Reviews – Page 6 – 7th Level Music

Live: LCD Soundsystem and Automatic – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – March 07, 2026

This was the third performance of a four-night residency at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago for LCD Soundsystem. They’d done this a couple years ago, and like the last time I saw them here, all four nights were sold out. It was cold and windy, and all the bars and restaurants in the area were packed, so my fiancée and I waited in the sharp wind with everyone else to get a decent spot on the ballroom floor. Much to my delight, I learned from a guy behind us that Automatic was opening the show.

I hadn’t seen Automatic since I’d caught them at Levitation France a couple years ago, so I was surprised to see someone other than Lola Dompé on drums. I’ve since learned that she’s left the band, and their new boy drummer’s name is still unknown to me. Regardless, he won me over with his Kraftwerk shirt and precision drumming. Meanwhile, lead singer / synth player Izzy Glaudini and bassist / vocalist Halle Saxon were having a fun time. Saxon’s fretless bass riffs are impressive and the crowd was solidly with them by the end of their set.

LCD Soundsystem came out to a packed house, but thankfully everyone seemed to have room to dance. They started out with “Oh Baby,” which brought the crowd to an early frenzy when spotlights hit their trademark giant disco ball during the song’s big, bright moment.

“You Wanted a Hit” was a nice one. I didn’t expect to hear it, and following it with “Tribulations” was great. I’d forgotten how good “Tonite” is, as it features some of James Murphy’s best lyrics (if you ask me).

“I Can Change” always delivers, and “Other Voices” was another surprise. The whole band was clicking, hopping around on various instruments the whole time. LCDSS is a big group, and the amount of gear on stage with them is impressive (and a good chunk of it is vintage synths that are difficult to find or afford). “Losing My Edge” had a fuzzy grit to it that I loved.

The encore included “North American Scum,” which feels more appropriate than ever in 2026, and the classics, “Dance Yrself Clean,” “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down,” and “All My Friends.” It was a solid end to a solid show all-around, and a great way for me to kick off my 2026 concert season.

My fiancée, who fell in love with them when we last saw them, said, “They feel like a family.” when they play. That’s accurate. The camaraderie between all of them on stage is splendid and almost pulls the audience up there with them.

Unseen in this photo: At least four other band members manning bass, percussion, and synths.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Imarhan – Essam

Imarhan‘s new album, Essam, might be their best yet.

Essam continues Imarhan’s solid list of Tuareg desert rock and spiritual music, but now adds synthesizers and samples to the mix without them overpowering their hypnotic guitar and percussion. The end result is mesmerizing.

“Ahitmanin” adds female backing vocals to instantly transport you to a faraway land with endless stars above you. “Derhan N’Oulhine” fades out with a cool guitar solo, and “Tellat” fades in with classic Taureg rock guitar riffs, thumping bass, and invigorating handclaps and vocals. “Tamiditin” is simple acoustic guitar strumming mixed with sampled instruments put through a synthesizer, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

The vocals of “Okcheur” weave in and out of reverb-laden guitar chords and synths that glide like a hawk over sand dunes. “Azaman Amoutay” loops in synth-beats to get your feet tapping and your perception shifting. “Tin Arayth” hops back and forth between big, bumping beats and quieter (but no less impressive) guitar work before building back into a rousing chant.

“Tinfoussen” and “Adounia Tochai” once again mix male and female vocals to beautiful effect (especially on the latter). The album ends with “Assagasswar” – a nearly eight-minute trip across an Algerian landscape that you can almost feel and see. Your vision might not reflect reality, or does it? Perception is reality after all. Reality always is here and now, and the visions Essam brings forth are that reality for each of us.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: VIAL – Hellhound

The cover of VIAL‘s new, raw, angry, fierce album Hellhound features an image that could be three different snarling, savage dogs ready to tear out your throats…or it could be an image of Cerberus – the three-headed dog who guards the underworld. Both are accurate reflections of the power trio, three beings who can each rip you to shreds and a three-in-one force that can stomp you into oblivion.

“Infected,” the album’s opener, even mentions dogs biting and tearing into you. “Scorpio Moon” buzzes more than rare Fuzzbox tracks and kicks trolls squarely in the teeth (“You just talk to hear yourself speak.”). “Creep Smoothie” mixes punk rage vocals with 1990s grunge-metal riffs while eviscerating dickweed dudes. “Idle Hands” is a cry for acceptance (“Why won’t you take me as I am? How can I make you understand?”) amid L7-like chugging bass.

“Sob” has the ladies of VIAL turning the “Fuck your feelings” table on their detractors (“Two thousand dollars for you if you can quit your whining…Send me your tears in a bottle. It’s really not that awful to see you cry for once. I think I’ll drink them with my lunch.”) who are now feeling the effects of stuff they voted for a couple years ago or experiencing sadness over being kicked to the curb. “Never Been Better” reminds me of some of Lunachicks‘ more radio friendly tracks. It’s a solid rock tune that seems primed for college rock radio shows this spring. The title track is under a minute, but it packs in enough power for a song three times as long.

The Be Your Own Pet-like “Undermine Me” is about discovering a relationship has gone south and it’s time to cut it loose. “Blah” has VIAL making fun of boys trying to become big things in the music scene mainly to impress girls and not to do anything meaningful. “Puke” has, oddly enough, a good groove to it. You’d think, with that title, that it would be another punk rager, but it’s more of a snarling groover that’s close to Queens of the Stone Age-like desert rock.

“Don’t watch the TV, and I don’t watch the news,” they sing on “Talktalktalk” – a song about information overload, endless opinions, and people who are “all bark, no bite” with their convictions (“You talk, talk, talk with nothing to say.”). “Boredom / Combustion” has the band tearing down Philadelphia and the entire state of Pennsylvania and comparing it to hell (“Death by boredom or combustion, I’m not sure which is worse.”).

Wrapping up with “Blood Red,” the band leave us exhausted and partially deaf, but ready to take on the world. You’re ready to go after your detractors like a three-headed beast after hearing an album like this. It’s the kind of album we need right now when friends, family, and neighbors are feeling targeted and vulnerable. We need compassionate ferocity, and VIAL inspires it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Alex at Terrorbird Media.]

Review: Enduser – Unquiet

After moving to Stockholm, Sweden, drum and bass / techno / breakbeat producer and D Enduser had to adjust to the extreme changes in seasons there: Long periods of darkness, long periods of sunlight, extreme cold, perfect sunny days. The experience was, I’m guessing, unsettling at first. This might’ve led to the title of his new album, Unquiet, which is anything but quiet.

Starting with “Trial By Fire,” Enduser immediately begins layering beats and rhythms with trip-hop sounds to ignite something under your feet and in your chest. The “Lost” mix of “Turning Point” could be the theme music to your new favorite streaming TV show about a mysterious organization or town or a group of hackers. The beats of “Northern Tribe” slither and sizzle with drone synths behind them. “Broken Branch” is pure industrial fury and menace. The “Decay” mix of “Waiting,” believe it or not, brightens things up a bit with lighter synths and bouncier beats.

“Street Lamp” has an Orbital-like quality to it with its big drums and soft synths. The “Homemade Weapons” remix of “Where I Found You” is another standout with big, thumping bass and lurking synths. Nowan‘s remix of “Northern Tribe” makes the song, somehow, bolder and brasher. SCRWZ‘s remix of “Cabin Fever” will get the whole place jumping.

Another thing I like about Unquiet is, much like Enduser’s Swedish landscape, it gives the songs room to breathe. The shortest song on the record, the album mix of “Where I Found You,” is just under five minutes in lengths. Most songs are at least six minutes long. They change shape, stretch, retract, and pull you in different directions – to the dance floor, a shadowy corner, a warm bedroom, a cold forest. It’s meant to upset the quiet around you but also help you appreciate it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ksu from Discipline PR.]

Rewind Review: Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork (2022)

It doesn’t feel like Dry Cleaning‘s Stumpwork album came out nearly four years ago because it still sounds as fresh now as it does then.

The first words out of lead singer Florence Shaw on the album are “Should I propose friendship?” on “Anna Calls from the Arctic.” Shaw’s inviting us to go on this journey with her and her bandmates, but she wants to know if we’re willing and our company will be worth her time. “I like it when you can see inside houses from the car,” she says / sings, ever mysterious and intriguing. Most of the lyrics for this album were improvised by Shaw in the studio, taking inspiration from things she saw during walks around London.

Her bandmates, Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), and Lewis Maynard (bass), always craft neat post-punk, krautrock, and just…odd soundscapes around her. It’s almost like two different performances happening at the same time, and it always works. “Things are shit, but they’re gonna be okay,” Shaw says on “Kwenchy Kups.” She was right then. She’s right now.

“Gary Ashby” is a rousing, rocking song about a lost turtle the band adopted during the pandemic. Dowse’s guitar sounds a bit drunk on “Driver’s Story.” “If I could live across a Boot Fair, wouldn’t that be something?” Shaw asks on “Hot Penny Day” while Maynard’s bass funks and fuzzes like it walked in from a 1970s disco.

Buxton’s drums on the title track have a bit of a jazz feel while Shaw playfully talks and sings and Dowse’s guitar chords could fit into a Lush song without trouble. “No Decent Shoes for Rain” has an underlying growl to it that I like. The breakdown in the middle is great, with Shaw pausing to say, “It’s so great to meet you, but not here.” The whole tune changes into a new sound. It’s impressive.

The bounce of “Don’t Press Me” is a fun counter-balance to its snarky title and Shaw’s slightly snarled lip delivery. “Conservative Hell” has Shaw dreaming about escaping from reality, at least for a bit…and the end sounds of it seem to reflect a hallucinogenic trip. Maynard’s bass strolls on “Liberty Log” with a simple groove while Buxton shuffles behind him, Dowse’s guitar sounds like a distant leaf blower or a whale or a whale with a leaf blower, and Shaw sing-speaks about how reality shows about isolation became reality during the pandemic (“This seems like a weird premise for a show, but I like it.”). The album ends with “Icebergs,” which might be a metaphor for global warming because Dowse’s guitar strings sound like they’re melting as he plays.

Dry Cleaning is one of those bands that isn’t for everyone, but they’re so damn intriguing that, once you “get it” (if there is indeed anything to “get”), you become fascinated by them. Stumpwork was a weird response to the post-pandemic world, and a lot of it still feels relevant.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: trauma ray – Carnival

The cover of trauma ray‘s new EP, Carnival, pretty much lets you know what you’re heading into when you start playing it.

Starting with the instrumental and slightly creepy “Carousel,” the EP instantly creates a spooky atmosphere. It made me imagine seeing a carnival emerge from fog as you’re out for an early walk or drive and think, “Wait…That wasn’t here yesterday.” It then jumps into “Hannibal,” which hits with hard Helmet-like riffs that roar with fury and also melt your mind with echoing shoegaze vocals.

“Méliès” is named after French filmmaker Georges Méliès and is about making up illusions and alternate realities in your mind to deal with trauma and strife around you. The massive guitars and heavy drum hits also help purge your stress.

“Funhouse” gets heavier, believe it or not, dropping doom riffs on you from behind warped mirrors and twisting passages but then sliding into Slowdive-like sounds that will leave you thinking, “Wait…Is this the same band?” The closer, “Clown,” is about tragedy lurking behind comedy. The powerful guitar chords and snare hits convey suppressed rage and the urge to let it loose upon the world.

You’ll want to let this EP loose upon the world by cranking it so loud the entire neighborhood will hear it. They’ll thank you for it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: “Soul to Soul” soundtrack (2025 reissue)

This reissue of the 1971 concert film Soul to Soul soundtrack (not to mention the Blu-Ray) is a treasure. It’s packed with jams, grooves, and funk.

“Hi, everybody!” says Tina Turner to start off the concert. After the reply, she says, “We’re gonna go to work now,” and, boy, does she, Ike Turner, and their band ever do it. The title track is a flat-out rocker with Ike Turner’s guitar chugging out a steady riff while Tina sings, “This is where it all came from, the rhythm that will turn you on.” to the Ghanaian crowd who were going bonkers from the first note. “River Deep – Mountain High” has Tina belting out fierce proclamations of love while the band almost struggles to keep up. They then drop a blues classic, “I Smell Trouble,” and Tina’s voice becomes a whole different instrument that probably had everyone in the audience spellbound.

Already off to a blazing start, The Voices of East Harlem come on next with “Run, Shaker Life” and keep the fire burning. Their version of the gospel classics “Choose Your Seat and Set Down” and “Walk All Over Heaven” are lively and exciting. Les McCann and Eddie Harris‘ cover of “The Price You Gotta Pay to Be Free” is so damn groovy that it’s difficult to describe. That Hammond B3 organ, the slick bass, the jazz drums, and the psychedelic guitar all combine to give you quite a thrill.

The Staple Singers next take the stage with one of their classics – “When Will We Be Paid?” “Are You Sure?” is another gospel classic that they deliver with power and love before going into the revival-ready “He’s Alright.”

Santana then comes on with a different sound altogether, but no less energy. “Jungle Strut” has the whole place jumping and Carlos Santana shredding. This live version of “Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen” blends Latin and African rhythms into a wild psych-rock jam. Santana’s guitar sounds great. The mix of this is well-done.

Wilson Pickett comes out to wrap it up with three of his classics: “In the Midnight Hour,” “Funky Broadway,” and “Land of 1,000 Dances.” His horn section earns their pay right away on the first track, sounding funky and triumphant. Pickett gets the crowd singing with him on the second, and by the third he’s practically leading a gospel revival and has the place almost in a riot.

Again, this is a treasure of good stuff. The full concert event was over fourteen hours long. I don’t know if we’ll ever see or hear all of it, but it must have been a great experience judging from this record.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Randy at Prime Mover Media.]

Rewind Review: Satan’s Pilgrims – Plymouth Rock: The Best of Satan’s Pilgrims (2004)

If you’re in need of some fun modern surf-rock, look no further than Satan’s Pilgrims. They showed up on my radar when I heard their song “Gravewalk” on a Halloween-themed rockabilly / surf compilation, and I’d been intrigued by their “monster-surf” sound since. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon Plymouth Rock: The Best of Satan’s Pilgrims in a Las Vegas wrecka stow (Record City) and snatched it up for less than ten bucks.

“Vampiro” starts off disc one (of two) with cool horror-rock grooves, and then “Que Honda?” shows off wild drumming. The squeaky, skronky guitars of the title track are bonkers. “Super Stock” covers a favorite subject of surf-rockers – fast cars. “Grave-Up” has that weird kind of spooky organ sound you want in horror-rock. “Creature Feature” is another great horror-rock tune that uses samples of old horror movie scores to good effect. “Soul Pilgrim” adds, yes, soul to the mix with the funky, groovy, soulful organ notes throughout it. “Badge of Honor” brings in some spaghetti western guitar riffs.

Highlights from disc one include the snappy opener “Soul Creepin'” (with some downright sexy bass and organ). “Haunted House of Rock” slinks and slithers all around you. The jangly guitars on “The Outsider” mix well with the harmonica riffs on it. A fun riff on Chuck Berry‘s “If You Wanna Dance with Me” (“If You Wanna”) makes you want to find a sock hop somewhere. “Green Chili” is another Morricone-flavored track with its great guitar work.

Again, if you’re a fan of instrumental surf-rock, this is for you. If you’re not a fan, this is still for you.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Nevaris – SoundSession

One of the things I like best about dub music is that it’s the kind of music that always finds me when I need it. Sometimes I just need to chill out, or to take a breath, or to get laid, or remember to stop worrying about things out of my control. Dub music is perfect for all of that, and Nevaris has returned with another solid dub record for all of that – SoundSession.

The album consists of four tracks, all of them recorded in a single session in May 2023. They bring together Nevaris and his excellent hand percussion work with heavyweights like Peter Apfelbaum (saxophone, flute), Will Bernard (guitar), Matt Dickey (guitar), DJ Logic (turntables), Jojo Kuo (percussion), Bill Laswell (production), Lockatron (drums), Jonathon Maron (bass), and Angel Rodriguez (percussion).

“Ninth Sun” immediately hooks you from the first few notes and settles you into what you know is going to be a groovy, trippy time. Apfelbaum’s saxophone is practically incense smoke moving through the room. It’s jazzier on “Remedy,” with neat, stretched guitar sounds from Bernard and Dickey, and sizzling hand percussion and distorted synths that bring spaghetti westerns and back alley Negril bars to mind.

Lockatron is locked-in on “Document,” putting the whole band in his pocket and letting them know they can go bonkers and he’ll be the silver cord anchoring them to the material plane. DJ Logic’s scratches and long, almost droning guitar chords seem to extend the space around you. Apfelbaum’s saxophone solo on the track is high-class.

The album’s final track is its biggest. “Dub Orchestra” clocks in at nearly eighteen minutes with Logic’s scratches sounding like a mystical crow or raven chattering away as it leads you down a winding path. Apfelbaum’s flute is something on the wind you hear as you walk, and the percussion from Nevaris, Kuo, Lockatron, and Rodriguez is a treat. All four improvise with each other with no one overpowering the other. It’s a long, cool trip and worth the drive.

The record is just what you need, whether you know it or not.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]

Review: MOTSUS – Atlas

Belgian stoner metal trio MOTSUS have returned from the galaxy next door with a new record, Atlas, that continues their exploration of heavy riffs and cosmic themes. “Atlas” can refer to the character of Greek myth who held the world upon his back, never succumbing to its heavy weight, or the comet discovered by the Atlas telescope in Chile in July 2025. The album’s cover seems to be a drawing of a futuristic science research outpost / doomsday shelter, possibly built from storage containers, and, knowing MOTSUS’ prior output, is probably on another planet or even floating in space.

“Driver” is suitable for playing while in orbit or for terraforming a distant planet with its rumbling drums and chugging guitars. “Duna” downshifts into trippy, melty psych-rock and lets you drift for over eight minutes along some gravity well that is either holding up or pulling down the planet, depending on your perspective.

The heavy sounds of “Exploder, Pt. II” are great. You’ll find yourself slowly head-banging as it rolls around your head and the room and the air around you. It fills every space for almost ten minutes until “Short Notice” gives you a two-minute rest before “Turboslak” shows up to pull you into an asteroid field in deep space, and you’re not sure if you’ll come out of it with one hundred percent hull integrity. The guitars and drums hammer like rocks of various sizes bouncing off the ship while you start landing procedures on one that looks like a good place to build the structure on the album’s cover.

Atlas is another good one from MOTSUS. Put it on, fire the ignition, and take off with it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom of MOTSUS.]