Nora hast toured and recorded with The Decemberists, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, and her beloved Chicago band The Flat Five. She finally found her way back to the studio to write and record music of her own. The result is "My Heart", ten songs of pure Nora, a stunning reflection of her eclectic taste and spectacular talent. The CD will ship

Nora hast toured and recorded with The Decemberists, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, and her beloved Chicago band The Flat Five. She finally found her way back to the studio to write and record music of her own. The result is "My Heart", ten songs of pure Nora, a stunning reflection of her eclectic taste and spectacular talent. The CD will ship out the week of Oct 7, 2022.

Led by critically acclaimed drummer Brad Elvis (Elvis Brothers, The Romantics, Screams, Big Hello) and vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Chloe F. Orwell (Big Hello), Chicago's The Handcuffs explore broad sonic territory, weaving together elements of glam, indie, art and blues rock. Inhabiting some of the same rock & roll domain as T-Rex, Mott The

Led by critically acclaimed drummer Brad Elvis (Elvis Brothers, The Romantics, Screams, Big Hello) and vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Chloe F. Orwell (Big Hello), Chicago's The Handcuffs explore broad sonic territory, weaving together elements of glam, indie, art and blues rock. Inhabiting some of the same rock & roll domain as T-Rex, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, The Raconteurs, P.J. Harvey, Led Zeppelin, and Patti Smith - all filtered through a modern lens - The Handcuffs deliver bold, sexy songs with memorable melodies and unexpected twists. Known as much for their dynamic live shows as for being prolific writers and producers, their fourth studio album, "Burn The Rails" is scheduled for release in June 3, 2022 on Pravda Records. Completing The Handcuffs lineup are bassist Emily Togni, lead guitarist Jeffrey Kmieciak, and keyboardist Alison Hinderliter. Guest keyboardist Morgan Fisher (Mott The Hoople) demonstrates his synthesizer and piano prowess on a couple of tracks on the new LP.

Pravda Records proudly presents a new EP from Iowa City’s ambassadors of funk and soul, The Diplomats Of Solid Sound featuring The Diplomettes. Having already cut 3 full-length albums on Pravda, you can hear the band growing stronger in sophistication and depth as they further ingested the sounds of 60s soul, R&B and deep funk. Cut to 2022 and

Pravda Records proudly presents a new EP from Iowa City’s ambassadors of funk and soul, The Diplomats Of Solid Sound featuring The Diplomettes. Having already cut 3 full-length albums on Pravda, you can hear the band growing stronger in sophistication and depth as they further ingested the sounds of 60s soul, R&B and deep funk. Cut to 2022 and The Diplomats headed into The Magic Barn recording studio in Solon, Iowa and set up a live recording situation. They performed some older and newer tracks from their extensive catalog. No overdubs, Ne editing. Just a tight set of classic neo-soul from one of the longest running Pravda artists. This EP is chocked full of irresistible funk and soul bombs ready to melt your heart or make you shake it on the dance-floor.

Pravda’s release of “Music for Neighbors” marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Trypes in the blue-collar New Jersey town of Haledon, NJ, which was the hometown of The Feelies and later spawned kindred bands Yung Wu and The Willies. How Haledon became an incubator for these bands, who went on to spread their sound far and wide, is a

Pravda’s release of “Music for Neighbors” marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Trypes in the blue-collar New Jersey town of Haledon, NJ, which was the hometown of The Feelies and later spawned kindred bands Yung Wu and The Willies. How Haledon became an incubator for these bands, who went on to spread their sound far and wide, is a matter of speculation. Maybe it was just a place in time in the early 80s when anything seemed possible to a group of suburban friends.

“Music for Neighbors” brings together all of The Trypes studio recordings, along with many home and live recordings that explore the band’s quirkiest musical inclinations. It also includes three songs from the band’s 1984 showcase at the Bottom Line in New York, as well as two songs recorded by the original Trypes during a 2017 reunion. Also includes 2 brand new tracks! Gatefold vinyl is now available!

The SPACE Sessions follows in the footsteps of his critically-acclaimed early 2021 release The Hideout Sessions, which was recorded at the beloved small Chicago venue that album took its title from. Caterer reunites with bassist John San Juan (Hushdrops) and drummer John Perrin (NRBQ) for another electrifying performance, this time recorded at

The SPACE Sessions follows in the footsteps of his critically-acclaimed early 2021 release The Hideout Sessions, which was recorded at the beloved small Chicago venue that album took its title from. Caterer reunites with bassist John San Juan (Hushdrops) and drummer John Perrin (NRBQ) for another electrifying performance, this time recorded at SPACE, an intimate concert hall on the city’s north side.

In keeping with the format of The Hideout Sessions, this powerful, poppy trio performed to empty house, live-streaming as a virtual concert event. Josh and his cohorts played with all the inspired intensity of the performance at the Hideout, but with an even more tangible sense of self-assurance. The band tears through an ambitious setlist including visionary arrangements of standards like the Etta James’ classic “At Last”, Frank & Nancy Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid” (delivered here as a stirring duet between Josh and his daughter Phoebe) and a handful of original compositions, spanning the breadth of Caterer’s impressive songwriting catalog. Caterer first burst onto the Chicago punk scene in 1991 with Smoking Popes who he formed with his brothers Eli and Matt. From their early indie releases to their critically acclaimed major label albums, Smoking Popes developed a unique blend of buzzsaw guitars, caffeinated rhythms and heartfelt crooning vocals.

Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2019 Pravda CD Grabbing the Blues by the Horns, veteran Chicago saxophonist/harpist Vince Salerno and vocalist Gerald McClendon return with a tough encore disc expanding even more daringly on their eclecticism than on its predecessor. Long a fixture on the Windy City blues scene, Vince unleashes his horn on an

Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2019 Pravda CD Grabbing the Blues by the Horns, veteran Chicago saxophonist/harpist Vince Salerno and vocalist Gerald McClendon return with a tough encore disc expanding even more daringly on their eclecticism than on its predecessor. Long a fixture on the Windy City blues scene, Vince unleashes his horn on an extraordinarily wide-ranging musical menu encompassing swinging blues (T-Bone Walker’s “Street Walking Woman”), zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier’s “Ay-Tete Fee,” and John Coltrane’s “Bessie’s Blues,” where he switches to baritone sax from his customary tenor. A double helping of Jr. Walker (“Cleo’s Mood” and “Hip City”) allows Vince plenty of room to wail in his upper register, and he whips out his harmonica for the blistering traditional Chicago blues “Highway 49,” slathered in slashing slide guitar by Thomas Klein. Gerald sings everything with soul-dripping, impassioned power, including the hard-rocking originals “Antidote To Love” and “Do Drop In.” The splendidly solid rhythm section is headed by highly versatile keyboardist Thomas Linsk. Nearly half of the album is fresh material, including the rollicking instrumental “Harpcordia.” The driving “Blues And Trouble” finds McClendon shaking the rafters vocally, Klein peeling off two choruses of laser-beam guitar, and Vince magically trading fours with himself on bari and harp. Blues From All Points is the best kind of pandemic salve imaginable, making the body move and healing the soul simultaneously. Time to get in the groove! — BILL DAHL

Few things seem more inevitable than the convergence of the two Chicago institutions Hushdrops and Pravda Records. Pravda Records has been documenting an impressive and varied roster of the city’s greatest talents for more than 3.5 decades, while veteran supergroup Hushdrops have been loudly banging out their own brand of power trio melodicism for

Few things seem more inevitable than the convergence of the two Chicago institutions Hushdrops and Pravda Records. Pravda Records has been documenting an impressive and varied roster of the city’s greatest talents for more than 3.5 decades, while veteran supergroup Hushdrops have been loudly banging out their own brand of power trio melodicism for nearly as long. Friends and collaborators of the band have both worked and recorded for the label, and members of the group have contributed to several of the label’s releases. That Pravda should deliver Hushdrops’ third, and possibly final, full length feels like nothing so much as the closing of a circle. Work on The Static – due out November 12th – was completed just after the tragic, sudden, and untimely death of Hushdrops drummer Joe Camarillo (at 52), and now exists – in part – as a final tribute to Camarillo’s inimitable musical gifts. Bandmates John San Juan and Jim Shapiro have always regarded Camarillo as the soul of the band – not only for his unparalleled feel and creativity as a drummer, but also his ability to crucially drive the musical direction of each project, performance, and song – typically as a modest, unseen hand (“The Soft Alpha”). San Juan feels that The Static features some of Joe’s most free and magical drumming: “Better to celebrate than to mourn him, and he has given us an abundance of very special playing to celebrate.