Mythical Tales from the Southwest Suburbs by Lund Surk

At the intersection point between roots rock, DIY, and singer-songwriter, Chicago’s Lund Surk documents suburban melancholia on their new record Mythical Tales from the Southwest Suburbs. Every moment of this record will charm and enchant you, placing you in the room with this endlessly fun band as they riff, improvise, and rock their way through these highly personable compositions. Seeing outer Chicagoland through the city’s eyes and vice versa, this album pulls us away from rural folk themes into an environment that we are significantly more likely to have firsthand experience living in. Vocally, we hear traces of the great alternative Americana heroes like Wilco and Elliott Smith, all backing lyrics that span from straightforward observations about the suburban environment to deep whispers of existential anguish. All this praise just goes to say that, as traditional Americana continues to make the comeback of the century, I’d love to see more bands dive into the rich tradition of antifolk and alternative folk rock the way Lund Surk did here.