Ulhmann, who is also great, is a Los Angeles-based and Chicago-raised guitarist who’s worked with Josh Johnson and Sam Wilkes, toured with Perfume Genius, and releases pop music under his own name. Together, they’ve formed the instrumental guitar duo Duffy x Ulhmann and released a debut album called Doubles on Orindal Records. Comprised of half-composed music and half-improvisational, it’s a mesmerizing and immersive collection of searching and experimental songs. “Etch” is a favorite. They played the perfect venue for that kind of music in Constellation. I was entranced the whole time. Special shoutout to Chicago’s Lia Kohl and Whitney Johnson, two towering presences in Chicago’s vibrant improvisational music scene, who opened the show with a jaw-dropping set of cello, violin, and electronics.
What I watched:
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Netflix’s new stalker drama Baby Reindeer is well-made, well-acted, and goes in more interesting places than you’d expect but I’m not sure it’s a good thing it exists. I watched the short miniseries over the weekend and I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something icky about the whole thing. The way the real-life alleged stalker has inserted herself into headlines, is suing the show, and appeared on Piers Morgan makes the whole endeavor, no matter how well done, feel exploitative and gross. Not to mention how self-proclaimed internet sleuths have tried to find the other “villains” in the semi-autobiographical drama. I don’t know, man. It just made me want to take a shower and put on a baseball game instead.
What I read:
Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy (by Margaret Sullivan)
Before I started my job at WTTW News, I had a couple of weeks to finish up my remaining freelance deadlines and enter the new gig with a clean slate. As part of this buffer period, I decided to read some books that might be helpful when I started. Last week, I wanted to brush up on the minutiae of local politics so I read Gregory Royal Pratt’s The City Is Up For Grabs, a pretty devastating autopsy of Lori Lightfoot’s short tenure as mayor. I also finished Margaret Sullivan’s sobering and short Ghosting The News to better equip myself for being back in local journalism. From my previous gigs in Chicago media and being a journalist for a long time, it’s not a new topic for me but I still really enjoyed it. Sullivan, who was the public editor of the New York Times and a current columnist for The Guardian, uses her longtime tenure as editor of The Buffalo News to add a compelling personal layer to her lucid breakdown of the depressing crisis facing local news.
Analyzing Brandon Johnson’s 1st Year in Office: Push for Progressive Change Complicated by Migrant Crisis, Unforced Errors (by Heather Cherone, WTTW News)
Exactly one year ago, Mayor Brandon Johnson used his inaugural address to paint a vibrantly optimistic picture of the city’s future, claiming a mandate from the “soul of Chicago” to make the city a more equitable place to live.
Showcasing his booming laugh and quick wit, Chicago’s 57th mayor gave no sign of the enormous pressure bearing down on him from all sides that would soon complicate his push to create a “Chicago for all” — not just the wealthy or the powerful.
From the left, the political movement that elected Johnson has pressed him to use his power to address crime, poverty, homelessness and other deeply entrenched problems spotlighted by the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the other side of the political spectrum, the rookie mayor — who had never before served as an executive — faced harsh public criticism from power brokers who found themselves on the outside looking in.
“People put me in charge to change course,” Johnson told WTTW News. “And what is very clear, I say this with all due humility, people know we are changing course in this city. There should be no doubt in anyone’s minds that we are moving in another direction. I believe people are up for it. And I’m looking forward to the implementation of many of the things that we’ve already put forward.”
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar:
Thursday, May 16: Dent May, Jimmy Whispers at Schubas. Tickets.
Thursday, May 16: Teddy and the Rough Riders at Judson and Moore. Tickets.
Thursday, May 16: Ride, Knifeplay at Metro. Tickets.
Friday, May 17: CalicoLoco, Bottom Bracket, OK Cool at Beat Kitchen. Tickets.
Friday, May 17: Pepper Said, Sun Queen, Glass-Beagle at Gman Tavern. Tickets.
Friday, May 17: Katie Pruitt, Jack Van Cleaf at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
Saturday, May 18: Fazerdaze, Accessory at Schubas. Tickets.
Sunday, May 19: Patter, Museum of Light, Bursting, Loose Face at Cole’s. Tickets.
Tuesday, May 21: Grocer, Cusp, Harvey Waters at Sleeping Village. Tickets. \
Tuesday, May 21: The Decemberists, Ratboys at Salt Shed. Tickets.
Wednesday, May 22: Quelle Chris, Denmark Vessey, Cavalier at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Thursday, May 23: Bill MacKay, Desert Liminal at Hideout. Tickets.
Thursday, May 23: Neil Young and Crazy Horse at Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island. Tickets.
Friday, May 24: Finom at Hideout. Sold out.
Friday, May 24: GLOM, Clementine at Cobra Lounge. Tickets.
Friday, May 24: Buck Meek, Jolie Holland at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Friday, May 24: LCD Soundsystem at Aragon Ballroom. Tickets.
Friday, May 24: Burr Oak, Morpho, Pete Wilson & The Rooks at Schubas. Tickets.
Saturday, May 25: Jason Narducy, Alison Chesley at SPACE. Sold out.
Saturday, May 25: Mount Kimbie, Chanel Beads at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Saturday, May 25: LCD Soundsystem at Aragon Ballroom. Tickets.
Sunday, May 26: LCD Soundsystem at Aragon Ballroom. Tickets.
Sunday, May 26: Daybreaker, La Rosa Noir, Bovice, Bitter Thoughts at Sleeping Village. Tickets.
Monday, May 27: Feller, Bitcrush at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Monday, May 27: LCD Soundsystem at Aragon Ballroom. Tickets.
Tuesday, May 28: Fox Paws, Honestly Same at Sleeping Village. Tickets.
I love this weekly feature! Haven't quite got through all the music yet but it's gonna happen! Haven't heard of Amen Dunes before but I can't wait to play that through a good 10 more times this weekend!
That Jackie West album is lovely, thanks for the rec!!