Mister Goblin beefs up his heart-on-sleeve indie rock with Chicago collaborators

After D.C.-area rock group Two Inch Astronaut went on hiatus in 2018, Sam Rosenberg decamped for the midwest and began making music as Mister Goblin. He’s settled in Indiana, but to assemble his backing band he’s drawn from the deep well of talent in Chicago: the three-piece lineup on the April album Bunny (Exploding in Sound) includes drummer Seth Engel of power-pop project Options (among several other bands) and bassist Aaron O’Neill of post-grunge trio Cumbie. Mister Goblin’s previous “full band” sound felt loose and light, but Engel and O’Neill help beef it up—you can hear their influence right from the first song, “Military Discount,” which launches Rosenberg’s hoarse shout with a burst of whiplash-inducing thrashing. Engel and O’Neill also underline the sweetness in Rosenberg’s heart-on-sleeve singing by casting it in sharp relief, and he helps their midsong freakout in “Over the Moon” go down easy with his honeyed vocal hook. Openers Black Seinfeld are a new hip-hop duo made up of two local MCs who’ve been active solo: rapper-producer Malci and rapper Fluidi-G. On their March debut, Season 1 (Why? Records), both deliver performances that add polish to Malci’s riotous production—Fluidi-G’s half-sung verses in particular make the noisy turns feel peaceful.

Mister Goblin, Black Seinfeld Mister Goblin headlines; Black Seinfeld and Flowurz open. Sat 7/9, 9 PM, Sleeping Village, 3734 W. Belmont, $14, $12 in advance, 21+

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