The Bears of Blue River (Chicago)

"The Bears of Blue River are big on melody. Huge on it, in fact. Their debut full-length, Dames, is in many ways an ode to melody, a testament to the infinitude of a powerful hook, a refreshingly simple pop album with more than a few hidden treasures. Dames can be cute and sparkly, it can be sassy and moody, and it can even rock out pretty hard at times, but above all it acts as a young band’s tribute to the last sixty years of pop music, at once pensively nostalgic and unabashedly modern. And the melodies are towering, constructed as they are on a firm foundation of musical knowledge and discerning taste." Jon Rogers (Musical Family Tree)

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Dastardly

‘BURY ME IN THE COUNTRY’ continues Dastardly’s exploration of modern Americana. The band pines for the days of The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, but are still grounded in their urban surroundings: “Well, I’ve been living in the city / But when I die, mama won’t you bury me in the country,” sings frontman Gabe Liebowitz on “Dirtnap.”

‘BURY ME IN THE COUNTRY’ was recorded after a month-long tour, in just a couple of days, and around just one mic. What was originally intended to just be demos, became the band’s new EP, capturing the “live sound” of the band that audiences have come to love.

This year saw great strides for the young band both locally and beyond: In 2011, Dastardly embarked on four national tours, hitting up both coasts, as well as a stop at SXSW, while Liebowitz quit his job as a Chicago double-decker bus tour guide to run the band full time.

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