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Talkhouse

10 years ago this April, Chicago’s Ratboys put out their first collection of songs. The RATBOY EP, consisting of five indie-folk dorm room recordings, was free to download on Bandcamp and humbly passed around to friends on social media. 
Cut to 2021, and Ratboys would normally be celebrating their 10-year anniversary on the road, playing a mix of songs from their very first release to their most recent, last year’s critically-acclaimed Printer’s Devil. Instead, just two weeks after the album’s February 2020 release and mere days before heading out on their first headline tour, the COVID-19 pandemic forced all touring to a halt. Despite not being able to play in-person shows for the past year, Ratboys has managed to stay busy by performing their music online via their own Virtual Tour series and by finding a different way to celebrate their first decade of being a band.

Ratboys

Music

Best of 2023: Sufjan Stevens’s Javelin Blew Ratboys Away

Foyer Red is a Brooklyn-based rock band. Their latest album Yarn the Hours Away is out now via Carpark Records.

Foyer Red

Best of 2023: Foyer Red Got Really Into Trumpets This Year

Ellen Kempner is the vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the Boston and New York-based indie rock trio Palehound. Their latest record, Eye on the Bat, is out now Polyvinyl.

El Kempner

Best of 2023: Palehound Was Late to the Game with Wednesday

Joseph Shabason is a Toronto-based saxophonist. His new record, Welcome To Hell, is out now via Western Vinyl.

Joseph Shabason

Best of 2023: Joseph Shabason Says Allegra Krieger’s Record is an “All-Timer”

Greg Mendez is a singer-songwriter based in Philly. His latest record, Greg Mendez, is out now.
(Photo Credit: Veronica Mendez)

Greg Mendez

Best of 2023: Greg Mendez Loved the New Sun Organ Album

swim good now &amp; The Techno Hall of Fame is a collaborative project a long time in the making. The project began in 2018 with no direction in mind, continuing a 10 year tradition of off-and-on collaboration between the two friends. One was experiencing a sea change in Toronto’s West End and channeling it into his songwriting; the other was settling into life as a producer in small town Ontario and expecting his first child. Both had recently turned the corner into their 30s, dealing with a tension that began to express itself in intimate, cinematic songs about uncertainty and love.
swim good now released his debut album in 2018 with Toronto’s Secret Songs collective. In the past, he has worked with members of Bon Iver, Stars, and The Avalanches.
The Techno Hall of Fame has been involved in Toronto’s DIY music scene through a collective he founded in 2014 (Bedroomer) and making his living as a graphic designer.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Reardon)

swim good now

Talkhouse Weekend Playlist: Happy Holidays, From swim good now

Chad Peck is the singer/guitar player in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kestrels/?fref=ts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kestrels</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/weneedsecrets/?fref=ts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We Need Secrets</a>. He also runs Noyes Records. He is based in Lornevale, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he teaches high school English.

Chad Peck

Ash are Fixed on the Future

Born and raised in and around San Francisco, along the way, Rykarda Parasol has also lived in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, and more recently, Paris, France — which continues to be her part-time home. Her last two albums were both released on Warner, PL as well as several smaller labels within Europe. She is also a visual artist and creates her own far-out album art.
Her fifth record, Tuesday Morning, is out now.

Rykarda Parasol

Rykarda Parasol and Collin Hegna (BJM) are All Out of Fucks

Alex Peterson is the multi-instrumentalist at the helm of the Austin, TX-based band alexalone. Their new record, ALEXALONE TECHNICAL RESEARCH, is out now on Polyvinyl.

alexalone

alexalone and Ringo Deathstarr are Austin Lifers

Lisa Conway-Bühler is a Swiss-Canadian composer, sound artist, songwriter, producer, and mix engineer who performs as L CON. Her latest record, The Isolator, is out now.
(Photo Credit: Alix Forgeot)

L CON

PYNE and L CON on How Academia Has Shaped Their Stage Presences

The Talkhouse Reader‘s Guide to New York

Jonah Almost is a producer, DJ, and It-Boy-at-large from New York. His EP, The Exhilaration, is out now.

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