Criminal IQ Records is an independent

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, founded by Jon Babbin (co-founder of

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...

) and Darius Hurley to facilitate releases from Chicago's no-wave/punk scene that began in around 2003. Notable releases include garage pop-punk band M.O.T.O.'s LP ''Kill Moto,'' the Functional Blackouts' self-titled LP, and dark wave psyche punk band Vee Dee's ''Furthur'' LP. Early releases were met with critical acclaim from underground music

zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

such as '' Maximumrocknroll'' and ''Horizontal Action,'' and more mainstream publications such as ''

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

'', '' Thrasher'', ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'', and ''Concussion Magazine.'' The records received airplay and occasionally topped charts on college radio stations around the country, as well as getting airplay on the

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via the late

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

Show. Criminal IQ later signed The Krunchies and

all-female band An all-female band is a musical ensemble, musical group in popular music that is exclusively composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universa ...

The Manhandlers. The Manhandlers' compilation album ''Maybe Chicago'' was co-released with Proto-Mersh Records, and featured original sound recordings by the Ponys, the Baseball Fury, the Tyrades, Twat Vibe, White Outs, Busy Kids, and the Hot Machines. In 2006, Criminal IQ relinquished its Chicago-only policy and released singles by

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

hardcore band Army of Jesus,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

's Bear Proof Suit, Green Bay, and Portuguese punk band The Youths.

Discography

* M.O.T.O. (aka Masters of the Obvious) - ''Kill Moto'' LP (LP co-released with Little Teddy Recordings) Jun 2003 *Mushuganas / The Phenoms - ''Mushuganas / The Phenoms'' EP 2003 *Functional Blackouts - ''Functional Blackouts'' LP Oct 2003 *The Manhandlers - ''Maybe Chicago'' - Various Artists Compilation Jan 2004 *The Krunchies - ''Interrobang'' EP Mar 2004 *Vee Dee - ''Furthur'' LP 2004 *The Manhandlers - ''The Manhandlers'' LP 2004 *M.O.T.O. - ''Single File'' LP 2004 *The Krunchies - ''In De Winkel'' LP 2005 *Rotten Fruits - ''Abomination'' EP 2005 *M.O.T.O. - ''Raw Power'' LP 2005 *I Attack - ''American Dream'' EP 2005 *The Pedestrians - ''Future Shock'' LP 2005 *The Functional Blackouts - ''The Severed Tongue Speaks For Everyone'' LP 2006 *Army of Jesus - ''Book Bomb'' EP 2006 *Bear Proof Suit - ''Science is Dead'' EP 2006 *The Gravetones - ''Dig It!'' LP 2006 *Canadian Rifle - ''Canadian Rifle'' EP 2007 *The Youths - ''The Youths'' EP 2007 *Vee Dee - ''Glimpses of Another World'' EP 2007 *Curtains! - ''War Paint'' EP 2007 *Pink Reason - ''Throw It Away'' EP 2007 *Out With A Bang! - ''Few Beers Left But Out of Drugs'' 7-inch EP 2007 *Sick Jump! - ''Everything Hurts'' LP 2007 * The Effigies - ''Reside'' LP 2007 *The Yolks - ''Introducing'' EP 2008 *Terrible Twos - ''Terrible Twos'' LP 2008 *Claw Toe - ''Ingrown Ego'' 2009 * Useless Children - ''Skin / Nameless'' EP 2010 * Catburglars - ''Catburglars'' LP 2010 * Claw Toe - ''Claw Toe'' EP 2012 * Claw Toe - ''Goblin Creme'' LP 2016

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American independent record labels Punk record labels Companies based in Chicago

Discography

See also

References

External links