This wolf was tickled to hear that the headliners at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival will be Belle & Sebastian, Bjork, and R. Kelly. Pitchfork will soon announce the rest of the lineup, but before that happens, Gossip Wolf has some more guesses: Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala, Toronto “Noh-wave” troupe Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, New Jersey rippers Screaming Females, and beloved 90s alt-rock band the Breeders. Oh, and a dark-horse pick that’s mostly wishful thinking: postmetal progenitors Neurosis.
When Reader staffer Luca Cimarusti hipped us to his blown-out new band, Basic Cable, we paid attention—not just because he’s usually a reluctant self-promoter, but also because he played bass in Loose Dudes, our favorite drug-punk outfit of the decade. The new group, which includes Cimarusti on bass, fellow Loosie Ryan Duggan on drums, and Running/Heavy Times bassist Matthew Hord on synth, sounds like five people crushing Hamm’s cans on your forehead. Basic Cable are working on a tape, but their website already features five and a half minutes of hangover-inducing clatter; they debut at the Burlington on Fri 2/15 with Negative Scanner.
Local synth enthusiasts Beau Wanzer and Brett Naucke are keeping busy. On Tue 2/5 Wanzer and Chicago expatriate Elon Katz (White Car) finally dropped the debut album from their Streetwalker project, Future Fusion (Cititrax). On Mon 2/11 Naucke celebrates the release of his first solo vinyl effort, The Visitor (Nihilist), with a show at the Burlington. Wanzer and Naucke are also preparing for the third annual Synthesizer-Chili Cook-Off, a brilliantly ridiculous event where each participant cooks chili and devises an original synth composition to complement it. Eric Hanss, John Brearley, Laura Callier (aka Gel Set), and last year’s winner, Rolan Vega, will compete on Sun 2/17—what a great way to celebrate Juggalo Day!
