J.R. Nelson

For the past few years, Avantist guitarist David Arias has been beavering away on solo recordings that he releases under the name Troigo. Up till now, his arty indie rock has had a pronounced bittersweet undertone. “I’ve heard somebody call my music ‘bummer rock,’” Arias says. “My songs are kind of down, or about very sad things—so I kind of wanted to change that.” On Thursday, January 4, Arias drops an EP called The Medicine, which feels straightforwardly uplifting in comparison.

On Saturday, December 16, Constellation hosts a Gaza benefit concert by Chicago Maqam, a five-piece that melds traditional Arabic music and contemporary improvisation. The group came together in response to the earthquake that devastated Syria and Turkey earlier this year, and they booked a February 19 gig at Constellation just days after solidifying a lineup: Karim Nagi on percussion, Ronnie Malley on oud, Naeif Rafeh on nay, Issam Rafea on oud, and Wanees Zarour on buzuq and other instruments.

For seven years, Chicago musician Jochy Saldivar has been releasing suave R&B-inflected pop as Partywatcher, and this Friday he drops the EP El Tipo, his first release sung entirely in Spanish. The new EP also breaks stylistically from Partywatcher’s 2022 EP, Moreno, which leans heavily on 80s synth pop dosed with reggaeton; by contrast, El Tipo foregrounds merengue, salsa, and bachata.