Seven things happening in our music scene right now: April 2018

Another month passes, and there are plenty of things to talk about in the music scene in C-U. I’ve hashed out 14 thus far from the past couple of months, and you can check those out here and here. Let’s do this for April, which features plenty of familiar faces, and some not-so-familiar, which is fun as well.

Here are seven more artists that are up to “things”, as listed above. If you’re a local artist that has something to send over, please do: music@smilepolitely.com.

MOTES announce new album, Crash the Day, coming sometime this year

Seems like only yesterday I was writing about Motes, and my love for them, as they reminded (and still remind) me so much of Yo La Tengo. Feel the Summer’s Heat feels like it just came out. After the release of Keep it in the Dark, it felt like everything was finally hitting on all cylinders, and just recently, the band announced the follow up to that record. Crash the Day comes out sometime in 2018, as the band posted a teaser (which you can see below) about the new record.

Keep it in the Dark was our Album of the Year that year, and Motes returned to the studio about a year ago. Read our interview with the band from 2015. Things are looking up, Motes fans.

SUNNY TURE releases new EP, Ancestas

Sunny Ture has been at it for a bit, and he landed himself on our year-end list last year for his sleeper of a record (more of a compilation, but you get the idea). Ture reminds me quite a bit of Oddisee, but his production feels like some Madlib tracks in a lot of ways. 

His new EP Ancestas came out back in January, but is just getting into rotation for me as far as local releases go. This sounds like a very promising project, so we’ll see what Ture cooks up next. I’d recommend checking out his track “outkast”, my friends.

Album artwork by Langston Allston 

TIMBALÚ is one of the best new things to happen to the scene

12 piece salsa bands don’t surface too often around here, and Timbalú appear to be one of the most promising components of the live music scene in quite a while. Their last show at Cowboy Monkey was packed, playing two sets for a crowd of excited show-goers. Read more about them from James’ review of their show at the Iron Post to get a feel for it.

While there isn’t any recorded music to listen to from what I can gather, you have a couple of opportunities to check them out in the coming weeks: April 12th at Blackbird, and hey! Smile Politely’s 10 year anniversary party at Maize on April 27th.

Photo by James Scherer

PAUL KOTHEIMER releases new EP, You don’t have to be perfect to fulfill your dream

Singer-songwriter Paul Kotheimer has been making music for quite some time in Champaign-Urbana. He recently released a new EP, with a mouthful of a title: You don’t have to be perfect to fulfill your dream. While there isn’t anything wild to report here, it is worth mentioning Kotheimer’s release has come out, and he’s fairly active in the scene if you’re interested in checking out a show of his in the near future.

Stream it below via his Bandcamp page:

You should check out local rapper ADOBO, who has a new release on the way

Adobo fell on my radar a few months back when he sent along his track “All The Spoils”, which you can stream below, and after speaking with him on email, he’s got other things being worked on at the moment. CJ Run approves, so that has to mean something, doesn’t it? Adobo has plenty of other tracks, just take a look at the Soundcloud page, and be on the lookout for another EP in the coming months with Tomb$ called Saudade, which is slated for late April for a release. 

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART released a new full length, Corporate Greed

Not For The Faint of Heart have been around in the scene for a bit, first emerging a few years back — I remember seeing them on the bill for PYGMALION a two or three years ago. They remain active, and just out a full length record called Corporate Greed, which you can stream in full below. If you’re looking for a new local thrash record, check this one out.

REGINALD CHAPMAN’S PRESSURE FIT seems to be doin’ the work

From what I can gather, Reginald Chapman has been performing with NO BS! Brass Band, Foxygen (at one point?) — and the outfit called Pressure Fit has been very active as of late here in C-U. As I made mention in the Overture a few weeks back — there are all sorts of words to describe this band — funk, soul, and jazz, to name a few. The band released a single on February 14th, which you can stream below.