No Expectations 154: Practice Smiling
Stellar new albums from Sam and Louise Sullivan, Shannon Lay and more. Plus, a road trip history book and Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey.'
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Headline song: V.V. Lightbody “Practice Smiling”
Thanks for being here. I had a whole thing written here about the magic of Chicago summers, where the collective mood is electric, the weather’s perfect, and the entire city feels alive. I would’ve mentioned how I spent my Sunday watching The Odyssey in 70mm at a historic arthouse theater built in 1929, then immediately trekked to Montrose Harbor for an outdoor DIY music festival featuring some of my favorite acts, like Greg Freeman and Age of Peace, right on the lakefront.
But on Wednesday, I woke up to the news that the Irish songwriter Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle accident at 56. It hit me like a brick. Throughout high school and college, his band the Frames were one of my alltimers alongside Radiohead, the Replacements, Wilco, and Pavement. It was through listening to his music that I discovered Will Oldham (the Frames’ cover of Palace Music’s “New Partner” is a perfect take on what I consider to be the greatest love song ever). He also introduced me to the gone-too-soon Irish songwriter Mic Christopher, and even Jason Molina (they toured together in 2000 and Hansard routinely sung his praises in interviews). When I had to take a writing test applying for my first-ever music writing gig 14 years ago, I was asked to review an album the publication had yet to cover. Choosing Hansard’s 2012 solo debut Rhythm and Repose seemed like a no-brainer at the time.
Growing up, my music-obsessive uncle and I would mail each other mix CDs of what we were listening to. He was a diehard Frames fan, and that was my gateway to this music. Almost 20 years ago, we celebrated when Hansard’s movie, Once, which he starred in and wrote the music for, won the Oscar in 2008, and we saw him together quite a few times. I’m just happy my uncle visited Chicago a few years ago so we could see the Swell Season reunite in 2022. That was the last time I saw him play, but it was just as revelatory as the first. Few artists had the commanding, room-filling voice or the ability to earn catharsis onstage quite like him.
I hate hasty eulogistic music writing, but your favorite band when you were a teen will always be formative in ways you don’t realize. Yesterday, I revisited the Frames’ fourth album, For The Birds, which they recorded in 2000 with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio. I hadn’t heard it in several years. It still holds up, and I see how its explosiveness, energy, and grace still shape my tastes today. While I’ve long argued that Hansard and the Frames were best understood live, I’d recommend that 2001 LP to anyone. I still feel like it’s an underrated classic.
Also: There’s a small chance I take next week off. I’m feeling a little fried, and we have guests visiting in the middle of next week, so I’d need to wrap up the next draft by Tuesday morning. We’ll see!
Here’s the spiel for new subscribers: 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.
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Four Albums Worth Your Time This Week
The Heavenly Bodes, Green Hills
It’s been a long time since I loved a recent psychedelic rock LP as I do Green Hills, the debut album from Cornish band The Heavenly Bodes. This quartet rips through the acid-soaked garage rock of their Nuggets-inspired and Bay Area influences through nine eclectic but rambunctious songs. It opens with the locomotive shuffling of the southern-tinged standout “De Groene Huevels,” effortlessly segues to the swirling “Acting,” which might boast my favorite bass line of 2026, all before switching things up into the ghostly dirge of “Five Ways.” That’s just the first three songs, but there’s enough lo-fi grit, scrappy energy, and searing guitar riffs to carry the whole runtime. It’s immediately clear that this is a band to see live.
RIYL: White Fence, Ultimate Painting, Osees
Media Puzzle, New Racehorse
True to its title, Media Puzzle’s latest LP New Racehorse is a hell of a ride. Turbulent, unpredictable, and always exciting, the Australian band combines the scorching pace of egg-punk with the pummeling riffs of post-punk and the nerdy experimentation of psych-rock. The dozen tunes here take up just 23 minutes, but pack every second with blistering guitars, welcome trumpet, fuzzed-out leads, yelping vocals, and a cornucopia of samples that evoke newsreel broadcasts, phone calls, and sci-fi musings. Yes, a lot is going on here, but this quintet made a full-length that’s as seamless and cohesive as it is a bonkers romp. The tracks flow into each other so effortlessly that it’s tough to figure out where one begins and one ends, but if you need a short sampler, the “Hey Zeus, fuck you” line from the herky-jerky “Out of the Rain” sticks out as well as the deliriously hooky “Dead Dog!”
RIYL: Deeper, Omni, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Sam and Louise Sullivan, Love & Devotion
Sam and Louise Sullivan are siblings who live in Philadelphia and both work as teachers. They have also made one of the most joyful and infectious LPs of the year, Love & Devotion. It’s clear from one listen of these 10 ebullient tracks that the family band has done their homework on the songwriting greats. Lead single “Down Of Love” contains a euphoric thump that answers the hypothetical of “what if Paul McCartney played bass in Fleetwood Mac?” Elsewhere, the Louise-sung “Ms. Mercedes” has a slinky groove and plush strings, while Sam’s standout tune is “There You Go Again,” a twinkling lullaby of chiming guitars and electric keys. Each song soars, in part thanks to the crack band of newsletter favorites the duo enlisted: Star Moles’ Emily Moales and Rubber Band Gun’s Kevin Basko, who produced this gem of an album.
RIYL: Star Moles, Whitney, Liam Kazar
Shannon Lay, Past The Veil
Los Angeles artist Shannon Lay makes resplendent folk-rock that’s so tasteful and well-crafted that it’s near overwhelming on her latest LP, Past The Veil. These 10 tunes somehow operate at the intersection of maximalist and understated: Lay’s approach to melody is subtle yet striking, but these tracks are wrapped in ornate flourishes of strings, pedal steel, woodwinds, organ, guitars, and percussion. At times, she’s backed by what feels like a full-throated orchestra, but it’s always in service of the song. Highlights like “What Does It Mean?” pulsate with a bubbling rhythm and Lay crooning, “Listen for love and find your way back / Forgive the misstep, love the mistake / This is the magic we create.” On the pared-back numbers, like the gorgeous “The Calling,” her deft songwriting approach shines with some of the most subtly stunning harmonies of 2026. I’ve had friends play shows with Lay and come back floored by her talent, and it’s easy to see why here.
RIYL: Weyes Blood, Kate Bush, Maple Glider
What I listened to:
The No Expectations 154 Playlist: Apple Music // Spotify // Tidal
1. V.V. Lightbody, “Practice Smiling”
2. Shannon Lay, “What Does It Mean?”
3. The Heavenly Bodes, “Acting”
4. Sam and Louise Sullivan, “Ms. Mercedes”
5. Stef Chura, “Danny”
6. 2nd Grade, “Cellophane Girls”
7. Renny Conti, “Impossible Truth”
8. Ruby of Thanks, “Flosser”
9. Mallory Hawk, “Four O’Clocks”
10. Just Penelope, “After”
11. Wild Pink, “500 Is The New 250”
12. The Tubs, “Stoop to Me”
13. Protomartyr, “Sounds We Cannot Hear”
14. media puzzle, “Dead Dog!”
15. @, “Autosmile”
Gig recap: Brad Goodall at Subterranean Downstairs (7/22)
Longtime Friend of the Newsletter Brad Goodall has made two of my favorite LPs this decade: 2022’s Made In America and this year’s Hometown. Though I’ve known him for almost a decade, the Huntington, West Virginia-based pianist and songwriter had never played a solo Chicago show. That finally changed Wednesday when he opened up for New York’s Gooseberry at Subterranean Downstairs. He won over the early crowd with ease, and he even added a little tease of the Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias” into his rendition of “Changed Man.” I love the guy, and if you missed any of his records from my annual Best Of lists, you’ll kick yourself for not checking him out sooner.
Gig recap: Nitro-A-Go-Go Fest at Montrose Harbor (7/26)
One week before the corporate and cookie-cutter Lollapalooza invades Grant Park, the best Chicago four-day music festival happened across several undisclosed locations. Nitro-A-Go-Go Fest, an event run by musician and underground show organizer nitroglycerine.mp3, featured some of the best names in music: Touch Girl Apple Blossom, TV Buddha, PARKing, Greg Freeman, Age of Peace, National Photo Committee, Current Union TM, Good Flying Birds, and several more acts. I could only make Sunday’s gig, which took place on the lakefront. It was a beautiful, scenic night; the fest was well-organized, the attendees all respectful, and the sets by Age of Peace and Greg Freeman’s duo with violinist Scott Daniel were particularly electric.
What I watched:
The Odyssey (directed by Christopher Nolan)
There are Christopher Nolan movies I love (Tenet, Oppenheimer, Inception) and Christopher Nolan movies I like (Interstellar, The Prestige, The Dark Knight), but just one from his oeuvre ever left me profoundly disappointed (The Dark Knight Rises). His latest, and arguably most ambitious film to date, The Odyssey, is closer to the first two categories than the latter. I had a blast watching it with a totally packed room at the Music Box on Sunday. The sound was loud-as-hell, often overbearingly so, but I never felt like it lagged during its near three-hour runtime. Few directors make movies just smart enough and just blockbustery enough to have a career as galvanizing and acclaimed as Nolan. It’s good for movies, and I hope other contemporary auteurs can make a similar box office leap. No matter what, it’s a lot of fun, and you should see it on the biggest screen that you can.
What I read:
This Land Is Your Land (by Beverly Gage)
The subhed for historian Beverly Gage’s breezy new book This Land Is Your Land is “A Road Trip Through U.S. History,” and that’s basically what you get through these ~300 pages of episodic travelogues. She visits both off-the-beaten-path places and the monumental sites of this country’s evolution, and always interacts with tour guides, museum employees, and locals. Due to its chapter-by-chapter approach and digestible framing, it’s not as exhaustive and detailed as you’d maybe want. But it is refreshing to see a historian experience history the same way most Americans do: as a tourist. Reading this, especially on the heels of the semiquincentennial, you’ll want to hop in a car and experience a nearby historical site as soon as possible.
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar:
The gig calendar lives on the WTTW News website. You can also subscribe to the newsletter I produce there called Daily Chicagoan to get it in your inbox a day early.