New Album Out Now from Chicagoland ' s own ...
16 illinoisentertainer . com february 2023
Thought This Was Over
FEATURING TRACKS : This Summer ★ Smile . Enjoy Yourself . Money & Candy ★ How the Sausage was Made
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Smile . Enjoy Yourself .
Recorded Proudly in Chicago at Million Yen Studios
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Continued from page 14
JIP Thought This Was Over
( Self )
Like many bands , Chicago ’ s JIP was inspired by their downtime during the pandemic by making music , including releasing 52 songs (!) consecutively on Mondays on YouTube . For the diehards of the band , it was a joyous celebration of the band recognizing 20 years of existence . Thankfully for admiring fans and newbies , they ’ ve pared down the music to their best 14 songs for Thought This Was Over . Recorded at Chicago ’ s famed Million Yen Studios by acclaimed producer and engineer Andy Gerber ( Local H , Cheap Trick , Smoking Popes ), the band and Gerber were able to capture nearly a dozen solid songs showing songwriting maturity while not losing any alt-rock dynamics they launched the band with at Y2K . A self-professed “ Q101 kid ,” Jim Gwynn commences TTWO with the knockout punch of “ Money & Candy ,” with its staccato punk guitars and a driving Offspring-like anthemic chorus of “ I Want Money and Candy .” The title track , “ I Thought This Was Over ,” shows more alt-rock smarts with nice bass and drum interplay between Bruce Smith ( bass ) and Mike Charbonneau ( drums ) and guitar work powered by Jim Gwynn and Spencer Watson ' s grinding guitars . " Solid Ground " finds Gwynn and JIP at their most melodic , recalling California pop / punk of the early aughts . " Oh Yay " offers up more anthemic pop-punk , where Gwynn stretches out with menacing vocals .
Keeping together a local band and celebrating 20 years is no small feat , but JIP is bonded by friendship and their ability to keep making good music .
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– David Gedge
WEEZER SZNZ Spring , Summer Autumn , Winter
( Atlantic Records )
When Rivers Cuomo announced a new four-album series titled SZNZ , it might have been the first time Weezer fans ever felt a sense of burnout . After all , since the beginning of 2019 , Weezer has released four new albums ( Van Weezer , OK Human , The Black Album , and The Teal Album ), so the news of four more albums in the span of 12 months seemed like overkill . Remember , after the release of their 1996 emo-classic Pinkerton , the band took a whopping five years away before returning with the triumphant Green Album . As a compromise , the band decided to whittle it down to four 7-song EPs each released at the beginning of each season . SZNZ “ Spring ” opens the proceedings with Shakespearean homages and plenty of acoustic , stringed instruments , and a sense of rebirth . “ A Little Bit Of Love ” is a highlight with a catchy melody engrossed in optimism . SZNZ Summer finds the band in a more playful , pop direction . “ Records ” and “ Blue Like Jazz ” find Cuomo writing music about making music that has worked better on previous albums like The Red Album standout “ Heart Songs .” As SZNZ Autumn and SZNZ Winter came out , the concept seems to slip by the wayside , with only the EP ’ s cover art conveying the feelings of each respected actual “ season .” The clinical production courtesy of newcomer Suzy Shinn overpopulates these songs with unnecessary bells and whistles , which can ’ t hide the undercooked songwriting . Neither recalling the heady experimental urban pop moments of 2019 ’ s The Black Album or the “ four dudes rocking out in the same room ” feel of 2002 ’ s Maladroit , SZNZ finds Weezer treading water . While the concept is an interesting idea in a career full of interesting ideas , only SZNZ Spring and Summer find moments worth revisiting .
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– Andy Derer
CROSBY , STILLS & NASH Crosby , Stills & Nash
LP Reissue Box ( Mobile Fidelity / Rhino )
As this pristine LP reissue of 1969 ' s debut release by Crosby , Stills & Nash goes to press , news has just arrived of the passing of David Crosby on January 18 , 2023 , at the age of 81 . Crosby ' s notable career spanned nearly 60 years , with a lengthy solo catalog and influential work with the Byrds . Still , generations of rock and folk fans know Crosby ' s name by the inclusion of this album in millions of record collections . The record spent more than two years on Billboard ' s album chart and has since gone quadruple platinum . Crosby ' s well-known partners in this fledgling venture were Buffalo Springfield veteran Stephen Stills and Hollies tenor Graham Nash . Drawing upon the individual members ' strengths in vocal harmony and acoustic-based arrangements , the trio is commonly cited among pop music ' s first genuine supergroups and identified as the band that ignited the Laurel Canyon scene in Los Angeles . Opening track “ Suite : Judy Blue