By Rachel Angres

The three-piece band Slow Animal originally hail from Franklinville, New Jersey. “It’s the most corrupt state in the nation, but South Jersey is not that bad.” Lead vocalist Alex Kabable says this sarcastically. The trio now reside in Philadelphia, and at a last minute request drove their van to Chicago to play at the Empty Bottle on Wednesday night opening for locals Gypsyblood. Immediately following their set the three were more than happy to sit in the basement of the venue with us, where they discussed everything from their love for Seinfeld and distaste for NYC ("Driving there is in the in the top three of my list of things I hate to do,” Kabable reveals).

Slow Animal book their own shows, release their songs for free to download via Bandcamp, pay out of their pockets to tour around with their friends to colleges, house shows and anywhere willing to give them the opportunity. Their first aid survival kit for touring includes peanut butter, paper towels, pee-bottles and podcasts. This accidental alliteration is symbolic of their friendship, which started when they were punk kids back in middle school. “We’ve been in various bands with a bunch of different people since 9th grade. Dan [Colanduno, drums] and I started this as a fun secret project, and cool stuff started happening. We needed an extra person for shows, so we asked Jason [Milazzo] if he wanted to play live guitar for us,” says Kabable. They aren’t full-time musicians though--they are gainfully employed: Kabable is a pizza delivery driver, Colanduno works at a school and Milazzo works at a fitness center for the elderly.

Kababale admits proudly that Blink 182 was, and still is in a way, his favorite band, “I’m not all acting like my influences were Morrissey and Joy Division; it’s not as if when I was 6-years-old my parents made me listen to Day Dream Nation. I mean, we were born in the '90s," he says. “We get compared to Wavves, Beach Fossils, Best Coast. We never get labeled as anything close to garage rock--we get pegged beach pop…but that was never our goal. I say fuck sub-genres. We just like to play around with new sound…”

By Frank Krolicki

Archie Powell & the Exports are back! Well, they didn't actually go anywhere, but it has been a little while since they've given us new music. If 2010's Skip Work made you rightfully think of them as one of Chicago's most likeable and straight-up rocking bands, you'll be glad to know that a new set titled Great Ideas in Action is set to come out on May 1st. You might be even happier to know that you can download the first track, "Metronome," for free right now. It's a hook-filled, guitar-driven tune that's set off with cynical observations about the world while keeping an underlying sense of humor. In other words, it sounds very much like AP&TE. You can either get it from Bandcamp or in exchange for a tweet.

The album will feature 11 tracks: Metronome, Crazy Pills, Shooting Spree, Bend Over Backwards, I Need Supervision, You Might be Cruel (Or I Might Be Dumb), Job Fair, All the Same, Sticky Buttons, Great Ideas in Action, Only So Much You Can Do.

In other news with the band, they'll be heading south next month to play SXSW, but before that have a hometown show scheduled for Saturday, March 3rd at Township (formerly Panchos). Also, if you missed it last week be sure to check out how AP&TE recently took advantage of Kickstarter to accomplish something truly momentous.

By Andrew Hertzberg

“I’ll see the world while you stay at home,” opens Shawn Rosenblatt on the latest Netherfriends LP Middle America. Devotees to WCR (or any local music publication really) know of Shawn’s 50 songs 50 states project, in which he gave up any lease-dependent piece of land, traveled to every state in the Union, performed, then wrote a new song as well. "Ambitious" doesn’t even begin to describe the project, but after hitting up Hawaii last April, he completed the endeavor. So now that all is said and done, it’s finally time to eternalize his efforts on wax. Last Spring we got the Angry East Coast EP, but now we’ve got a full album about the middle west summed up in shrouded psych-pop goodness.

As anyone who grew up around here knows, the Midwest doesn’t particularly carry an exciting connotation. I’ve seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by coasts, the promise of a faster pace and life affirmation. So what does someone who has traveled extensively around the entire country feel about it? “Middle America, you seem to surprise every day,” Shawn sings on "Des Moines, IA" with a Wayne Coynesque gruff falsetto. Likewise, in "Columbus, OH": “Staying here would be the worst thing you could do.” The region that contains all of the in-between places, the God-forsaken highways whose mile-markers can’t pass quickly enough, is actually rather complex, intricate and often inconsistent. The beauty and simplicity of nature and farms can be as malevolent and unforgiving as any urban landscape.

By Sasha Geffen

By Andrew Hertzberg

Occidental Brothers Dance Band International

Tuesday, February 7th: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour at Lincoln Hall
You probably know this Danish band for their catchy brass led pop of 'Around the Bend' that floated around a few commercials and movies over the past few years, but the band is currently on tour on the heels of their most recent release and have been getting a lot of buzz for their energetic live shows.

Wednesday, February 8th: Occidental Brothers Dance Band International at the Whistler (10 PM, 21+, FREE)
Switch things up a bit with some Afro-pop at a cocktail bar tonight. Although based in Chicago, OBDBI have their roots actually back to Congo and Ghana and have played renowned festivals around the world.

Thursday, February 9th: Michael Lux and the Bad Sons at Empty Bottle  (9:30 PM, 21+, $8 or free w/ RSVP)
I remember seeing Mr. Lux and the Bad Sons at the Bottle at little bit ago glamming out like fellow local boys Smith Westerns, but the ominous and intriguing music video for their new single 'Salt and Pepper' sounds like the band is going in a bigger and more grandiose direction.