It’s deep summer. Friends are coming and going. Family vacations are at an all-time high. Gas is absurd and beer is cheap. And, of course: Chicago’s synth-pop heroes, Roommate, roll into town on Saturday night. The receivers of much praise from various music sites, Roommate constructs songs from airy keyboard atmospheres, achieving both an otherworldly sound as well as an intimate one, courtesy of singer / mastermind, Kent Lambert’s poised delivery. Imagine K-Records in outer space and you’ll get an idea of Roommate’s effect. Perhaps Cokemachineglow’s Dom Sinacola says it best:

I can’t help but talk in epic swathes about [Roommate], because it’s been an interminable while since I’ve been so pleased by a band, so tickled to the apple core in my stomach by how a group of musicians could alter and hone their compositions into something that is, in every conceivable manner, a gratifying improvement – a fucking solid, fucking tight sharpening – on everything only hinted at before. I’m blushing, I’m addicted, I want more and I want better too.

Although Lambert is bringing his band from Chicago, this show is really an Iowa City shakedown (Lambert spent much time living here before heading to Chicago.) You’d think local openers, Dimas Lemus, were living in the ’90s with their hard-nosed and gritty indie guitar rock. The band is currently cutting their debut record with producer Luke Tweedy (Shadow Gov’t, Will Whitmore) so expect to hear lots of new songs. Support act, Swingers, will be playing their last (sniff sniff) gig in Iowa City as primary songwriter, Caleb Chao, will be taking off for a life in NYC quite shortly. Closing out this show will be the melodic IDM beats of Ex-Action Model. This guy’s so good he should be on tour with Daedelus.

Download: Roommate - Day After

Download: Roommate - New Steam