Shiloh

Just under a year removed from the release of their debut full-length All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers, the jammy folksters in Shiloh are wrapping up work on a follow up. Set for an early January release, Mrs. finds the group hitting familiar marks while taking a logical step forward. Present is the elegant piano work, smooth strumming and poetic whisper that made Strangers so magnetic. Ratcheted up is the playful bounce and enthusiastic delivery that earned the band comparisons to groups like Weezer and The Replacements.

Of the three tracks that Windy City Rock got an early listen to, "Busted Rusty" would have most comfortably fit on the band's last album. The song's slow jangle is illuminated by bright keys and lamenting vocals with just the right amount of electric drizzling. "Midwestern Sigh" is far crunchier- a celebratory grunge-folk tune that mixes moments of giddy aggression with twinkling pop hooks. Most refreshing of the three was "Immaculate Man," an Elvis Costello-esque ditty with a lollipop-sweet guitar solo. The tune harvests energy throughout its five minutes, never truly exploding but always pushing forward. - Windy City Rock

If Jeff Tweedy and Rivers Cuomo hung out, drank some whiskey, and created folk-leaning jams, the product would have been something like Shiloh.

Any song from their latest LP Mrs. will affirm that they’re undeniably a pop band, but there’s something slightly off-kilter going on here. Take the totally unexpected afro-tinged break-down that the first track, “Midwestern Sigh” ends with; or the instrumental “Winking Buick,” which starts with a jerky intro that eventually progresses into a blissful jam with coo-ing harmonies over guitar feedback and random piano clunks.

They teeter across the line separating accessibility and quirkiness, and never sacrifice melody for abrasiveness. Built to Spill meets old Dr. Dog, and voila, you have Shiloh. - Local Loop

But really, Shiloh is simply embracing a collection of feelings and the environment of Northwest Indiana, where Ensley and Reindl grew up, but through a nostalgia lens. Think Modest Mouse meets Dr. Dog. - Popstache