September of 2013 will mark the release of TCG’s sixth studio album, The Death of the Self-Preservation Society. Anchored by the title track, as well as “My Friend Adam”, the record showcases the songwriting crafts of both frontman, Micah Schnabel, and bassist, Shane Sweeney. Recorded inside a 100 year-old barn in Eden, NY at HI/LO Studios, The Death of the Self-Preservation Society was produced by TCG and features a handful of guests, including members of Lansing, MI’s Cheap Girls. Opening with the guitar and drum storm that composes “Little Prince and Johnny Toxic”, the entire album is propelled by the line, “no one makes it out alive.” The band effectively and expertly channels its desperate, full-on stage presence within the confines of the release’s 12 tracks. The Death of the Self-Preservation Society pauses momentarily in the slow-burn reverb of “Mantle in ’56”, where Schnabel claims to “dream in punchlines and sweet tragedies.” It recoils quickly into a swirl of sonic landscape that gives both power and persona to the notion that “we are the only ones who can forgive ourselves.” Hard-fought and short-lived, this forgiveness is fueled by the fact that–as the title track states–“the house is on fire.” Thundering bass riffs, distorted guitars, and crisp drum tracks work nicely with a penchant for multi-instrumentalism that makes space for nicely-timed trumpet flourishes and well-situated piano and organ tones. This release proves to further the arc of the band’s development and blur the lines between rock, Americana, and punk.

As one of the most consistently-touring indie bands today, TCG continues to captivate audiences with live shows that serve up manic stage energy, gritty chord changes, and subtle lyric-mindedness. The band’s intense, fiery persona conjures authentic tunes that would be as at home in a Raymond Carver story as they are on a car stereo in the dead heat of an August, midwestern night.

“While it’s easy to classify Silent Songs as a return, I see it more as a celebration. A heart felt love letter to music andwhat it has given Arbogast (and letting go of what its taken from him too).

There is genuine inspiration and salvation in these songs. The disappointment of seeing peers pack it in is real, but so is the joy he takes from the memories, the tours and people he’s met. He is excited as he is reflective. This is a look back at the last ten years, but it’s also an artist being able to exist entirely in the moment, unfazed by the state of music or what the future will bring.

In reality, the full band feel of these songs is a reinvention of The Gunshy sound. It’s as much punk rock as a solitary, bar room prophet. Gang vocals, triumphant horns, swells of strings and a quickened pace all give these songs a more vibrant finish.

Arbogast can still pen delicate finger picked ballads (“Getting High in Denver” / “Ten Years”) but it’s the energetic, raw numbers that really define this LP. Arbogast has found a new sound, a new well of creativity from which he can draw. Silent Songs is a manifesto of sorts, a reason to keep singing, writing, and touring. A reason to keep living and keep loving.

We all need reason to keep the blood coursing through our veins, and search for the cause that makes us willing to let our blood stain the fields of battle.”

– Herohill

The Dead Woods, are a Rock band from Chicago, IL, consisting of Mark Wendell, Austin Getz, and Sean Fagan.

The Dead Woods started as a *”Low-Fi/Rock Band”* in the midwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois in 2012.

January 2014, the band released their first album “Seventy Cedar”. The album was recorded in Chicago, and was produced and mixed by Maxwell Steger.

The Dead Woods followed up their 2014 record with a sold out show at the House Of Blues Chicago later that month supporting the band (Crosses †††).

Smoke No.7 is the stuff that feels good. Smoke No.7 that feeling that makes you want to move, destroy, create, LIVE. Get your ass off the couch and move to some real music made to rock your bones and make your ears bleed. Please Enjoy Irresponsibly.