Tom Lynch

Another impressive Brooklyn band, Oakley Hall, masters the fusion between alt-country and fuzzy indie rock, giving enough space to the songs for development, yet never overcrowding them with unneeded noise. "I’ll Follow You" is the band’s fourth record, but the first for Merge Records, and opener "Marine Life" shows what you’re in store for: a clean-cut, patient song with minimal drumming, cool electric guitar and peaking vocals. A bit later, "Rue the Blues" moves to the countrified twang, and "Angela" slows the show with its soft balladry. (The banjo and violin parts help the cause, as well.) The best, perhaps, is the album’s title track, a slow-burner with a nice, reverbed guitar lead, a harmonized chorus and perfect lap steel. It’s exactly the kind of song this band should write.

Oakley Hall plays October 2 at Schubas, 3159 North Southport, (773)525-2508, at 9pm. $10-$12. (2007-09-25)

Also by Tom Lynch

Tip of the Week
Brooklyn’s The National released "The Boxer" earlier this year by way of Beggar’s Banquet, and it’s the best indie-rock record of 2007 so far
(2007-09-18)

Laser Beam
Two years ago Beam and his family relocated from southern Florida to a multi-acre lot in Dripping Springs, Texas, in an effort to escape city-life hustle and for Beam to build himself a home studio. The spacious, atmospheric environment that his new home surely provides certainly had an effect on the writing of "The Shepherd’s Dog," Iron and Wine’s new record, one that continues down the path of darker and darker tones and themes
(2007-09-18)

Tip of the Week
Brock Clarke’s new novel, "An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England" (what a great title), works as if it was a memoir, a delicious, biting, hysterical and terrifically melancholy memoir, one actually worth reading in this age of telling the truth on paper. Of course, it’s fiction
(2007-09-11)

Once Upon a Time
The damning sky dims post-downpour and dirty, damp rabble-rousers, armed with plastic cups filled with Goose Island’s finest, skip puddles in the backwoods off of Elston and Wabansia. The 11th Annual Hideout Block Party, foaming at the brim with both the hipster elite and families-of-four, seems to have dodged the afternoon monsoon, as Glen Hansard and his Frames take the stage to thunderous—uh-oh—applause
(2007-09-11)

Tip of the Week
(2007-09-11)

Tip of the Week
(2007-09-04)

Tip of the Week
(2007-09-04)

Tip of the Week
(2007-08-28)

Echo Effect
(2007-08-21)

Tip of the Wee
(2007-08-21)

Tip of the Week
(2007-08-21)

Comparable Comps
(2007-08-17)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment