Darren Keen has been making freak music from the heartland for longer than there’s been a TSA. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and based in Chicago, he’s been weaving through midwestern music scenes since the late 90s, talking shit on Conor Oberst and writing material for freewheeling bands and solo projects that tells ridiculous tales of middle-American boredom and depravity. In a 2007 interview with independent music blog Lazy-i, he described his outsider trajectory: “A lot of bands start off cool and keep getting cool, but I started off so lame and went from there.”
Keen’s solo project Problems, launched in 2020, combines sophisticated electronic production with lyrics so blisteringly sincere it sometimes hurts to listen to them. For instance, the 2021 EP Dog Is Love starts with “Love of a Dog,” a matter-of-fact song extolling the virtues of being the object of canine affection. (“There is nothing more important in life / Than the love of a dog.”) The three instrumental tracks that make up the rest of the EP all have titles that open them up to interpretation about being, observing, or interacting with dogs. Problems’ extensive catalog includes a variety of similarly complex production styles, punctuated with extremely flat, straightforward vocals—except for This Is Working Out (Orange Milk), which is entirely instrumental. Its songs’ ridiculous fitness-themed titles (“LSD Protein Shake,” “Down to Beef Up”) disguise smartly eclectic instrumental tracks that mine some of dance music’s most ephemeral genres.
Keen runs Personal Space Booking, a small management company representing regional talents, including Heet Deth and Plack Blague, and last year he became talent buyer for the Burlington Bar. This show at Cole’s won’t be your last chance to catch Problems live, but it’s good to embrace the chaos whenever you can. Keen’s a goofy guy who simply loves the game; no one makes it this long in DIY without some infectious earnestness.
Problems Lovely Little Girls headline; Problems and Shrift open. Fri 5/30, 10 PM, Cole’s, 2338 N. Milwaukee, $14.45, 21+
