Pensive-sounding synth-rock trio Relenter, a late comer to the Green St. Records benefit bill last Friday, finally has merchandise. A harbinger of the debut album Through the Mirror, which has gone to press; a black, broken mirror t-shirt was available in time for the show. Three presumptive singles from that album are available for free download at relenter.com: “Bombshell,” “The Finest Thread” and the title track. In addition, the band announced a new Web site last Monday that will offer remixes and videos: www.relenter.com/throughthemirror.
Another band on that bill, i:scintilla, announced a DJ side project last Thursday. Jim Cookas and Brittany Bindrim will appear again with DJ Zozo under a new, dual pseudonym, DJ Twinscin, to spin Tuesdays at The Highdive. i:scintilla performed at “Bloody Prom Night,” the Dec. 7 show with Die Warzau to commemorate/mark the last night of DJ Zozo’s residency at The Highdive.
Quite a variety of shows about town tonight: Aroma hosts an early St. Valentine’s Day show extravaganza, Valentine Singer/Songwriter Night with Angie Heaton, Ripley Caine, Andrea Bunch and Aerin Tedesco, the last three of whom are on loan from Chicago, 8:00 p.m. and free. Kayla Brown continues her residency at Boltini Lounge, 8:00 p.m. and free. At 9:00 p.m., University of Illinois Jazz Combo plays The Iron Post, and The Profits and Mike Ingram plus a third act play The Canopy Club, $2 cover for the latter. And at 10:00 p.m., Nobnoster, Mississippi-meets-Chicago, Illinois acoustic ensemble Cornmeal plays with Green Mountain (Blue)Grass, 10:00 p.m. for $5.
Two massive shows Friday. At Nargile, Triple Whip bids farewell to relatively new drummer Josh Birky at a 10:00 p.m., $5 show with The Living Blue (ex-Blackouts), The Beauty Shop and Emotional Rec Club. Original Triple Whip drummer Brett Sanderson is drummer for The Beauty Shop. At The Canopy Club, Kentucky group VHS or Beta headlines over locals Terminus Victor and Green Light Go, 9:00 p.m., $6 in advance or $8 at the door. VHS or Beta anticipates the release of a limited-edition single April 4 in Great Britain, of “Melting Moon” with a cover of HÅsker DÅ’s “New Day Rising” on the flip side, one week before the release of the full-length album Night on Fire. Comparisons to The Cure and The Faint abound.
Saturday, Sick Day headlines at Cowboy Monkey over Broken Day and Further from Caution. Sick Day is underway with a third disc and armed accordingly with new songs such as “Cheapskate,” “Follow” and “Jenny.” The plan is to demo in March, record in April and release some time in autumn. Broken Day, fresh from the Owen Cunningham benefit in Mattoon (which raised $2800) is happy to announce all-new t-shirts this month. Show time is 10:00 p.m., and cover is $5.
Also Saturday, Rob McColley and The Elanors join a to-be-announced band at Nargile. Rob McColley is in town only five days, yet long enough to play this show and another for WEFT Sessions, tentatively to air pre-recorded Feb. 21 because there is no Feb. 14 broadcast. If so, the Feb. 21 broadcast will be a double-header with Mike Armintrout. Rob McColley is on tour to promote his fifth album, Rob McColley Sings Insults to an Ex-Girlfriend (and an Unrelated Song About Television, Because How Much Can You Really Say About One Not Very Complex, Dishonest Person).
Last, Cameo Turret plays Tuesday at Nargile with Mock Romeo and Red Cloud. Cameo Turret was described here in November as “a husband-and-wife act all the way from Billings, Montana.” This is true, but the couple relocated to Champaign awhile ago and no longer performs as often. Catch it while you can; cover is $3.
