7th Level Music

Top 25 concerts of 2025: #’s 25 – 21

I saw almost fifty bands last year, so it’s time to list who made my top shows of 2025. Let’s get to it!

#25: Kumo 99 – September 25, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

This electro duo (synths + Japanese lyrics) opened the 2025 Levitation Music Festival to a great start with their slightly darkwave dance music. They were one of many bands who made you want to seek them out as soon as you got back home or to your hotel room.

#24: Hooveriii – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

You’re going to see a lot of bands from Levitation Austin (and France) on the list this year (as usual), and Hooveriii (pronounced “Hoover Three”) are no exception. They had a great, solid set on day three of the festival for their hometown crowd who gave them a lot of energy to use and feed back to us.

#23: The Raveonettes – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

It’s always good to see The Raveonettes, and they enjoy playing in Austin. They played at the first Austin Psych Fest I attended in 2013 and haven’t lost any of their power. They played a nice mix of old and new tracks to a happy crowd that was enjoying the cooler evening weather.

#22: Population II – September 28, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

A French-Canadian power trio in the afternoon sun? Yes, please! Not many people knew who they were, but they were paying full attention by the end of their heavy set.

#21: DMBQ – Old National Center – October 22, 2025 – Indianapolis, IN

Speaking of bands that barely anyone knew, or knew what to make of, Japanese noise-punk legends DMBQ played a wild, weird set in front of an Indianapolis crowd who barely knew anything about them and were left stunned by the shredding, frenetic drumming, and groovy bass that almost overwhelmed the small venue multiple times. It was a great surprise to see and hear them, and I hope more people in the crowd appreciated it.

Who’s in the top twenty of live shows? Come back tomorrow for more!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 albums of 2025: #’s 25 – 21

It’s time for my annual review of my favorite albums of the previous year. Who made the top 25 (or 40+) albums I reviewed? Read on!

#25: GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions

This is a solid jazz / prog album full of great beats and slick piano work. It was a pleasant surprise to discover it and this band last year.

#24: Beta Voids – Scrape It Off EP

This is a wonderfully nuts punk EP with songs about women kicking ass, people named Alan, and how much toxic masculinity sucks. A full LP from Beta Voids is in the works, so watch out before they run you over and laugh on the way out of town.

#23: Ric Wilson – America Runs on Disco EP

Speaking of good EPs that came out last year, here’s another. Ric Wilson is still somehow a secret force despite being a top-notch producer, songwriter, rapper, and cheerleader for the overly maligned city Chicago (Don’t believe what you hear. Go spend a couple days there, especially in the summer.). This EP is funky and joyful, which was exactly what we needed when it was released and still need right now.

#22: Bonnie Trash – Mourning You

On the opposite side of the spectrum, here’s an album about grief that’s one of the heaviest records of the year. The lyrics cut deep if you’ve lost a loved one, or even witnessed someone’s grief from afar.

#21: Dusty Rose Gang – A-One from Day One

Just when you thought rock might be taking a vacation for a little while, along comes this quartet to deliver one of the best straight-up rock records of 2025.

Who makes the top twenty? Tune in tomorrow, gang!

Keep your mind open.

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Winged Wheel release gritty new single – “I See Poseurs Every Day” – and European tour dates.

oday, Winged Wheel share “I See Poseurs Every Day,” the third track released in advance of their forthcoming album, Desert So Green, due January 9 on 12XU. The song’s greasy steel guitar riffing evokes a truck stop showdown between ZZ Top and the Silver Apples, offering another glimpse into the band’s quickly evolving sound as they move toward the release of their third full-length in just four years.

In its premiere at Magnet, Winged Wheel’s Fred Thomas explains: “The working title was ‘Truck Stop’ because of how dirty and gruff the riff was—like something you’d hear in a nearly abandoned, potentially dangerous truck stop in the middle of nowhere. It’s way more choogling and crunchy than the kraut-inspired improv of our previous album, Big Hotel, or the more textural air that makes up the rest of Desert So Green. The official title was also pulled out of the ether, from a breakfast conversation on tour that turned into a running inside joke—though it’s not without a shred of truth. We do see poseurs every day, and we need to let them know we’re watching.”

An “experimental super-band” comprised by Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Circuit des Yeux), Cory Plump (Spray Paint, co-owner of the dream venue Tubby’s), Matthew J. Rolin (solo guitar wizard and half of the Powers/Rolin Duo), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Lonnie Slack (Water Damage), and Fred Thomas (Idle Ray, Tyvek), Winged Wheel is a creatively and geographically scattered collective, with each player living in a different city and bringing their own unique element to the group’s interpersonal alchemy.

Early long-distance file trading between a few members yielded 2022’s debut album, No Island. As awareness and buzz grew around the band, they expanded their membership and met in person for the sessions that became 2024’s Big Hotel, a surgically assembled murk of high-energy kosmische rock with jammed-out tendencies. Fast forward, and the band that started out as a passing idea has completed multiple tours, become a taper’s dream with sets that drift through structure and improvisation, and ridden the momentum to places unforeseen on their third album, Desert So Green. The nine-track collection takes them into a space of sharpened dynamism and more nuanced expression. Things move a little slower, and the aftershock hits harder than the initial adrenaline rush. The energy that arrived all at once in loud explosions on earlier albums is refracted here, and ultimately all the more transcendent.

In January 2026, Winged Wheel will tour Europe for the first time. The band is also set to perform at Big Ears Festival in March 2026, while additional North American tour dates will be announced shortly.

Winged Wheel
2026 Tour Dates

9 Jan – Amsterdam, NL – OCCII
10 Jan – Groningen, NL – Vera
11 Jan – Hamburg, DE – Hafenklang
12 Jan – Leipzig, DE – Noch Besser Leben
13 Jan – Berlin, DE – Neue Zukunft
14 Jan – Prague, CZ – MeetFactory
15 Jan – Jena, DE – Trafo
16 Jan – Kusel, DE – Kinett
17 Jan – Düdingen, CH – Bad Bonn
18 Jan – Strasbourg, FR – La Grenze
19 Jan – Dijon, FR – Consortium
20 Jan – Paris, FR – La Station – Gare des Mines
21 Jan – Les Roches-l’Évêque, FR – Zero Degre Est
22 Jan – Rennes, FR – L’Antipode
23 Jan – Lorient, FR – Hydrophone
24 Jan – Rouen, FR – Le Kalif
26-29 Mar – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival

Winged Wheel Desert So Green is available January 9, 2026 via 12XLU on Vinyl and Digital Formats // Pre-Order Available Here

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[Thanks to Kevin at Calabro Music Media.]

WSND DJ set list: Obscure Christmas Music Show 2025

Thanks to everyone who rang in the winter solstice and the 2025 Christmas week with my obscure Christmas music show on WSND. Here’s the set list:

Khruangbin – Christmas Time Is Here
Edyie Gormé – Winter Night
Gayla Peevey – I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (request)
Wayne Newton – Christmas in the USA
Eddy Arnold – The Angel and the Stranger
Johnny Mathis – Have Reindeer, Will Travel
Buck Owens – Christmas Shopping
Catherine McKinnon – Christmas Love
Burl Ives – Christmas Can’t Be Far Away
The Monkees – Unwrap You at Christmas
Kay Kyser – Hello, Mr. Kringle
Esquivel – Blue Christmas
Hal Bradley Orchestra – Space Age Santa Claus
Captain Kangaroo & Mr. Green Jeans – Santa’s Other Reindeer
Gary Wilson – A Christmas Tree for Two
The Ventures – Sleigh Ride
Dinah Shore – You Meet the Nicest People
Claude François – En Rêvant à Noël
The Weather Girls – Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man for Christmas) Part 1
Bananarama – Baby It’s Christmas
ABC – A Christmas We Deserve
The Whispers – Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Aretha Franklin – Kissin’ By the Mistletoe
Marvin Gaye – Purple Snowflakes
Bill Withers – The Gift of Giving
Sammy Davis, Jr. – Christmastime All Over the World
Bob Marley & The Wailers – White Christmas
Merle Haggard and The Strangers – If We Make It Through December
Cookin’ Soul & MF DOOM – Intro / Naughty or Nutz
Run DMC – Christmas in Hollis
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Christmas at Ground Zero
Robert Goulet – There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays
Judy Garland & Mel Tormé – The Christmas Song (live)
Tony Bennett – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Dean Martin – A Marshmallow World
Bad Religion – O Come All Ye Faithful
Crocodiles & Dum Dum Girls – Merry Xmas, Baby (Please Come Home)
Disco Noel – Jingle Bells

Don’t miss my January 04, 2026 show! It will be a big recap of 2025!

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Albert King

Thanks to all who gave a listen to my deep dive of Albert King on WSND. It was a fun show. Here’s the set list:

Albert King – Born Under a Bad Sign
Elmore James – Dust My Broom
Robert Nighthawk – Blues Before Sunrise
Jimmy Reed – Rockin’ with Reed
Albert King – Bad Luck Blues
Little Milton – Walkin’ the Back Streets and Crying
Albert King – Let’s Have a Natural Ball
Albert King – Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong (live)
Ike and Tina Turner – I’m Jealous
Leo Gooden – Ugly, Ugly
Albert King – C.O.D.
Booker T and The M.G.s – Time Is Tight
Albert King – Crosscut Saw
George Thorogood and The Destroyers – As the Years Go Passing By
Albert King – Watermelon Man (live)
Albert King – Personal Manager (live)
Albert King – Killing Floor
Albert King – That’s All Right
Albert King and The Doors – Rock Me Baby (live)
The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women
Albert King – I’ll Play the Blues for You
The Bar-Kays – Shake Your Rump to the Funk
Albert King – I Wanna Get Funky
Albert Brooks and Albert King – The Englishman-German-Jew Blues
Albert King – Truckload of Lovin’
Albert King – Good Time Charlie
Clara McDaniel – Thread Your Needle
Albert King – We All Wanna Boogie
Albert King – Ask Me No Questions
Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn – Call It Stormy Monday
Albert King – Phone Booth
Albert King – Bluesman
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Red House
Joe Walsh – Turn to Stone
Cream – Strange Brew
Albert King – Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’

Be sure to tune in January 04, 2026 at 7pm Eastern for my 2025 recap show!

Keep your mind open!

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Mandy, Indiana sign to new label and announce new album.

Mandy, Indiana sign to Sacred Bones and announce their new album, URGH, out February 6th, with lead single “Magazine.” On URGH, Mandy, Indiana is a force of uncanny nature, grafting together a record that is as much a call to action as a parlay into oblivion and transcendence. Following their acclaimed 2023 debut, i’ve seen a way, URGH finds the band expanding their far-reaching sound with each member — vocalist Valentine Caulfield, guitarist and producer Scott Fair, synth player Simon Catling, and drummer Alex Macdougall — actively taking part in the songwriting process. Across ten tracks, Mandy, Indiana interpolate their own unconventional language into a mantra for self-determination and resilience, forging a template for a brighter future before it fades to black.

Co-produced and co-mixed by Fair and Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, much of URGH was written during an intense residency at an eerie studio house in the outskirts of Leeds and recorded across Berlin and Greater Manchester. The process was shaped by adversity with both Caulfield and Macdougall undergoing multiple rounds of surgeries in the same time frame as the album was being written and recorded. The harrowing experience and the exhaustion of their respective recoveries bleed into the surreality of Caufield’s writing, blurring the line between inner turmoil and external chaos.

URGH is deeply personal, yet also reflects the violent, fractured state of the wider world as Caulfield’s lyrics grapple with assault, systemic indifference, and the omnipresence of pain. While most of the lyrics are in her native French, the emotional clarity cuts through regardless of language. Caulfield still uses her voice as a distorted instrument and a weapon, oscillating between equal parts playful and eviscerating, showcased on today’s single, “Magazine.” The throbbing siren-sound of the song finds the band garnering drama from the juxtaposition of quiet moments and explosive commotion as Caufield sings in French: “Abandon / All hope / Because tonight / I’m coming for you.” The accompanying visualizer was directed by Stephen Agnew.

Commenting on the song, Caulfield explains: “‘Magazine’ is the expression of the frustration and deep-seated violence I felt while attempting to recover from being raped. Just like most victims of sexual assault, I will never get justice, and just like most perpetrators, my attacker will never be punished. My therapist encouraged me to channel my anger into something productive, so here it is: my primal, screaming call for retribution. It is the only way I will ever get to say to my rapist: you hurt me, so I’m going to hurt you.”

Watch the Visualizer for Mandy, Indiana’s “Magazine”

Although there are still undeniable “bangers” across the album, from the bristling techno of “Cursive” to the frazzled rap of “Sicko!” featuring billy woods, URGH feels hewn with precise cinema. Fair and Macdougall explain that “a lot of the record is a remix of itself,” a cohesion of the band’s aptitude for collaging sounds and ideas that could operate as a film score or an industrial club night. Where i’ve seen a way drew from escapism, URGH (even from the reactive nature of the title alone) belongs in the physical world, and the artwork by the artist Carnovsky, featuring an anatomical illustration of Andreas Vesalius, underscores the record’s visceral confrontation with the body and its limits.

For Mandy, Indiana, the truth is the only way through. In 2025, the ability to make art that is seen and heard is its own form of protest, and directly addressing these issues is its own reclamation of power and strength in solidarity. URGH is a cathartic first step toward healing and a refusal to let the conversation die.

Mandy, Indiana will tour across Europe next year with shows in London, Paris, Berlin and more. All dates are listed below.

Stream “Magazine”

Pre-Order URGH

Mandy, Indiana Tour Dates
Wed. March 25 – London, UK @ Heaven
Fri. March 27 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sat. March 28 – Glasgow, UK @ Room 2
Wed. April 8 – Dunkirk, FR @ Les 4 Ecluses
Thu. April 9 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
Sun. April 12 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
Tue. April 14 – Copenhagen, DK @ Huset
Wed. April 15 – Berlin, DE @ Urban Spree
Thu. April 16 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz
Fri. April 17 – Tilburg, NL @ Roadburn
Sat. April 18 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaique

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Just Mustard announce big tour for 2026.

Just Mustard is Katie Ball, David Noonan, Mete Kalyoncuoğlu, Rob Clarke, and Shane Maguire. WE WERE JUST HERE signals a pivotal moment for the band. While Just Mustard’s signature elements are still intact —warped guitars, twisted sound design drawing from the luminary world of Aphex Twin, and cavernous low ends—this time, it’s all been channeled into a warmer and more anthemic path. The strange and distinct universe the band creates on WE WERE JUST HERE is reinforced with haunting interludes of speech and noise, snippets of voice memos, and elements from various demos. Whereas Heart Under explored themes of grief and longing, the songs here draw from a wide spectrum of emotion and feeling, with characters searching for ecstasy, holding onto love, and grasping for the rush of feeling alive.

Pre-order WE WERE JUST HERE

Watch the Video for “ENDLESS DEATHLESS”

Watch the Video for “WE WERE JUST HERE”

Watch the Video for “POLLYANNA”

Just Mustard Tour Dates

Wed. Apr. 8 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser
Thu. Apr. 9 – Oslo, NO @ John Dee
Sat. Apr. 11 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
Sun. Apr. 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher
Mon. Apr. 13 – Cologne, DE @ Helios 37
Wed. Apr. 15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Thu. Apr. 16 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Fri. Apr. 17 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
Sun. Apr. 19 – Norwich, GB @ The Waterfront
Mon. Apr. 20 – Birmingham, GB @ The Castle & Falcon
Tue. Apr. 21 – Newcastle, GB @ The Grove
Thu. Apr. 23 – Glasgow, GB @ Glasgow School of Art
Fri. Apr. 24 – Leeds, GB @ Brudenell Social Club
Sat. Apr. 25 – Manchester, GB @ Gorilla
Mon. Apr. 27 – Bristol, GB @ Thekla
Tue. Apr. 28 – Brighton, GB @ CHALK
Wed. Apr. 29 – London, GB @ Electric Brixton
Fri. May 1 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia Theatre
Fri. May 8 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
Sat. May 9 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Sun. May 10 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
Tue. May 12 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
Thu. May 14 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
Sat. May 16 – West Hollywood , CA @ Troubadour
Sun. May 17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar – Music Hall
Tue. May 19 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Thu. May 21 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sat. May 23 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Sun. May 24 – Montréal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
Tue. May 26 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Fri. May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Sat. May 30 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Music House
Fri. June 26 – Dublin, IE @ Marlay Park *
Sun. June 28 – Belfast, IE @ Belsonic ^
Sun. Aug. 23 – Edinburgh, SF @ Royal Highland Showgrounds, Edinburgh Summer Sessions #

* with The Cure & Stella and the Dreaming
^ with The Cure & The Twilight Sad
# with The Cure, Slowdive, & Mogwai

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Motörhead – The Manticore Tapes

Way back in August 1976, “Fast” Eddie Clarke (guitar), Lemmy Kilmister (bass and vocals) and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (drums) got together at the famous Manticore Studio in Fulham, England. That new, classic Motörhead lineup was recorded for the first time there, and now those recordings have been released nearly fifty years later.

Starting with an instrumental intro, the band wastes no time with “Leavin’ Here.” They put down a fast, heavy rocker that might make you quit your job or current relationship. The swaggering groove of “Vibrator” is matched well with Kilmister’s pub-punk vocals. “Help Keep Us on the Road” has Clarke’s guitar at the front and Kilmister’s vocals at the back.

“I’ll give you a chance to do the right thing,” Kilmister warns on “The Watcher.” Taylor’s drums are sharp on the track, as is Clarke’s solo. The new lineup’s take on “Motörhead” is as gritty and growling as you hope it will be. The album closes with two great instrumentals, “Witch Doctor” (with Clarke and Kilmister going bonkers) and “Iron Horse / Born to Lose,” and then alternate takes of “Leavin’ Here,” “Vibrator,” and “The Watcher.”

The LP version of The Manticore Tapes comes with a bonus recording a live show from 1977 in Birmingham that includes live versions of all the “Manticore” tracks as well as “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” “City Kids,” and “White Line Fever.”

This is an unearthed gem for not only fans of Motörhead and NWOBHM bands, but also metal, rock, and music historians.

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[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR!]

Review: Ric Wilson – America Runs on Disco EP

Chicago rapper, producer, an all-around cool cat Ric Wilson finds and speaks many truths on his newest EP, America Runs on Disco. The title alone is accurate, whether you want to believe it or not. Wilson wrote the record during his bafflement over the 2024 election results and wanting to shake off the doldrums he was feeling.

He comes up with the funky, fresh, and frisky “They Can’t Get Next to You,” which blends rap with house music and Italo-disco touches. “Blah Blah Blah” (with Kiela Adira helping out on vocals) sizzles and snaps and will slide right into your next house party mix. Party Pupils join Wilson on “Missin’ My Window,” a fun track about not opening the door when opportunity knocks and offers you love or at least a fun night. It sounds like he missed a lot of opportunities while on tour, and “Chicago to London” is a bit of a sequel to it (“Come and get deez these disco balls.”).

The title track drops enough groovy bass to power a couple hip hop albums and comes with plenty of wisdom (“The only way to live is to accept you’ll die.”). “Everybody Red in the Face” has Wilson looking for calm in the storm of rage that’s grabbed the country by the throat, and wondering if he’s the only person searching for it (“Is anybody else out there, or am I alone?”). “When Pigs Fly” closes the EP with bright synth notes while Wilson drops bars that call out people who are embracing that anger or pretending to be hard because they’re afraid to be vulnerable or admit admit they’re wrong.

Wilson continues to drop sweet records like this. He knows the country needs to have a good time. He’s getting up early to make the disco. Don’t disappoint him by not getting any.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR!]

Rewind Review: Mars Red Sky – Dawn of the Dusk (2023)

Mars Red Sky returned in 2023 with Dawn of the Dusk (which I can’t help but wonder if the title is a riff on Dawn of the Dead), which brings us down from outer space and plants us firmly on and underneath the Earth.

As seems customary, MRS open the album with a sonic blast that is led by Jimmy Kinast gravity well-like bass line. “Break Even” is a cautionary tale of selling out just to keep up with everyone else when you’re secretly miserable (“He’ll quit and join the race, the rank and file for normality. If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. Just what you’d be making exactly is anyone’s guess.”). “Maps of Inferno” is a collaboration with Queen of the Meadow and has that band’s Helen Ferguson and MRS’ Julien Pras sharing vocals about guarding a sky-high tower (perhaps one of the ruins on the album’s cover) while the empire below lives in ignorant bliss while Pras’ guitar melts everything around it.

Kinast takes over lead vocals on “The Final Round” – a song that seems to be about that aforementioned tower guarding coming down to fight some horrible menace. The instrumental track “A Choir of Ghosts” is aptly named, as it’s spooky, heavy, and menacing. Mathieu Gazeau‘s drums take front stage on “Carnival Man,” moving from stoner metal rumbling to almost jazz-rock cymbal work.

After the brief instrumental “Trap Door,” we have “Slow Attack.” It encapsulates many of the album’s lyrics and themes of vigilance, combat, loneliness, isolation, ruin, and emergence from that ruin. Pras and Kinast’s guitars unleash fire from above on it while Gazeau’s drums bring to mind structures crumbling under that assault.

Mars Red Sky have begun dabbling in prog-rock with Dawn of the Dusk, which isn’t a bad thing. It will be interesting to hear where they go next. They’ve been to space and returned to an altered planet. What’s next? Back to Mars? A journey within the self? It should be a wild journey.

Keep your mind open.

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