Music

Music Quick Hits | January 2016

V1 Staff |

D'Cabaret of Yore
D'Cabaret of Yore (2015)

The House of Rock announced its complete lineup for this year’s Decadent Cabaret – now in its 37th year putting local bands on stage and challenging them to develop short tribute sets. This year, the three-day fest on March 4 through 6 features names like the Drunk Drivers, Irie Sol, The Heart Pills, and more. This year’s Decadent will also see the resurrection of one of Eau Claire’s most legendary rock acts, Venison, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary. This year’s Decadent – like every Decadent – is sure to be chock full of the music of rock legends, local bands, wigs, fishnets, and more, so don’t miss it.

Idle Empress
Idle Empress

Fresh off the release of their self-titled debut EP, Eau Claire three-piece indie rock band Idle Empress has already garnered some major press buzz for its five-track effort. Stereogum said “they’re warm as all hell and often empowering in their gloom” while Nerdist ranked the EP as one of the “top five indie albums of 2016 so far” and said “they mix nurturing and propulsive vibes with a willingness to experiment, and it works to great effect.” You can stream, download, and listen to the homegrown trio’s EP for yourself at idleempress.bandcamp.com or pick up a copy at The Local Store.

A brand new Eau Claire psych rock band called The Blackshots released a debut 14-track record called Medullah earlier this month. The home recorded effort finds the band exploring a bunch of different style and genres: The psychedelic strumming of “Chasing Dragons,” the warm, easy country vibe of “Whiskey Song,” and four-count rock of “Dream Queen,” plus tracks that use layered vocal effects and subtle synth flourishes really show what this young band is capable of.

Eau Claire hip-hop duo Wayward released a new music video for their track “Wisconsin” off the album of the same name. The video was produced by Walter Mueller (see more from Mueller). Like the title implies, it’s a love letter to our hard-drinking state with a chorus hook that goes like this: “Where you from? Wisconsin / bars and garages, lots of margarine / tattoos, beer pong, damn his beard’s long.” In the video, Wayward emcees Fathom and Mr. Pizzy hang out at bars, crush beers, laugh together, and at the end we even get a taste of some of the harmonica prowess of local artist Steve Bateman. You can check out the album at waywardguff.bandcamp.com as Fathom gears up to open for Minneapolis rapper Prof (of Rhymesayers fame), at the House of Rock on Feb. 12.