No Expectations 112: Gallic Shrug
Four albums and two EPs that are worth your time this week. Plus, an extended, summery 20-song playlist.
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Headline song: Greg Freeman, “Gallic Shrug”
Thanks for being here. Even though it’s been a few weeks, I’m still getting several new subscribers a day from the 40 Best Albums of 2025 So Far list. Crazy! Indie rock newsletters aren’t supposed to “do numbers.” I’m flabbergasted but grateful. I appreciate both the folks giving this blog a shot and the true heads who’ve stuck around for a while.
Lately, I’ve been making an effort to carve out time for personal, non-newsletter-based listening. With a weekly deadline and a focus on new releases, it’s easy for old favorites and musical rabbit holes to fall through the cracks. It also gets redundant if I’m just checking out stuff that sounds like what I recommended last go around. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been doing deep dives on '50s through '70s jazz records, NTS and Lot Radio DJ sets, trawling through the catalogs of bands I never listened to before, and giving Phish, a band I used to loathe, a more serious listen. It’s honestly been a joy to seek things out without any expectation to write about it next week. I’m certain a lot of this will eventually make their way into future editions of No Expectations, but right now I’m enjoying the break to listen freely, without wracking my brain on how to cover it in a blog.
That said, some of this exploration will inevitably seep into what music I choose for this newsletter. In the picks below, you’ll find meditative, looping, and challenging ambient, abrasive but undeniable dance music, unpredictable Brazilian-inspired jazz, and, of course, some thrilling indie rock. If you’re here because of the twangy, Midwestern, and Americana-adjacent rock tunes that are No Expectations’ bread-and-butter, there’s some of that, but I hope you still give the rest of these acts a chance. Firmly occupying one lane is how you get stuck in a rut.
With the wealth of artists here, I decided to extend this weekly playlist to 20 tracks. Before I publish, I listen to each mix in full and tweak it so it flows, which means I hope you play this one without shuffling. When there’s ample genre-hopping, it can be tough to fit them all into something seamless, but for whatever reason, these songs work perfectly together. Fire this up for grilling, commuting, walking around the neighborhood, hanging out with buds, or chilling alone with headphones. To be honest, it might be my favorite one yet.
If you’re new to No Expectations, here’s a short explainer of what you signed up for. Each week, you get a wildcard main essay (often new album recommendations), a 15-song playlist, as well as updates on what I’m listening to, watching, and reading. Sometimes you’ll get an interview with an artist I love, and other times it’ll be a deep dive into one band’s discography. Since I’m a Chicago-based writer, this newsletter is very Midwest-focused. So, if you live in this city too, you’ll also receive a curated roundup of upcoming local shows to check out at the bottom of every newsletter.
As always, you can sign up for a paid subscription or tell a friend about a band you read about here. It’s still $5 a month—the cost of one Old Style plus tip at Rainbo Club. Every bit helps, keeps this project going, and allows it to stay paywall-free. It’s rough out there, so I’m grateful you’re still reading and supporting this writing project. Next week, I’ll be in Montana for a wedding. I may not have time to post a full newsletter then, but no matter what, you’ll at least get a massive playlist for July 4th grilling.
6 Stellar Releases For The Week
Holden & Zimpel, The Universe Will Take Care of You
If there’s a 2025 LP that’s suited for solitary headphones listening or blasting loud on quality speakers, it’s this one. James Holden is an English electronic musician who’s been releasing forward-thinking and fluid instrumental albums over the past two decades, while Waclaw Zimpel is a Polish clarinetist. On The Universe Will Take Care of You, the two combine a deep love of krautrock-inspired drone, looping synths, and patient grooves for one of the most endlessly rewarding LPs of the year. The duo first teamed up in 2018 for an EP, but this 51-minute full-length is wholly enveloping electronic music that shows these artists at the peak of their collaborative powers. Opener “You Are Gods” is anchored by swirling arpeggios that bubble and pop over the course of its eight-and-a-half-minute runtime. Melodies appear and dissipate into the mix as the looping chord progression evolves. "Time Ring Rattles” is percussive and frenetic, while “Incredible Bliss” remains true to its title with a soothing and pulsating anchor beat. This is tactile and hypnotizing music that not only demands a curious ear but grabs it effortlessly.
Michael Robert Chadwick, Illusion of Touch
Michael Robert Chadwick is a Los Angeles-based artist who thrives on studio playfulness and oddball maximalism on his new album, Illusion of Touch. Out of the 11 tracks here, Chadwick writes, performs, engineers, mixes, and masters everything. The two exceptions? The lush saxophone on the funky opener “Dirt Nap” comes from Taylor Blake, while the ripping guitar solo on “Pleasure Picture” is courtesy of Meg Duffy (Hand Habits, Perfume Genius). Despite the multitude of ideas, instrumental flourishes, and slightly askew grooves, this is a palpably breezy and inviting listen. Chadwick boasts an airy, welcoming croon and a keen ear for a catchy hook. You’ll hear shades of Talking Heads, Mild High Club, and Drugdealer. It’s a throwback experiment, but it's never a retread. Shoutout the great music discovery blog Rosy Overdrive for the recommendation.
Orbital Ensemble, Orbital
Toronto has become home to a community of forward-thinking jazz collectives and artists like Badge Époque Ensemble, Joseph Shabason, The Cosmic Range, The Titillators, and now Orbital Ensemble. Led by the Brazilian expat and composer Felipe Sena, the eight-piece band’s debut combines verdant Bossa Nova rhythms with psychedelic skronk and immensely lush, full-bodied arrangements that evoke Azymuth as well as Orbital Ensemble’s Great Lakes peers in Chicago’s Resavoir. While this is an immensely accessible LP, it never veers into “chill vibes” territory. More often than not, it shocks with musical left-turns, shifting melodies, and locked-in chemistry. “Daydreams” slowly morphs from a tropical sunset to a scorching squall of guitars and horns while opener “Abertura” is a masterclass in slow-and-steady momentum. Transportive and mesmerizing, this is one of the most confident and surprising jazz debuts so far.
Plusser, citrine
I know very little about the Philadelphia noise rock band Plusser except for the fact that they totally rip. Available details about the band are scarce: the trio is made up of drummer Miles Young, bassist Margot Whipps, and guitarist/singer Cyd Berlinger. After hearing one of the songs on a playlist made by the plugged-in and voracious blog The Ugly Hug (they are far more tapped in than I am), I decided to break my rule of not writing about EPs in this newsletter. Clocking in at 5 songs and 13 minutes, citrine bursts out of the gate with booming power chords, anthemic chorus, and nervy post-punk energy. Each successive track rules, especially the hooky “dig” and the raucous closer “old car.” Berlinger’s voice is booming and charismatic while the rhythm section is unrelentingly forceful. For a newer band that’s only known around Philadelphia, this is astoundingly confident, physical, and memorable rock music. I hope they play a show in Chicago soon.
S.3.R., N?C
There are few artists I love more than Camilo Medina, the Colombia-born musician who fronts the experimental and excellent band Divino Niño, is a talented and inventive graphic designer, and now has a bonkers good solo project called S.3.R. I’ve known Medina for years when he lived in Chicago (I wrote the bios for the first two Divino Niño studio full-lengths) and I’ve seen his taste evolve from psychedelic indie rock to warped electronic textures, neoperreo, South American trap, reggaeton, house, and more. Now based in New York, Medina’s S.3.R. (pronounced “Ser,” as in “to be.”) highlights both his voracious taste and his swagger as a singer. Sung exclusively in Spanish, N?C is 11 minutes of frenzied, club-ready arrangements and Medina’s assertive delivery. The first two tracks amount to a slow burn, but by the time the title track hits, it’s explosive, blistering, and totally killer. While the palette is glitchy, you can still hear the indie rock grit from his Divino Niño days on the title track. The way these songs can violently morph within two minutes reminds me of Spirit of the Beehive, but Medina is a singular talent. While I miss seeing him around Chicago, I’m glad he’s thriving out east.
Shoulderbird, Neighbors
Meredith Nesbitt is a Chicago artist whom I’ve seen play in bands with No Expectations favorites like Hannah Frances, Hemlock, Minor Moon, and Smushie. Her solo band, Shoulderbird, is also excellent. Neighbors, out last week, is eight modest tracks of folksy and potent Midwest Americana. The songs here, intimate, consdiered, and charming, all feel best suited for laying out in a public park as a baseball game happens nearby. It’s sunny but never slight, especially on highlight “Rocket.” Nesbitt’s voice is winsome and dynamic. Take the mournful and subdued “Pretend” and the stunning “Pitch,” for how Nesbitt is able to go from a whisper to a wail with equal gravitas. It’s also quite eclectic: Nesbitt moved to Chicago to immerse herself to the city’s free jazz scene and you can spot some of this adventurousness in these songs. If you prefer your indie rock to feel as if you’re right in the room with a songwriter letting you in on a secret, start here.
What I listened to:
The No Expectations 112 Playlist: Apple Music // Spotify // Tidal
1. Shakarchi & Stranéus, "Love Songs"
2. Sofia Kourtesis, "Canela Pura"
3. S.3.R., "N?C"
4. Way Dynamic, "People Settle Down"
5. David Byrne, Ghost Train Orchestra, "Everybody Laughs"
6. Michael Robert Chadwick, "Dirt Nap"
7. Orbital Ensemble, "Daydreams"
8. Golden Apples, "Noonday Demon"
9. Omni, "Forever Beginner"
10. Forth Wanderers, "Bluff"
11. Plusser, "dig"
12. Wednesday, "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)"
13. Hand Habits, "Wheel of Change"
14. Lipsticism, "Way Down"
15. GOON, "Begin Here"
16. Shoulderbird, "Rocket"
17. Greg Freeman, "Gallic Shrug"
18. Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, "One Good Reason"
19. Alex G, "Afterlife"
20. Holden & Zimpel, "You Are Gods"
Cash Langdon at the Fallen Log (6/20)
Birmingham, Alabama’s Cash Langdon has one of my favorite rock alums of the year in Dogs, and he made a stop at Chicago’s the Fallen Log last Friday. I’ve somehow never been to that venue but was charmed by the spooky decor and the fact that it’s connected to a vegan pizzeria. In a trio setup, Langdon ripped through cuts from that LP and played some newer tunes. I doubt I’ll see him in a room that small again. Sweet guy too. After the gig, we pieced together that I’ve seen him play before: he was in the great but now-defunct band Sinai Vessel when I saw them open for Wild Pink at the Empty Bottle last year.
What I watched:
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Werner Herzog, AMC+)
One of my most personally annoying traits is signing up for some subscription-based streaming service, forgetting about it, realizing I need to cancel, and finally making use of it before I stop paying for it. A couple of months ago, I wanted to rewatch Lodge 49, signed up for AMC+ (?), and never got around to it. So, I went to Letterboxd, queued up my watchlist, pressed shuffle, and went to AMC+. My girlfriend picked out this Werner Herzog doc, which focuses on a French cave where 32,000-year-old cave paintings were discovered in 1994. Herzog’s team was allowed to film in the sealed-off site for four hours a day. The resulting footage is stunning, moving, and awe-inspiring. Making art is what makes us human. Rec’d if you want to think a little deeper about humanity’s long history and essential viewing if you want to see Herzog roast a French scientist’s spear-throwing technique.
What I read:
The Topeka School (by Ben Lerner)
Ben Lerner might be my favorite contemporary novelist. Last year, I finally got around to 10:04, reread Leaving the Atocha Station in January, and now devoured The Topeka School, his latest. Released in 2019, it’s a prequel and a spiritual sequel to Atocha Station. It follows the autofictional protagonist Adam Gordon’s childhood in Topeka, Kansas, as a budding debate champion and shifts perspective to his psychologist parents and a troubled childhood friend. It’s cerebral, self-laceratingly personal, and ambitious. While it’s too soon for me to process where I’d rank it in his oeuvre, it’s a novel I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar:
The gig calendar lives on the WTTW News website now. You can also subscribe to the newsletter I produce there called Daily Chicagoan to get it in your inbox a day early.
thanks josh!!
Ben Lerner! Truly a masterful novelist.