Music Notes

                         Monday, May 5: Uh Huh Her with DJ Kim Anh at Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m. ($15) It’s not difficult to discern that the electro pop band Uh Huh Her is based in Los Angeles. Bassist Leisha Hailey, who previously fronted the ‘90s indie pop group The Murmurs, is a television star, gaining national attention for playing journalist Alice Pieszecki in Showtime’s The L Word. And lead singer Camila Grey backed a handful of highly-marketed West Coast musicians, like Adam Lambert, Kelly Osbourne and Dr. Dre. Uh Huh Her is touring behind its latest record Future Souls, a synth-driven,…

As the weather finally begins to warm up, the city of Milwaukee seems to wake from its extended hibernation. Music Notes rubs its eyes, stretches its arms and counts down the most significant musical moments from April. 10. Canopies earns praise overseas The dreamy, insanely catchy synth-pop enthusiasts Canopies burst on the Milwaukee music scene a few years ago sounding like seasoned veterans on its eponymous five-song EP. Prepping for its full-length debut, the band shared the first cut since the EP, “Miss You Now,” a couple months back. The ears of music editors across the pond must have perked…

                        Tuesday, April 29: Sea Wolf with Wes Kilpatrick at Shank Hall, 8 p.m. ($15) Forgoing his touring band, Alex Brown Church has been hitting the road solo with an acoustic guitar. The stripped-down approach suits the Los-Angeles-based musician well. His charming, tranquil arrangements are rarely overcrowded with needless instrumentation. Mainly, Church’s shaky voice and acoustic guitar remain front and center in the mix. The singer recently achieved a Kickstarter goal for an upcoming back-to-basics record that only original backers will receive, but it seems likely that Church will debut some of that material on this tour. (1434 N. Farwell…

Monday, April 21: Weird Science with Night Stalker and Sex Forecast at Quarters Rock n’ Roll Palace, 10 p.m. Naming your band after a popular comedy of yore can often lead to some confusion because odds are a few other people had the same idea. Indeed, that’s the case for Weird Science. The Athens, Ohio-based psychedelic garage rockers share a moniker with the well-known John Hughes film, at least three ‘80s cover bands (even one from southeastern Wisconsin!) and the DJ duo of Steve Aoiki and Blake Miller. You should reasonably bet the band showing up to Quarters is the…

Music Notes caught up with John Van Lieshout, founder of Top Five Records, who is putting out a new local compilation record, The Sound of Young Milwaukee, this weekend that includes unreleased tracks from an assortment of local musicians including Soul Low, Myles Coyne & The Rusty Nickel Band, Jaill, The Fatty Acids, Surgeons in Heat, Animals in Human Attire, among others. The compilation is available to stream for free over at Milwaukee Record. Here are a few brief notes on all you need to know about Van Lieshout’s label, the new awesome compilation and this weekend’s release parties. Top…

Monday, April 14: Decibully with Juniper Tar and Whips at Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m. ($10) City pride seems like an easy thing to find around these parts. Just check into any trendy restaurant, bustling coffee shop or the relentlessly boastful Miller Park, if you don’t believe me. So, it’s quite appropriate that a few years back some Milwaukee devotees detected that a certain date on the calendar read like the city’s area code. They decided to dub the day—April 14—as Milwaukee Day and in true Milwaukee fashion, throw a party to celebrate. This year’s festivities culminate with an extraordinary…

Monday, April 7: The Tritonics with Black Diet and The Young Revelators at Stonefly Brewery, 9 p.m. ($5) – (733 E. Center St., StoneflyBrewery.com) Tuesday, April 8: American Authors with Wild Club at Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m. ($12) – (1032 N. 4th  St., PabstTheater.org)  Wednesday, April 9: Tycho with Gems at Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m. ($15 advance; $17 day of show) Taking as much influence from post rock as techno, the IDM outfit Tycho excels at capturing one distinct feeling—breezy optimism—really well. With its steady guitars and intricate synth sounds, Scott Hansen’s sophomore record (and first with a…

Monday, March 31: New Bums with Black Eagle Child and MOSS FOLK at Sugar Maple, 9 p.m. ($7) New Bums, an acid-folk duo comprising Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) and Donovan Quinn (The Skygreen Leopards), follows the same stoner-gazed, head-in-the-sky aesthetic Kurt Vile probably stumbled upon in a hot-boxed basement several years back. The band’s debut record, Voices in a Rented Room, sounds effortless, like a couple dudes jamming on a dull Sunday afternoon—even though the process took half a decade, Chasny claims. Lead single and album opener, “Black Bough” ambles forward ever so slightly, never straying too far…

10. Milwaukee Record announced Excuse the shameless self-promotion, but this will be my last post for Music Notes. As you may have read last week, I’ve partnered with ex-A.V. Club Milwaukee editor Matt Wild to start a new Web-only entertainment periodical called Milwaukee Record. We officially launch Monday, April 7. Until then, check up on us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. I can’t say enough about how great it was to be even a small part of Milwaukee Magazine. Since the outset of 2010, I was given virtually free reign to cover whatever I wanted in the realm of Milwaukee…

Monday, March 24: The Championship with Josh Berwanger, and Joseph Huber at Cactus Club, 8 p.m. After going to SXSW to play a solo set and support Jayk on guitar, Joe Crockett is back in Wisconsin and is once again at the helm of his longtime folk band The Championship, which opted against making the trip to Austin for the festival. Kansas City songwriter Josh Berwanger (formerly of The Anniversary) and Joseph Huber (of defunct Milwaukee bluegrass magnates .357 String Band) are also on this great Monday night bill. (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com) Tuesday, March 25: Schpongle with Desert…