If anyone compares Chicago act Anti-Crew to Linkin Park just because they rap and have guitars, I will personally punch them in the face. Unlike the power pop band, Anti-Crew has talent and doesn’t rely on screaming and minimal DJ skills to scrape by. Foundation is the band’s first album in Chicago and with a whole band and might I say, a little makes a big difference. In its seven tracks the EP creates a fuller, well-rounded sound than Anti-Crew last two albums. The talent of Flare and DJ Eternal that started in Kansas City is only enhanced by the addition of a live band. The track “One Time” cannot be done the old Anti-Crew way. A simple pre-recorded track would not do. The dueling guitar riff in the beginning and the funky bass line make the song the catchy thing that it is. Flare and DJ Eternal’s songwriting seems to have gotten better too, without sacrificing the playfulness that makes Anti-Crew entertaining. “Matt and Jeff’s Bogus Journey” is hilarious, telling the classic story of two guys after one girl, but still has a great drumbeat. And the opener “Sky High ‘08” has a great hip hop sound with an equally great guitar part. If Foundation shows anything it’s that Anti-Crew has learned how to exercise balance within their music, a skill that will only help them in the future. – Amy Dittmeier website

Under the graphically intense cover of the third release from Chicago’s Inchworm is a collection of six folk tinged roots rock tunes. Through out the album, in sound and lyric, Matthew Baugher, Brian Morrissey, Mike Holtz, Dan Ingenthron, and Amos Lieberman called for a return to a simpler time. They also demand an attentive ear as they ramble their way through folk melodies with a flare for a jazzier aesthetic. Inchworm formed in 2003 and over the last five years they have released two albums and cultivated a classic sound in the bars and clubs across the city. “Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing” speaks to the heart of that sound and the heart of the city. As the weather turns brisk and the pace becomes manic, Inchworm asks you to slow down and look a little deeper. - website

I know this goes back a few months, but their has not been an album released this year that encompass Chicago life like Neighborhood Suicide by sample-based artist Radius. While Chicago hip hop as a whole is all over the place right now, Ramon Norwood (a.k.a. Radius) is able to find his center in the soulful sounds that have been flowing from this city for years. The beats filling his debut album are dense, gorgeous and always funky, and in a way, tell the story of his life and journey through the city. From Humbolt Park to Hyde Park to Logan Square, each stop along his journey has its own sound, each neighborhood has its own beat. In the liner notes of this, the 16th release by Chicago’s Secret Life of Sound label, Radius uses words to explain the story that his music tells. Here is a section from “South Chicago (The Journey)”, “I tried to express that true Chicago soul sound and natural feeling. This project is dedicated to my beautiful city, which I love and feel is still long overdue in receiving it props!” - Jason Behrends - website.