Chirp Record Fair 2017
If you've ever been to Pitchfork Music Festival, you've likely at least peeked into the CHIRP Record Fair set up there (or if you're anything like me, you typically spend $100 there during the festival). In addition to the annual appearance at Pitchfork, CHIRP also hosts an annual record fair in the spring, which is going down Saturday, April 8th this year. The fair is held at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union 130 UA, 1340 W. Washington St. Chicago, IL 60607 from 10AM-6PM.
For just $7, you can get admission into the record fair to peruse through the inventory of independent record stores. For $25, you can get early admission to snag first dibs on the best finds, two hours before the general admission, AND you can reenter all day. You can score your tickets and get all the admission information by heading here. To see the list of vendors partaking in the fair, head here.
Also, if you're debating between the general or early admission, check out this tweet from CHIRP...
We're giving out tote bags to the first 500 attendees THAT INCLUDE ONE FREE VINYL RECORD courtesy of @VinylMePlease https://t.co/9kMtqVxzeA pic.twitter.com/G0Fe1GB257
— CHIRPRadio (@CHIRPRadio) March 28, 2017
New Music Friday 3/24
Lots of new tunes out this week, including a single from Tei Shi's new album Crawl Space, out next Friday, and a special track from Twin Peaks. Check out all the new jams here...
Twin Peaks and Juan Wauters- "Back Door"
Kyla La Grange- "Love Harder"
Jacob Banks- "Chainsmoking"
Future Islands: "Cave"
Local Natives-"I Saw You Close Your Eyes"
Tei Shi- "Justify"
Perfume Genius- "Slip Away"
London Grammar- "Truth Is a Beautiful Thing"
New Music Friday 3/17
Check out all the new tunes out this week, including a few new albums!
Angel Olsen-"Who's Sorry Now"
Julien Baker- "Distant Solar Systems"
Cold War Kids- "So Tied Up"
Feist- "Pleasure"
Betty Who- "Mama Say"
Spoon- Hot Thoughts
Milky Chance- Blossom
Real Estate- In Mind
AHOHNI-Paradise EP
Conor Oberst- Salutations
Circa Waves- Different Creatures
IDLES- Brutalism
Laura Marling- Semper Femina
New Music Friday- 3/3
Lots of new tunes out the last couple of weeks, including the long awaited new single from Lorde, released yesterday. Check out everything we've been listening to the past couple of weeks...
Alex G- "Bobby"
Lorde- "Green Light"
The Shins- "Painting a Hole"
Charlotte OC- "Shell"
Flying Ibex- "No Matter"
Day Wave- "Untitled"
Circa Waves- "Stuck"
Laura Marling- "Nothing, Not Nearly"
LANY- "Good Girls"
Portugal. The Man- "Feel It Still"
Coldplay- "Hypnotised"
The 1975- "By Your Side"
Overcoats- "Nightime Hunger"
NE-HI- Offers Album
Ed Sheeren: ÷ Album
Play The Ace x ANCHR: A Custom Playlist
Influenced by the likes of All Time Low and Brand New, the Dallas-based trio Play The Ace craft pop-punk tunes reminiscent of the early 2000s. To celebrate the release of their debut EP, All My Friends Are Ghosts, Iris, Molly, and Dena have put together an exclusive playlist for ANCHR! The playlist features their all time favorite songs and influences, as well as some of their own music from the EP. Check it out below, and stay up to date on all things Play The Ace here.
Play The Ace is Iris Chang, Dena Asaad, and Molly Lammes
Photo Credit Brelyn Bashrum
New Music Friday 2/17
Lots of new tunes out this week! This is what we'll be listening to this weekend. Psst... also check out our February Recommendations Playlist for even more recent releases.
The Orwells - Terrible Human Beings
Strand of Oaks- Hard Love
Maggie Rogers- Now The The Light Is Fading EP
WATERS- "Hiccups"
Hoops- "Rules"
The Shins- "Midenhall"
Ed Sheeran- "How Would You Feel (Paean)"
PLAYLIST: ANCHR's (ANTI) VDAY TUNES
Feeling a bit lonely today? ANCHR here with some tunes that have gotten us through some of our saddest days. Check out the playlist below...
ANCHR Recs: February Tunes
It's a new month, which means new music. We'll be updating this playlist throughout the month, so make sure to follow us on Spotify!
EXCLUSIVE PLAYLIST: darkDARK Valentines Theme
This week we had a chat with the duo darkDARK, and they were also sweet enough to make us a Valentines themed playlist. Listen to the exclusive playlist for ANCHR Mag below!
New Music Friday 2/3
Once again, lots of good tunes out this week, and a few albums from our favorites are out today! And thank gosh, because ANCHR is going abroad to Barcelona this weekend. These are the albums we'll be listening to during the flight today.
MUNA- About U
Sampha- Process
TEN FE- Hit The Light
Official video for "Overflow," taken from the album Hit The Light. You can stream the full album on Spotify.
Kevin Garrett- False Hope EP
P.S. Stay tuned for a review of Kevin Garrett's show at Lincoln Hall last night.
Now for some singles that came out this week...
Rag'N'Bone Man- "Grace"
London Grammar- "Big Picture"
New This Week: Alex Lahey Shares Quirky Video For "Wes Anderson"
With her indie rock sound and lighthearted story-telling lyrics, Australian singer-songwriter Alex Lahey sort of sounds like a combination of Courtney Barnett and Ladyhawke. Earlier this week, Lahey released a video for her single "Wes Anderson," taken from her debut EP B-Grade University. Equally as funny and lighthearted as her songwriting style, the "Wes Anderson" video definitely has some nods to its namesake's film styles. Check it out here:
You can also listen to the full EP B-Grade University below:
Thumbnail Photo by Kane Gibbered
New Music Friday 1/27
This week just kept getting worse in the realm of politics, but we at least got some great tunes out of it! Here's our pick of new music released this week.
Overcoats- "Hold Me Close"
Brooklyn duo Overcoats released harmony-heavy track "Hold Me Close" on Wednesday this week, along with the news of their debut album. We saw them at TNK Fest a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with their heavenly vocals and unique production style. Needless to say, we are counting down the days until April 21st, when the pair release Young. Take a listen to the new track below, and also head over to their Facebook page for tour date information. They just released a bunch of dates yesterday.
SAN SCOUT-"LMS"
We first fell in love with San Scout after hearing one of their earlier tracks, "Get Me By." With new track "LMS," the London duo have layered ethereal, airy, and funky vibes with realist lyrics. After a bit of a break, we saw San Scout return with "In/Balance" last month, and with "LMS" out this week, we hope this means more music on the way.
Rag'N'Bone Man- "Skin"
Prior to the release of his upcoming debut album Human, London's soulful Rory Graham (AKA Rag'N'Bone Man) has released the new single "Skin." As we've come to expect from Rory, the tune is nothing short of excellent, with its epic and almost cinematic chorus. 2017 has already been full of success for Rag'N'Bone Man, with him being awarded the Brits Critics Choice Award and nominated for Best British Breakthrough, but we from what we've heard from his album so far, Human will propel this singer-songwriter to new heights.
ANOHNI- "Paradise"
ANOHNI's breathtakingly unique vocals are always instantly recognizable on any of her tracks, and new track "Paradise" blends those trademark vocals with an electrifying beat. The new single shares its name with an upcoming 6-track EP that ANOHNI also announced today, with a scheduled release date of March 17th. If the EP is even half as great as 2016's Hopelessness, this EP will easily become an ANCHR favorite.
Ten Fé- "Another Way"
Ten Fé have yet to release a track that we're not fans of here at ANCHR, and "Another Way" is no exception. The track, which will be on the duo's debut album Hit The Light, perfectly mixes whimsical production with a mellow tempo. You can preorder the album, out next Friday, here.
While those tracks are our top five for this week, here are some other highly recommended bops from this week:
Skott- "Glitter & Gloss"
LEON- "Sleep Deprived"
Asgeir- "Unbound"
Allan Rayman- "13"
ANCHR Interview Alums Aquilo and Deaf Havana also have full albums out today. Listen to both below:
Happy Listening!
Deaf Havana: All These Countless Nights
A few weeks back, we chatted with Matt from Deaf Havana about their new album All These Countless Nights, which drops tomorrow! We also got a chance to listen to the new tunes ahead of time, and since we're all about cluing fans in on the best new music, here's what we thought about the album.
All These Countless Nights lures you in, its opening track "Ashes to Ashes" creeping in with a fade-in introduction, leading to an explosive chorus. Rolling right into the second track, pop rock tune "Trigger" keeps the energy up and begs your to bob your head along to its melody.
Acoustic version of the single "Trigger"
As Matt mentioned during our interview, this album ebbs and flows, and features more diversity than the last album Old Souls. Some of our favorite tracks on the album, "L.O.V.E" and "Like a Ghost" contain crazy dynamics throughout, the latter even containing an epic guitar solo, while "Happiness" and "Pretty Low" remain on the more mellow side.
If you're looking for music to dance to, "Fever" and "England" both have those thick, groovy bass lines, pleading your feet to move along. "Seattle" has that kind of stadium "turn-your-flashlight-on-your-phone and sway" feel about it, while "Sing" is perfect for driving with the windows down and drumming on the steering wheel.
The album stays true to Deaf Havana's style almost solely due to lead singer James Veck- Gilodi's distinguishable vocal tone and narrative songwriting style, but the sonic variety from track to track definitely pushes the band past boundaries. We definitely recommend giving this one a listen!
New Music Friday: 1/20
Listen to our favorite new tracks from this week, featuring some of our favorite artists like Maggie Rogers and Rationale.
Maggie Rogers- "On + Off"
Maggie Rogers released her third single earlier this week, in the midst of her first tour ever. The new tune "On + Off' features her signature whimsical production style and sweeping vocals. The song comes from Rogers's upcoming EP Now That The Light Is Fading, set to be released on February 17th.
Rationale- "Reciprocate"
After releasing "Prodigal Son" and "Vessels" at the end of 2016, Rationale has kicked off 2017 with the third track off his Vessels EP, "Reciprocate." Co-written with Grades, the dynamic tune possesses a hypnotic melody and showcases Rationale's vast vocal range. "Reciprocate" further solidifies Rationale's unique sound and immense talent as a producer, songwriter, and vocalist. We're sure that his upcoming debut will not disappoint his growing fan base.
Kevin Garrett- "Stranglehold"
In advance of his upcoming US tour, Kevin Garrett gifted us new tune "Stranglehold" earlier this week. Soft and soulful, the new track stays true to Kevin's style, while pushing to boundaries on the production side. Make sure you grab your tickets to see Kevin on tour next month-- he confirmed he'll be playing this one on the road.
MUNA- "Crying on the Bathroom Floor"
Female trio MUNA's latest single "Crying on the Bathroom Floor" comes two weeks before the release of their debut album About U. The new track starts off with thick 80's-influenced synthesizers and delicate vocals from lead singer Katie Gavin. True to MUNA-form, the song delivers a pop exterior that will make you want to dance, while also containing thoughtful lyrics with a message.
COTE- "Cruel"
Singer-songwriter COTE dropped a new track "Cruel" earlier this week. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon, the track starts off soft with COTE's soothing vocal style, building up with the chorus. Sonically, the song branches out from COTE's first three singles, proving the versatility of this newcomer.
New Music Friday 1/13: The XX, Aquilo, Declan McKenna, Sampha, and More
Another week, another great batch of new tunes. Find all of these tunes on our monthly Spotify playlist.
The xx- "Lips"
The xx's entire new album I See You is available today
Aquilo- "Blindside"
Declan McKenna- "The Kids Don't Wanna Come Home"
Julien Baker- "Funeral Pyre"
Seramic- "I Got You"
Verite- "Phase Me Out"
Grace Mitchell- "Kids(Ain't All Right)"
Sampha- "(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano"
Laura Marling- "Wild Fire"
Our JAMuary playlist features all of these songs, plus our other recent favorites.
Aquilo Release New Video For "You Won't Know Where You Stand"
British duo Aquilo have released a new video for their track "You Don't Know Where You Stand" today, in advance of their debut album's release on January 27th.
In addition to the new video, the band have also dropped the news that this is the first video of an upcoming trilogy. Keep your eye's on Aquilo's social media for updates on the next two videos, but in the meantime, check out the first part of the trilogy below.
You can preorder the album Silhouettes here.
New Music Friday, Featuring Ed Sheeran, Sundara Karma, The Shins, Dua Lipa and More
Our pick of new tunes out this week!
Check out our playlist JAMuary on Spotify, featuring these tunes and more of our recent favorites.
Sundara Karma "Deep Relief"
The band's entire debut album is also out today. Stream or purchase on most major platforms.
Ed Sheeran "Shape of You" & "Castle on the Hill"
The Shins "Name For You"
Dua Lipa "Thinking 'Bout You"
Snakehips and Mo "Don't Leave"
The Flaming Lips "We a Family"(featuring Miley Cyrus)
"6th January 5am GMT, midnight EMT"
Ed Sheeran fans (AKA pretty much the whole world) have known since Sunday that Ed will be releasing some sort of new music on Friday at (you guessed it) 5am GMT and midnight EMT. Ed made that announcement via his twitter on January 1st.
Hello 2017... pic.twitter.com/1UyjpgoFbo
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 1, 2017
So it's clear that we're finally getting new music from Ed, after his 2014 album X. What isn't clear, however, is if we're getting a song, or an entire album. The singer-songwriter has also been tweeting what appear to be lyrics, and today he tweeted a lone division sign.
÷
— Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 5, 2017
Seeing as Sheeran's last two albums were called + and X, it seems certain we're at least getting more information about the next album along with the new music. Keep your eye out for more teasers from Ed and brace yourself--we're less than 13 hours away from a new Ed Sheeran song (or songs).