After relentless U.S. touring in 2008, the Winter Sounds followed Porcelain Empire with the thematic album Church of the Haunted South; released on Nashville label Theory 8 Records in 2009. Reflecting the contentious and pervasive shadow cast by the culture and history of the South, Church is a mature departure from the raw-aesthetic of their first record. Insomnia Radio proclaimed Church “an intricate masterpiece, piecing together individually beautiful and unique tracks to create a warming, powerful album full of contrast and intrigue.”
The Winter Sounds
BABY BABY formed in the summer of 2009 and from there, greatness. It all started after a day at the pool. Fontez (guitar) and Grant (drums) set up a make-shift practice at their shared apartment, noise violations in pursuit but, there it was. Three months later, Kyle was added in on bass and the band made their first EP, self-recorded in a cabin with an iMac. Having already had the pleasure and honor of opening up for bands O' Brother, Company of Thieves, Annuals, The Winter Sounds, we have never been more thrilled about anything… EVER. Musing together styles from Black Kids, Manchester Orchestra, and Prince, BABY BABY tries to make their own sound; something new, something dancy, something fun. We call it Fun Rock™. Fused by a love for music and a love for the stage, Carrollton (Georgia) has helped make the live shows some of the best moments in our entire lives. Our first EP Drinking, Drama, Dance helped pave the way, but we've never been more proud of our newest LONG LIVE THE SWAGMONSTA (produced by Eric Friar). There's a little green swagmonsta living in all of us and you need to let it escape! This is a record about us learning what we love to do and how we'll do anything to get it. Do what you love and love what you do. Seriously.
Baby Baby on Facebook
South Dakota Refugees in Rough City:
Comprised of brothers Billy and Danny Yost, Zachariah Verdoorn, and recent additions Tyler Zee and Peter Alexander, The Kickback is primarily a group of South Dakotans living in Chicago. The band's continually evolving sound and penchant for choir-inspired harmonies and intertwining guitar lines has found growing success in its new home.
In early 2010, the band released its second EP, Great Self Love. Recorded at Engine Studios in Chicago, The EP was engineered and produced by Neil Strauch (Bonnie Prince William, Margo and the Nuclear So and So's).
The EP earned the group critical acclaim and led to a distribution deal with Los Angeles-based Sidecho Records. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote:
"If your only exposure to the Kickback is via its recordings, including a dynamic, well-recorded, exquisitely arranged and very dramatic new disc called the "Great Self Love" EP currently streaming on its Myspace page, you might think that guitarist-vocalist Billy Yost and his drummer brother Danny have escaped the usual sibling drama. But since the group, which is completed by guitarist Tyler Zee and bassist Zachariah Verdoorn, immigrated here from South Dakota last summer, the stories have begun to spread about its explosive live performances, with the members cheerfully owning up to the occasional broken chairs and bloody knuckles."
Great Self Love was preceded by the songs "Roman Regret" and "Soft Sciences" from the group's single, Alliteration, Etc. Of that single, J. Edward Keyes of Rolling Stone claimed the band "conjures the very best parts of the Veils and the Walkmen and the Killers, writing lean, nervy songs that snarl and snap...The sneering “Roman Regret,” a song boasting a guitar line that snaps and crackles like a cut electrical wire and Yost at his worked-up, Pentecostal best."
The coming month's will see the band on the road as well as recording their third EP. The group can also be found practicing in an 8x10 closet in the Stockyard district located on Chicago's south side.
The Kickback on Facebook
$5, 21+
Doors @ 9 pm
