In the 90s Chicago had its own no-wave thing going on. I’m not really sure of how the scene came to be dubbed no-wave, but certainly there were at least loose ties between the sounds of early 80s NYC underground and what bands like the Flying Luttenbachers, the Scissor Girls, and Math, and labels like Skin Graft and Bulb were doing in the Chicago area during that stinking decade before the 00s. Another band kicking around during that time in that great mid-western city(man I was just there, and what a great town Chicago is) was LAKE OF DRACULA. First off, great name. Conjurs wonderful imagery. And then there’s the music. An evil muppet throated front man, guitars made of a deeply fried metallic fuzz, shards of noise flying about, haunting violins, and a killer backbeat. Nowhere amongst these tunes is LAKE OF DRACULA’s steez better exemplified than on their tune “Biographers of the Flaming Druglords”, a nasty funky noise jam that despite all is supremely catchy and must be a dance party staple in some weird alternate universe where everyone is living in Providence warehouses and it is always the late 90s. Singer James Marlon Magas has gone on to electronic music as Magas and runs the venue Soap in Chicago. Guitarist Weasel Walter, is, well, Weasel Walter, living legend of weird, current member of Zs, Cellular Chaos, and Behold…the Arctopus. So good. Had to drop a Chicago band on you all after having such a great time there for a few days.

DOWNLOAD: LAKE OF DRACULA – s/t