ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Los Bitchos

Party rock is in the house tonight! No, I'm not referencing the 2011 hit from LMFAO— I'm talking about the dance-inducing music that Los Bitchos is serving us with. (Pause to allow all the Hispanic readers to giggle for a minute at their name). When I first heard their music, before looking to see who it was, I was like "Oh dang, did Mdou Moctar put out some new stuff?" Once I saw who they were, I was happily surprised to see four white girls on my Spotify considering the sound of their music and their name.

Photo by Tom Mitchell

Los Bitchos are Nic Crawshaw on drums from England, Josefine Jonsson on bass from Sweden, Serra Petale on guitar from Australia, and Agustina Ruiz on keytar from Uruguay. The band formed in 2017 and call London, England their home base, but with all four members coming from different sides of the globe, their cultural diversity provides different flavors throughout their album: Let the Festivities Begin! If this is your first time hearing about Los Bitchos, their album title is actually also a theme. From track one you will be moving and grooving. It's almost as if they are daring listeners to not move along with the music. I get South American vibes, Middle Eastern vibes, and Mexican cumbia vibes. A lovely and unique hallmark of Los Bitchos is their music is all instrumental, aside from some cheering and audible jubilance. When most music fans hear that a band is all instrumental, it's not uncommon to think that they will end up being "jammy", but unless their live shows prove otherwise, I don't really see that from them considering not one of their songs is over four minutes. I see them as more Khruangbin than I do Umphrey's McGee. If any of you guys liked that really fun song from The Donkeys, “Lower the Heavens,” then you will definitely like Let the Festivities Begin!

Los Bitchos are going on a quick UK tour before visiting The States for the first time when they perform in Austin at the SXSW music festival. A full European tour will follow with three US dates sprinkled in the middle. Personally, I am stoked that one of their stops will be here in Chicago at the Empty Bottle. If any ANCHR readers are traveling down to SXSW in a few weeks, be sure to catch one of their sets. Cheer Up Charlies is always a good time.

For the rest of us not heading down to the fest this year, put June 22 on your calendar and buy a ticket to see Los Bitchos. Not much sounds better to me right now than a beautiful summer night heading to The Bottle to throw back a couple Old Style's while listening to some very fun live music from a great band. Check out Los Bitchos if you enjoy Khruangbin or even Selena.

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Dry Cleaning

As someone who loves to partake in karaoke, the story behind Dry Cleaning’s formation immediately caught my attention. The group from London, England first met years ago as friends but only started creating music together in 2017, when inspiration hit them at a karaoke party. The post-punk meets lo-fi new wave quartet eventually started playing shows and released their debut EP “Sweet Princess” in August 2019. Dry Cleaning quickly followed up with their sophomore EP, titled “Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks.”

2020 will see the band touring around the UK and a handful of U.S. dates, including a stop at SXSW Festival. Tune into “Magic of Meghan” and “Viking Hair” below, and be sure to follow Dry Cleaning for all their latest tour and music updates!

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Babeheaven

We’re now less than two months away from SXSW Festival 2020, and one of my must-sees this year is definitely West London’s Babeheaven. The dreamy and whimsical sounds of Babeheaven come from vocalist Nancy Andersen and keys player Jamie Travis, who have already hooked hundreds of thousands of Spotify listeners with mellow melodies and silky smooth harmonies on tracks like “Seabird” and “November.”

After releasing debut double single “Heaven/ Friday Sky,” Babeheaven has also graced us with EPs Circles and Suspended Animation, the latter of which was just released towards the end of 2019. The music released so far has given me goosebumps too many times to count, so I can’t wait for the day they have a debut album out. Check out some of their singles below, and make sure to follow them for all the latest updates on tour and new music!

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Alice Skye

I recently stumbled across the Australian singer songwriter Alice Skye while skimming through the list of showcasing artists slated to perform at SXSW Festival 2020. After only the first few guitar strums of Skye’s most streamed song “Friends with Feelings,” I was hooked by the mellow melody and the delicate yet warm quality of Skye’s vocals that enveloped my ears. “I’m trying real hard to make friends with my feelings /But I’m not sure I want to get to know them at all,” she sings about the all too-relatable fear of opening up and being honest with yourself.

“Friends With Feelings” acts as the title track for Skye’s 2018 debut album, which delivered the equally as wonderful singles “Poetry by Text” and “60%” In the short time since I came across Skye’s music, her entire album has gone into my regular listening rotation and I can’t wait to hear what her next release brings as a follow up to Friends With Feelings. If you’re making your way to SXSW in March, make sure to add her to your schedule too!

Thumbnail image by Michelle Grace Hunder

PREMIERE: "Stage Fright" By Pool Holograph

Ahead of the official release tomorrow, March 5th, we’re giving you an exclusive first listen to Pool Holograph’s new single “Stage Fright.”

Pool Holograph is Wyatt Grant, Zach Stuckman, Jake Stolz, and Paul Stolz

Pool Holograph’s lead singer and songwriter Wyatt Grant said the new single was written shortly after the release of their last album Transparent World. “With ‘Stage Fright’ particularly we wanted to focus on making a narrative separate from the supernatural themes of Transparent World. The imagery is that of a drama production (curtains, backdrops, decoys, etc.) in which a character experiences both sides of the fourth wall. The instrumentation was a departure from what we had used in the recent past, using a piano, xylophone, sounds of paper, and some layered acoustics,” Grant adds.

“Stage Fright” will officially be released alongside another single on a 7” split later this Spring through Land and Sea Dept.'s Audial LSD imprint, but take your first listen of the track below!

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You can catch Pool Holograph at SXSW this year, including the ANCHR Showcase on March 14th at Shiner’s Saloon— full dates below. They’ll also be preforming at the next ANCHR Chicago showcase at Thalia Hall on March 22nd, tickets and information here.