This past year saw the release of some outstanding music by numerous local acts, including new albums from JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Ezra Furman, the Orwells, and Cameron McGill. All these acts are widely known outside the Windy City area. The Orwells have embarked on a lengthy promotional tour that saw them perform on the British TV show ''Later...With Jools Holland'', perform Halloween night at Sub-T, and they have are about to go on an upcoming tour in the UK. JC Brooks & the Uptown toured Europe. Ezra Furman left the Harpoons behind to create his strongest work yet, Day of the Dog, and is about to embark on a tour of the British Isles and European Union. He is set to perform at SPACE in Evanston on January 5, along with Cameron McGill, another musician who went solo after his time with his Cameron McGill and What Army and Margot & The Nuclear So and So's.
This list also includes many acts that are not as well known as the ones already mentioned. We have todayshits, a prolific lo-fi band that has recorded and uploaded dozens of tracks on their Soundcloud page. There are The Flips, a hard rock band that recently released their newest album, A Deep Harm but Shining, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. There is Bonzie, an 18-year old singer-songwriter who has already been compared to Cat Power and Neutral Milk Hotel. There is whysowhite, Yancey Boys, The Noise FM, etc.
And these are only 20 songs by 20 artists and bands. There are dozens of other tracks that could be here, but many are unavailable to embed or download at the moment. But here is a great selection of the finest music released in 2013 by Chicago's finest musicians.
