Jordan Mainzer/Since I Left You
@jmainzer.bsky.social
You could say A Brief History of Blindness (@propellersound.bsky.social) is a lifetime--of fandom, hard work, leadership, struggle--in the making. My interview w/ physician and power pop aficionado Stéphane Schück about the latest from The Salt Collective sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8063600...
The Salt Collective Interview: A Beautiful Surprise
Photo by Declan Levitt
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Stéphane Schück's life so far has been chock full of coincidences. How many full-time physicians do you know, who are also power pop aficionados, who...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:18 PM
You could say A Brief History of Blindness (@propellersound.bsky.social) is a lifetime--of fandom, hard work, leadership, struggle--in the making. My interview w/ physician and power pop aficionado Stéphane Schück about the latest from The Salt Collective sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8063600...
Austra's Chin Up Buttercup (@dominorecordco.bsky.social) works because it’s not linear; a lesser artist might have succumbed to the temptation of telling us what happened. Katie Stelmanis instead mirrors the imperfect timeline of heartbreak. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8059025...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Austra's Chin Up Buttercup (@dominorecordco.bsky.social) works because it’s not linear; a lesser artist might have succumbed to the temptation of telling us what happened. Katie Stelmanis instead mirrors the imperfect timeline of heartbreak. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8059025...
"How one’s lived experience colors the interpretation of a song is as different as there are as many people on the earth." Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu spoke to me about the band's new covers record out Friday via @polyvinyl.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8057239...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:37 PM
"How one’s lived experience colors the interpretation of a song is as different as there are as many people on the earth." Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu spoke to me about the band's new covers record out Friday via @polyvinyl.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8057239...
From daring experimentalists @maryhalvorson.bsky.social and @orenambarchi.bsky.social to pop geniuses @sparksofficial.bsky.social and FKA twigs: SILY's top albums of 2025 sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8052860...
SILY's Top Albums of 2025
BY JORDAN MAINZER
During our first year of full-blown fascism, music--and art in general--proved to be more important than ever, as the form of expression with the purest intentions around which to.....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
From daring experimentalists @maryhalvorson.bsky.social and @orenambarchi.bsky.social to pop geniuses @sparksofficial.bsky.social and FKA twigs: SILY's top albums of 2025 sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8052860...
Lilly Hiatt's Forever is full of swagger and new love heightened by its instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8034022...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 19, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Lilly Hiatt's Forever is full of swagger and new love heightened by its instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8034022...
"The suggestion that music is an artform rooted firmly to 'the moment' seems absurd to me... If we take my seemingly habitual use of reverb as perhaps the most potent example, the so-called 'present' is rendered invisible by it." Spoke with KRAMER sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8026456...
Bonner Kramer Song Premiere: "Whispers for the Dead"
Bonner Kramer
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Tomorrow, prolific avant-garde legend Bonner Kramer caps off a busy 2025 with …and the crimson moon whispers goodbye (Shimmy-Disc), his first solo album since 2020's....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"The suggestion that music is an artform rooted firmly to 'the moment' seems absurd to me... If we take my seemingly habitual use of reverb as perhaps the most potent example, the so-called 'present' is rendered invisible by it." Spoke with KRAMER sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8026456...
Wrote about the most recent @bobmouldmusic.bsky.social album; if you're anxiously awaiting a live show or music from Sugar, might I suggest a song I didn't even write about in my review, "When Your Heart Is Broken"? As good as anything on Copper Blue! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8025664...
Bob Mould Album Review: Here We Go Crazy
(Granary/BMG)
BY JORDAN MAINZER
With October's announcement of the long-awaited Sugar reunion and last month's unearthed Hüsker Dü live performances, it's easy to forget that back in March,...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Wrote about the most recent @bobmouldmusic.bsky.social album; if you're anxiously awaiting a live show or music from Sugar, might I suggest a song I didn't even write about in my review, "When Your Heart Is Broken"? As good as anything on Copper Blue! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8025664...
"We work well under pressure. If you give us a week to do something, we’ll do it in the last half a day." Panic Shack speak to us about "laughing, drinking, chatting, gossiping" and then buckling down in the studio to make their self-titled debut sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8023713...
Panic Shack Interview: Reclaiming the Bum Crack
Panic Shack
BY JORDAN MAINZER
When guitarist Meg Fretwell and bassist Emily Smith of Cardiff band Panic Shack asked me for recommendations of things to do should they ever come to Chicago, Smith...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"We work well under pressure. If you give us a week to do something, we’ll do it in the last half a day." Panic Shack speak to us about "laughing, drinking, chatting, gossiping" and then buckling down in the studio to make their self-titled debut sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8023713...
On @alabasterdeplume.bsky.social's A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole (@intlanthem.bsky.social), he's invitational rather than antagonistic in his attempts to heal the globe. @atlesmusic.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8020965...
Alabaster DePlume Album Review: A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole
(International Anthem)
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Last year, Mancunian musician Alabaster DePlume previewed his most recent album A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole with, among other things, a poetry book....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
On @alabasterdeplume.bsky.social's A Blade Because A Blade Is Whole (@intlanthem.bsky.social), he's invitational rather than antagonistic in his attempts to heal the globe. @atlesmusic.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8020965...
"There’s no big concept. It’s, 'Here’s some music that I think feels good; maybe it’ll make you feel good too.'" Spoke with jazz pianist Aaron Parks about By All Means, his third album for @bluenoterecords.bsky.social out now sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8019272...
Aaron Parks Interview: Titles and Subtitles
Photo by Isaac Namias
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Little do I think about improvisational jazz, one of the most profound tenets of Black American music, in the same breath as improvisational comedy,...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:25 PM
"There’s no big concept. It’s, 'Here’s some music that I think feels good; maybe it’ll make you feel good too.'" Spoke with jazz pianist Aaron Parks about By All Means, his third album for @bluenoterecords.bsky.social out now sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8019272...
SILY contributor Keith Miller on Case Oats' debut Last Missouri Exit (@mergerecords.bsky.social), which "feels like the perfect soundtrack for a drive through the Midwest as you pass by cornfields, grain elevators, cows, and scattered patches of forest." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8017345...
Case Oats’ Last Missouri Exit: A Debut That Resonates in Studio and on Stage
Photo by Braedan Long
BY KEITH MILLER
Chicago band Case Oats makes an immediate impression with their debut album, Last Missouri Exit, released in August on Merge. Thoughtful, steady, and inviting,....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:02 PM
SILY contributor Keith Miller on Case Oats' debut Last Missouri Exit (@mergerecords.bsky.social), which "feels like the perfect soundtrack for a drive through the Midwest as you pass by cornfields, grain elevators, cows, and scattered patches of forest." sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8017345...
San Francisco psych rockers Magic Fig on their upcoming album Valerian Tea, visual identity, recording practices, jamming, and more sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8004880...
Magic Fig Interview: Kaleidoscope of Sound
Photo by Kittie Krivacic
BY JORDAN MAINZER
San Francisco psych band Magic Fig are in no hurry. They don't celebrate their new album Valerian Tea, out Friday via Exploding in Sound, with a record...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:56 PM
San Francisco psych rockers Magic Fig on their upcoming album Valerian Tea, visual identity, recording practices, jamming, and more sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8004880...
Did the reissues of two The Faint albums from earlier this year (@saddlecreek.bsky.social) recontextualize them as having foreshadowed indie sleaze? When paired with Hercules and Love Affair at the Metro, I realized they're just a band you can dance to: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8004057...
The Faint & Hercules and Love Affair Live Show Review: 11/12, Metro, Chicago
The Faint
BY JORDAN MAINZER
There's Never Been A Better Time To Assess The Faint's Legacy, argued Stereogum earlier this year in an interview with lead vocalist Todd Fink around the March reissues.....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Did the reissues of two The Faint albums from earlier this year (@saddlecreek.bsky.social) recontextualize them as having foreshadowed indie sleaze? When paired with Hercules and Love Affair at the Metro, I realized they're just a band you can dance to: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8004057...
Asking whether something in an S.G. Goodman song is “true” reduces her storytelling to mere linear literalism. The same could be said for Fust frontperson Aaron Dowdy. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8001062...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Asking whether something in an S.G. Goodman song is “true” reduces her storytelling to mere linear literalism. The same could be said for Fust frontperson Aaron Dowdy. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/8001062...
Nicholas Tremulis has brought together another batch of like-minded musicians for the Hua Momona Foundation fundraisers in Chicagoland today through Saturday. Spoke with him about his involvement. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7994864...
Nicholas Tremulis, Helping The Mainland Feed the Island
Bernard Fowler and Nicholas Tremulis at the 2025 Maui Music & Food Experience; Photo by Sean Hower
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Chicago tech executive Gary Grube founded the Hua Momona Foundation to feed Maui....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Nicholas Tremulis has brought together another batch of like-minded musicians for the Hua Momona Foundation fundraisers in Chicagoland today through Saturday. Spoke with him about his involvement. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7994864...
In David Byrne’s world, songs that in lesser hands might appear absurd throwaways are key for us to comprehend his ethos. Words on Saturday night's Who Is The Sky? (@matadorrecords.bsky.social) show in Chicago sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7993836...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
In David Byrne’s world, songs that in lesser hands might appear absurd throwaways are key for us to comprehend his ethos. Words on Saturday night's Who Is The Sky? (@matadorrecords.bsky.social) show in Chicago sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7993836...
"I was obsessed with music when I was a kid, and I still am, obviously. I hope that all that [we] can do...is create a space for people to disappear into and feel great for at least 45 minutes." Check out my interview w/ Jace Lasek from The Besnard Lakes! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7988360...
The Besnard Lakes Interview: The Besnard Lakes Are No Longer The Greatest Besnard Lakes Cover Band Of All Time
The Besnard Lakes
BY JORDAN MAINZER
The titles of most albums by indie rockers The Besnard Lakes follow the format The Besnard Lakes Are _____. Really, then, the truly consistent thing about their.....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"I was obsessed with music when I was a kid, and I still am, obviously. I hope that all that [we] can do...is create a space for people to disappear into and feel great for at least 45 minutes." Check out my interview w/ Jace Lasek from The Besnard Lakes! sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7988360...
List of Demands (@intlanthem.bsky.social) came out in January, but now is as good as a time as ever to dive into Damon Locks' masterpiece of poetry, samples, and virtuosic instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7982920...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
List of Demands (@intlanthem.bsky.social) came out in January, but now is as good as a time as ever to dive into Damon Locks' masterpiece of poetry, samples, and virtuosic instrumentation. My review: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7982920...
"The last couple weeks playing gigs and being in a room with people, everybody feels focused in a way where they want...[to] embrace an experience that feels positive and human." Chicago area, go see Amy Rigby tonight in Berwyn! My interview with her: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7976638...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:43 PM
"The last couple weeks playing gigs and being in a room with people, everybody feels focused in a way where they want...[to] embrace an experience that feels positive and human." Chicago area, go see Amy Rigby tonight in Berwyn! My interview with her: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7976638...
Chicago! Go catch @natesmithdrums.bsky.social tonight at Promontory in Hyde Park and tomorrow at @evanstonspace.bsky.social. I spoke with him about his new album LIVE-ACTION, a collaboration born from online pandemic-era relationships sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975691...
Nate Smith Interview: Likes and Flame Emojis
Nate Smith
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Remember the novelty of the early days of the pandemic? Virtual hangouts with folks from all over the country or even the world, live-streamed makeshift concerts from...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Chicago! Go catch @natesmithdrums.bsky.social tonight at Promontory in Hyde Park and tomorrow at @evanstonspace.bsky.social. I spoke with him about his new album LIVE-ACTION, a collaboration born from online pandemic-era relationships sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975691...
The Sophtware Slump and Greg Freeman's new Burnover (@transgressive.bsky.social & @canvasbackmusic.bsky.social) came out 25 years apart but share more than just their lead singer's style. My review of their show at Thalia Hall last week: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975632...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The Sophtware Slump and Greg Freeman's new Burnover (@transgressive.bsky.social & @canvasbackmusic.bsky.social) came out 25 years apart but share more than just their lead singer's style. My review of their show at Thalia Hall last week: sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7975632...
There are more of us than there are of them. @riotfest.bsky.social Sunday coverage, ft. @smokingpopesmusic.bsky.social @lambrinigirls.bsky.social @idlesband.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7973860...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:44 PM
There are more of us than there are of them. @riotfest.bsky.social Sunday coverage, ft. @smokingpopesmusic.bsky.social @lambrinigirls.bsky.social @idlesband.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7973860...
Thinking back to a Saturday in September at Douglass Park. @riotfest.bsky.social coverage including @thecribs.bsky.social @superchunk.bsky.social @dropkickmurphys.com @officialjackwhite.bsky.social @weezer.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7969299...
Riot Fest Saturday 2025: Festival Veterans
Weezer
BY JORDAN MAINZER
Continuing on my day-by-day breakdown of this year's Riot Fest, Saturday featured lots of bands playing Douglass Park for the umpteenth time--but that doesn't mean they...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Thinking back to a Saturday in September at Douglass Park. @riotfest.bsky.social coverage including @thecribs.bsky.social @superchunk.bsky.social @dropkickmurphys.com @officialjackwhite.bsky.social @weezer.bsky.social sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7969299...
Posting about my @riotfest.bsky.social Friday coverage weeks late in this small corner of the internet. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7967507...
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Posting about my @riotfest.bsky.social Friday coverage weeks late in this small corner of the internet. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7967507...
Sound & Gravity was as advertised: a mini-Big Ears. Words on and photos of Sam Prekop, James Elkington/Nathan Salsburg, Bill Callahan, Helen Money, Fred Moten/Brandon Lopez, and Finom. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7950428...
Sound & Gravity 2025: 9/10 - 9/14
Bill Callahan
BY JORDAN MAINZER
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times about the inaugural Sound & Gravity festival, founder Mike Reed said, "There’s no advertising, and there’s no bit of press....
sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Sound & Gravity was as advertised: a mini-Big Ears. Words on and photos of Sam Prekop, James Elkington/Nathan Salsburg, Bill Callahan, Helen Money, Fred Moten/Brandon Lopez, and Finom. sinceileftyoublog.tumblr.com/post/7950428...