Tom Lynch

Chicago minimalist crew Smallwire’s pretty, obviously titled "Songs for Sleeping In" on Moorworks is daring in its restraint and, by its very nature, humble in its presentation. The vocals from Kristin Barendregt and Kristina Dutton reach ethereal marks only found in the best of gazers and, backed by clean, quiet guitars and effortless piano and string pieces, the harmonies speak in waves. The nearly perfect arrangements are never obtrusive on the songs’ melodies—and the brief and emotional string finale to "Blur the Lines" might just be the best damn thing on the album. It sounds like a beautiful drowning. The band plays as part of Schubas’s Magical Musical Showcase Series at the MCA, so the show’s early in the evening. Don’t miss it.

Smallwire plays February 5 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago, (312)280-2660, at 6:30pm.

(2008-01-29)

Also by Tom Lynch

Looking at Mr. Goodbar
To spend an entire Saturday evening at Estelle’s, from 9pm until 5am, is a daunting challenge . The bar’s staff doesn’t even do that. A traditional workday, flipped to the night. Estelle’s, the late-night lounge as famous for its harboring of poets and vandals back in the day as now the place where strangers make liaisons unclouded by judgment, has a different face on the weekend than it does during the work week, as do most of the bars whose signs illuminate the streets of this rapidly shifting neighborhood
(2008-01-22)

Soundcheck
Philip Dickey, multi-instrumentalist and founder of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, says he doesn’t mind when people ask him about the quirky moniker, really. "I totally expect and welcome the question," he says. "The only thing I don’t like is people questioning it and some saying they hate it. I’m like, ‘Are they right? Yeah, it does kinda suck.’ But, no, I’m proud of it."
(2008-01-22)

Tip of the Week
The impossible strangeness doesn’t end with the name—Chicago’s We Will Eat Rats to Survive released "Don’t Crochet on My Parade" last fall, a bizarro whirlwind of clanging guitars, howled vocals and, of all things, banjo, which recalls early, spastic (and good) Modest Mouse and a whole load of freak-folky recluses
(2008-01-22)

Tip of the Week
Her newest novel, "People of the Book," came when she was covering the Bosnian war and learned of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a book that features the traditional text of the Passover Haggadah and has survived, incredibly, since the fifteenth century
(2008-01-15)

Care-Bare
(2008-01-08)

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(2007-12-31)

Tip of the Week
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Tip of the Week
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Tip of the Week
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Tip of the Week
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Anatomy of Pop
(2007-12-04)

Tip of the Week
(2007-12-04)

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