Mercury Lounge

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Please note: All events are 21+ unless otherwise noted.

Thu 7/24

$10

www.myspace.com/boundstems
www.boundstems.com/
Almost every night, some Bound Stems get together for something or other. A lot of times itâ€™s for practice, but sometimes itâ€™s for a barbecue, with a lot of friendly friends around. A lot of times itâ€™s at the studio, and songs are underway. Sounds unspooling in the background: El train, northwest bound; cicadas; a stick gnawed by a puppy; now a chorus of cicadas; sidewalk conversations; giant whirring air conditioning stacks; airplanes approaching Oâ€™Hare; fat car tires, and the polite beep of a car in the mouth of an alley.

Bound Stems started making music together in late 2002, but they were already up in each otherâ€™s business. Bobby Gallivan (guitar, vocals, lyrics), Dan Radzicki (bass, keys, vocals) and Dan Fleury (guitar) played basketball on the same team in high school. When they met Evan Sult (drums, tapes), theyâ€™d been playing together for a long while. Heâ€™d been in Harvey Danger (London/Sire, Polygram) in Seattle, but just moved to Chicago.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=9937883
http://www.exitclov.com/
Out of the madness of DC comes trademark Exit Clov tunes of revolution, ennui and societal idiocy -- smart music for kids of the next century. The band's name, a tribute to Samuel's Beckett's "Endgame," is both a call to arms and a personal manifesto. Glossing sweet indie pop vocals over vitriolic bass, drum and guitar grooves, the combo introduces an exclusive sound referred to as "kaleidoscopic pop noir." Seamlessly fusing classical and rock instrumentation the Clov share influences ranging from Bartok to Blondie. Despite the schizophrenia, you won't find Exit Clov straying far from the hot and catchy, delivering antidotes for a generation of music fans who seek songs clever enough to outlast the times. Exit Clov have to their credit two self-produced EPs (2004 Starfish, 2005 Saskwatch), the Jolly Roget Sessions (2006) -- on which they enlisted the help of Roger Greenawalt (No Doubt, Ben Kweller, Iggy Pop, White Stripes) -- and the recently released Respond Respond EP(2007), recorded, mixed and produced by Colin Cobb of Livewire Recordings.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=5046275
abriefsmile.com
The music echoes of dreamy idealism and youthful lust, blasting along in an orgiastic fire of Rhodes-driven excess and feedback heavy guitar squalls. From the stark depictions of the lonesome detached situations in their lyrics to the crashing fervor and squalor of their choruses, the New York five piece are out to rethink expectations in sound and song alike, all the while grounding their melodies in classic pop influences. Buzzing with the energy of open-eyed youth and ambition with no end in sight. A Brief Smile, I think not.

"Instantly epic. Those are the first two words that come to mind when attempting to review A Brief Smile's stellar debut full-length, Now We All Have Horns. From the opening My Bloody Valentine-esque slow-burner, 'Escape Art', to the electrifying and downright breathtaking closing track, 'Vicious', Horns somehow manages to greatly exceed my irrefutably atmospheric expectations."
-TheMusicSlut.org