Tyler Clark presents: Local Mythologies writesCHIRP Battle of the Bands 2016: Round One, Part One

It's officially spring. That means it's once again time to crown CHIRP's favorite Chicago band. Inspired by the mayhem of that famous basketball tournament, we've once again collected 32 of the city's best current bands for the CHIRP Battle of the Bands.

In 2015, Modern Vices charged to an unexpected victory in a final round that saw the tournament's first-ever tiebreaker. They'll have the chance at repeat glory in 2016, and they'll be joined by 31 other artists that met the following criteria:

* Born, based, or founded in Chicago or the suburbs
* Earned a significant amount of airplay on CHIRP
* Released new music in 2015 or 2016

Below, vote on your favorites in part one of our Round One match-ups. Part two is right here. Voting for Round One closes at 6pm on Sunday, March 27. Is this Chance the Rapper's year? Can Veruca Salt hang tough? Will Meat Wave pull a stunning upset? The answers to those questions, and more, await your input. 

The Wilco Regional

#1 Seed: Wilco
First Round Song: "Random Name Generator"
Why They're Here: The flirting-with-trademark-disaster rock of 2015's Star Wars

#8 Seed: Meat Wave
First Round Song: "Witchcraft"
Why They're Here: The post-punk brawn of 2015's Delusion Moon

#4 Seed: Into It. Over It.
First Round Song: "Required Reading"
Why They're Here: The jittery nuevo-emo of 2016's Standards 

#5 Seed: The Kickback
First Round Song: "Sting's Teacher Years"
Why They're Here: The precocious power-pop of 2015's Sorry All Over the Place

#3 Seed: Ezra Furman
First Round Song: "Restless Year"
Why They're Here: The lipstick-clad art pop of 2015's Perpetual Motion People

#6 Seed: Psalm One
First Round Song: "KissyFace"
Why They're Here: The beat-backed explorations of polyamory on 2015's P.O.L.Y. (Psalm One Loves You)

#2 Seed: Twin Peaks
First Round Song: "Walk to the One You Love"
Why They're Here: The ramshackle indie rock (and massive expectations) for 2016's Down in Heaven

#7 Seed: ShowYouSuck
First Round Song: "Fuck That Diet Let's Eat Some Pizza"
Why They're Here: The ebullient skate-rap of 2015's LarpLord316

The Kanye Regional

#1 Seed: Kanye West
First Round Song: "Only One"
Why They're Here: The perpetually unfinished (and sporadically brilliant) The Life of Pablo.

#8 Seed: Lil Tits
First Round Song: "Seven Lambs"
Why They're Here: The foreboding doom punk of 2015's Summer Split 2015

#4 Seed: Veruca Salt
First Round Song: "Laughing in the Sugar Bowl"
Why They're Here: The updated buzzbin sneers of 2015's Ghost Notes

#5 Seed: Clearance
First Round Song: "You've Been Pre-Approved"
Why They're Here: The not-all-that-updated Pavement homages of 2015's Rapid Rewards

#3 Seed: Eleventh Dream Day
First Round Song: "The People's History"
Why They're Here: The generation-spanning alt-rock (and for-now farewell) of 2015's Works for Tomorrow

#6 Seed: Flesh Panthers
First Round Song: "ede M'"
Why They're Here: The swaggering scuzz (and hard-to-pronounce song names) of 2015's NGC 2632

#2 Seed: Modern Vices
First Round Song: "Angelfuck"
Why They're Here: The hot-rodding greaser romanticism of 2015's Angelfuck/Hollywood Babylon

#7 Seed: Bitchin Bajas
First Round Song: "No Tabac"
Why They're Here: The spiralling electronic staircases of 2015's Transporteur

For part two, click here.

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