Release of the Day: The Chicago Triangle - Emergence

Face the facts: we're in the golden age of reissues. Hard to find records are getting their dues by labels like Light in the Attic, Numero Group, Sundazed, and 4 Men with Beards (though with somewhat all-over-the-place results on that one). I personally think some of this has to do with the success and limelight of Searching for Sugarman, but I'll take it - oodles of documentaries and reissues and reads are coming out with the same story: someone with a ton of talent got looked over. And General Public Steve and Sally declare "Oh my god! How could they do that to good ol' Sixto?" before resuming a scheduled listen to the new Katy Perry single. That ain't news! Talent gets passed over because talent might be unfamiliar or at least different from the most popular form of tuneage. For people like me, though, it just means getting to see some good flicks and finally being able to buy coveted wax.

So let's talk about The Chicago Triangle. These Latino cats came out of Chicago in the late 70s before disco pissed away all the guitar bands, playing their own amalgamation of funk, soul, prog, and rock n' roll to anyone who would listen - allegedly, they played to about five hundred people at their album release show so why did this album take so long to become possible? I mean, this band isn't even on discogs at the moment of writing - this is more elusive than elusive and don't that just make your inner music nerd squeal? To make a long story short, people didn't know this record but people KNEW OF this record until it was found at a record fair in Austin, TX. From there, the dudes at Permanent did their magic with Rob Sevier of Numero to track down the original band members who turned out to be true lifers! Longhairs with bandanas and first class tickets on the rad times express. These guys are even playing a free show at the Empty Bottle on November 3. A total pipe dream that became reality.

And man, the music really speaks for itself. For my money, there's no better word for the record than "lively." There's a real energy to the music here that could only possibly come from true belief in what they were doing. And now you can get your filthy meathooks on the dang thing!