Jordan Mainzer/Since I Left You

The Besnard Lakes Interview: The Besnard Lakes Are No Longer The Greatest Besnard Lakes Cover Band Of All Time The Besnard Lakes BY JORDAN MAINZER The titles of most albums by indie rockers The Besnard Lakes follow the format The Besnard Lakes Are _____. Really, then, the truly consistent thing about their.....

"I was obsessed with music when I was a kid, and I still am, obviously. I hope that all that [we] can do...is create a space for people to disappear into and feel great for at least 45 minutes." Check out my interview w/ Jace Lasek from The Besnard Lakes! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7988360...

List of Demands (@intlanthem.bsky.social) came out in January, but now is as good as a time as ever to dive into Damon Locks' masterpiece of poetry, samples, and virtuosic instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7982920...

"The last couple weeks playing gigs and being in a room with people, everybody feels focused in a way where they want...[to] embrace an experience that feels positive and human." Chicago area, go see Amy Rigby tonight in Berwyn! My interview with her: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7976638...

Nate Smith Interview: Likes and Flame Emojis Nate Smith BY JORDAN MAINZER Remember the novelty of the early days of the pandemic? Virtual hangouts with folks from all over the country or even the world, live-streamed makeshift concerts from...

Chicago! Go catch @natesmithdrums.bsky.social tonight at Promontory in Hyde Park and tomorrow at @evanstonspace.bsky.social. I spoke with him about his new album LIVE-ACTION, a collaboration born from online pandemic-era relationships sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975691...

The Sophtware Slump and Greg Freeman's new Burnover (@transgressive.bsky.social & @canvasbackmusic.bsky.social) came out 25 years apart but share more than just their lead singer's style. My review of their show at Thalia Hall last week: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975632...

There are more of us than there are of them. @riotfest.bsky.social Sunday coverage, ft. @smokingpopesmusic.bsky.social @lambrinigirls.bsky.social @idlesband.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7973860...

Riot Fest Saturday 2025: Festival Veterans Weezer BY JORDAN MAINZER Continuing on my day-by-day breakdown of this year's Riot Fest, Saturday featured lots of bands playing Douglass Park for the umpteenth time--but that doesn't mean they...

Thinking back to a Saturday in September at Douglass Park. @riotfest.bsky.social coverage including @thecribs.bsky.social @superchunk.bsky.social @dropkickmurphys.com @officialjackwhite.bsky.social @weezer.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7969299...

Posting about my @riotfest.bsky.social Friday coverage weeks late in this small corner of the internet. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7967507...

Sound & Gravity 2025: 9/10 - 9/14 Bill Callahan BY JORDAN MAINZER In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times about the inaugural Sound & Gravity festival, founder Mike Reed said, "There’s no advertising, and there’s no bit of press....

Sound & Gravity was as advertised: a mini-Big Ears. Words on and photos of Sam Prekop, James Elkington/Nathan Salsburg, Bill Callahan, Helen Money, Fred Moten/Brandon Lopez, and Finom. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7950428...

Maria Somerville Interview: Where One Sound Ends and Another Begins Maria Somerville BY JORDAN MAINZER So far at Sound & Gravity, many of the sets I've seen have intertwined with their atmosphere: the echo of synth bass against exposed brick, the sounds of the...

"I like when things are layered and ambiguous, when you’re not quite sure what you’re hearing or where one sound ends and another begins." Maria Somerville talks Luster (@4ad.com) in advance of her Sound & Gravity set tonight at Judson & Moore! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7944988...

2025 has seen Mdou Moctar go acoustic and William Tyler and Steve Gunn go ambient. I can't wait to see all 3 of them at Sound & Gravity tonight and tomorrow. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7943110...

Happy Sound & Gravity week, Chicago! I especially can't wait to see so many @intlanthem.bsky.social artists, such as Chicago Underground Duo, who celebrate their first album in 11 years on Friday at the Beat Kitchen. Read my interview with Rob Mazurek! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7941275...

Hotline TNT's 24-hour Livestream Photo by Charlie Boss BY JORDAN MAINZER The second Third Man release from NYC-based rockers Hotline TNT combines frontman Will Anderson's deeply felt pop sensibilities and riff reverence with the...

Raspberry Moon is the second Hotline TNT album released via @thirdmanrecords.bsky.social, and their first written with a full band. Wrote about the record and the band's upcoming 24-hour livestream/telethon after they removed their music from Spotify. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7935842...

Anand Wilder Interview: Songs for Bike Ramp Videos Anand Wilder; Photo by Madeline Jennings BY JORDAN MAINZER When I spoke to Anand Wilder over the phone last month, he was in the middle of pulling grueling, stressful 12-hour days working on two...

"I’ve become a member of this local Brooklyn community of struggling musicians who are struggling to keep going in the face of this very strange music industry where all music is free with a little monthly subscription." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7925835...

James McMurtry & BettySoo Live Show Review: 8/15, FitzGerald's, Berwyn James McMurtry BY JORDAN MAINZER Prior to the final song in his main set Friday night outside at FitzGerald's, singer-songwriter James McMurtry took a moment to acknowledge the unique nature of the....

"In the hands of @jamesmcmurtry.bsky.social and @bettysoo.bsky.social, the utilitarian, inanimate objects are symbols of survival and thriving." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7924141...

If they miss the playoffs altogether (which anyone who has watched the Cubs for the past 2 years, let alone a lifetime, knows is more possible than the percentages suggest), does Ricketts regret the midseason Jed extension? From an optics standpoint, it would obviously be a disaster.

James McMurtry & BettySoo Live Preview: 8/15, FitzGerald's, Berwyn James McMurtry; Photo by Mary Keating-Bruton BY JORDAN MAINZER On his latest album The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy (New West), James McMurtry's got his head in the past. As a writer, he often...

Terrific singer-songwriter showcase tomorrow night at FitzGerald's in Berwyn: @jamesmcmurtry.bsky.social and @bettysoo.bsky.social! Wrote about both of their new records in advance sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7918542...

Sol Y Sombra, by Rose City Band 10 track album

Nab Sol Y Sombra on @thrilljockey.bsky.social rosecityband.bandcamp.com/album/sol-y-...

A jam band unafraid of the darkness, and a duo occupying the most experimental, formless, epic end of the "jam" spectrum: Review of @rosecityband.bsky.social and @jenpowers.bsky.social @matthewjrolin.bsky.social duo at @evanstonspace.bsky.social. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7905104...

A mixed emotions, contrast-heavy record about being stuck in the middle: Treasure Pool, the new one from NYC band Freezing Cold, out Friday via Don Giovanni. Spoke with lead vocalist/lyricist/guitarist Jeff Cunningham sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7903225...

Jolie Holland on Michael Hurley: If Bob Dylan Never Got Famous Max Knouse & Jolie Holland at Jefferson Public Radio; Photo courtesy of JPR/Danielle Kelly BY JORDAN MAINZER On April 3, still dazed by Big Ears Festival, I found out that one of its performing...

"It’s funny that this very short-lived micro genre of freak folk has been applied to [Michael] Hurley, because he’s so much bigger than that. He was a super sophisticated musician." Spoke with Jolie Holland about her and Max Knouse's new covers EP. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7900513...

Square Roots 2025: 7/11 & 7/13 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists BY JORDAN MAINZER This past weekend, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer audio volume of the sets at Square Roots. Sure, Lincoln Square's preeminent street festival...

Trekked to Lincoln Square this past weekend (ok, I actually live kind of close) for Square Roots, wrote some words on and took photos of @alejandro-escovedo.bsky.social @tedleo.bsky.social Heartless Bastards and Verböten. The revolution is in your mind! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7893254...

Jamie Lidell Song Premiere: "Capture the Moon" Jamie Lidell BY JORDAN MAINZER As recently as a decade ago, no avid listener would have predicted Jamie Lidell's pivot into neoclassical music. After all, even his seemingly disparate eras, the...

I've been writing about music for 13 years, and this is my first time ever premiering a song. Hard to believe! Anyway, if you missed Jamie Lidell, he's back, and reinvented sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7892326...

Tonight at @saltshedchicago.bsky.social, Primus and Ty Segall grace the stage! Wrote about the inspired pairing, the new Primus era/song, and Ty's new album Possession. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7887796...

DECK is "limitless, everything independent music can sound like." SILY contributor Keith Miller on the new one from Hallelujah the Hills (@ryanhwalsh.bsky.social) sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7880497...

Read about his latest album LOWER, and you might think Benjamin Booker’s heavy-handed. In reality, his sense of humor and unlikely optimism shines brightest on the album. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7879638...

Meg Remy (U.S. Girls) talks to SILY about the new band behind her new album Scratch It, out now via @4ad.com. Catch them Sunday night at Lincoln Hall! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7873411...

Willie Nile Interview: Throwing Pixie Dust Photo by Cristina Arrigoni BY JORDAN MAINZER Some things, thankfully, remain consistent. For instance, you can always rely on singer-songwriter Willie Nile to give it his all. When I called him...

"I write songs that mean something to me...How lucky am I to get to do that? I work hard. I’m under-slept. [But] the new record, I’m thrilled about." Read my interview with Willie Nile about his new album The Great Yellow Light. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7872378...

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Album Review: Phantom Island p(doom) BY KEITH MILLER Australian rockers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are notoriously hard to define. Those attempting to do so throw around the word “prolific,” and understandably so, as the...

"If Flight b741 was about controlling from the cockpit, taking risks, and seizing adventure, Phantom Island is about what happens when you run out of fuel." SILY contributor Keith Miller reviews the new one from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7867869...

Roger Clark Miller (ex-Mission of Burma) spoke to me about his second Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble (3 lap-steel guitars, 2 prepared and 1 tuned, Custom Stratocaster 6-string, foot pedals, Boomerang III Looper) record out now via Cuneiform sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7866021...