I Fight Dragons have done it again. The band's new video for their track "The Faster The Treadmill" was animated by Grey Gerling and the song itself appears on their debut ep Cool is Just a Number.

The site You, Me, Them, Everybody has begun to make music videos and their first two releases feature Daniel Knox and Black Math (Part of Me). Both video were directed by the man behind YMTE Brandon Wetherbee.

This week’s episode of Giant System TV features the sounds of Robbie Hamilton & Soft Ones.

This September, Tall Corn will be releasing the next album from Lobisomem (aka Brad Loving). The new album, Onze Pedraz is inspired by a month long trip to Mali. Loving, now living in Brooklyn spent many years soaking in Chicago’s improvisational music scene and that freedom is still very apparent in his electronic compositions. This full-length picks up where Loving’s ep Brightest Solids, which was released earlier this year, delves into a more topical realm.

Onze Pedraz will be released on September 24th by Tall Corn.

July marks the 28th anniversary of well celebrated music venue Metro. To celebrate the milestone they are releasing their first CD project. The Official Bootleg Series Volume 1 will be released on July 22nd and will feature music from The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, Indigo Girls, Alejandro Escovedo, The Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Alkaline Trio, Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and Kurt Elling.

All artists have generously donated the use of the tracks, and all profits from sales of the CD will be donated to Rock For Kids. The album will be available for $20 at the Metro Store and online at metrochicago.com on July 22nd. The Smart Bar will also be holding a free listening party on the 22nd from 6 to 9pm.

On September 14th Anti Records will released the collaborative project between Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples. The thirteen track project was produced by Tweedy and really crafted with care and love. He also wrote several of these tracks which are all filled this powerful form of nostalgic soul music.

On July 20th the first single from the album, “You Are Not Alone” will be released on itunes, but you can stream that track over at Pitchfork right now.

Addenda Records will be releasing the debut album, Son of the Stars, from Reds and Blue next month. The album is perfect example of the consistently high-quality psychedelic pop that is coming out of Chicago right now. The band is solid and each member has seen success in other bands around town, but the centerpiece of Reds and Blue is the sultry vocals of Ellen Bunch. Her is delivery is at times lazy and drifting, at times heated and mesmerizing, and at times full of force and energy, she is a complete package. The album will be released in an addition of 500 hand stamped vinyl on August 17th, so it is set up like a traditional Side A/Side B release. I think that style, that nostalgia, lends itself to the band’s psychedelic feel. The five tracks on each side fit together and give that natural progression.

Reds and Blues will be performing at Schubas on July 30th.

SELECTRONICS is a junk pile of abrasive fuzzed out beats and melodic sawtooth slapback synths compressed into a glowing red cube of sound. On the verge of psychedelia, Josh Finck [SELECTRONICS] brings things back down to earth through sampling the familiar - whether it be cutting up your childhood Casio keyboard beats or recording musty pitches from your grandma's air ducts. Plainly stated: SELECTRONICS aims to overwrite your memory. VHS ep release and Live Dates Coming Soon!

The impressive self-titled debut album from Hospital Garden has been released by Ann Arbor’s Cerberus Records. The album is a force, and the twelve consistently hearken back to a time when the word Alternative meant something. This album is powerful, noisy, fun that is bound to be one of your favorite summertime listens.

After a busy spring with shows in Chicago, Milwaukee, Grinnell College and SXSW, it’s been good to get back to work writing songs this summer. A guy somewhere once said something witty along the lines of “The best song in the world is the one you just finished writing,” and that’s pretty much how we feel about several of our tunes right now, except that our favorite song is still and always will be “Hoogie Boogie Land” by Complete.

Aside from writing songs, Blane Fonda’s working on booking fall shows, hopefully including some college dates. We also played a last minute show at Ronny’s—which turned out to be a real fun night. Coming up around these parts, we’ll be playing Friday July 9 at The Union in Naperville with our friends Aktar Aktar, and on August 27 we have a show at Darkroom. - Charlie Nadler