St. Louis-based singer/songwriter Marty Blick makes twangy alt country music, lacing winding guitar lines with witty lyrical asides. It is an approach that recalls touchstones like Silver Jews or Smog, as well as contemporaries like Greg Freeman and MJ Lenderman. However, Blick’s take on indie Americana feels particularly plaintive and personal.

Wilem is a garage country band made up of some cute lil’ dudes from Chicago. They come from the Wilco, Songs: Ohia, and MJ Lenderman school of alt-country, but wander off somewhere of their own: emotional songwriting, jangly guitars, off-kilter rhythms, and a warbly singing saw.

Their new album, TARNATION, lands in early 2027. Lead single “Cash Only” drops Black Friday, 11/27. It’s a rippin’ little country tune dedicated to the beloved cash-only bars still hanging on around Chicago. Yeehaw!

Gifted with knowledge since birth that music is serious business, the nepo-babies of j a b o b o are ready to make waves, a splash, take the world by storm, and partake in a variety of other water-based hype metaphors with all the charisma and hygiene of a dead cat, and the stage presence of a disgraced youtube celebrity's apology video, this bumbling group of sensuous trash bags sure does exist.