Live music – Page 7 – 7th Level Music

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

Keep your mind open.

[I see you subscribing today.]

[Thanks to Kevin at Calabro Music Media.]

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.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[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.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

mclusky announce a North American tour.

mclusky return to north america in spring 2026, bringing their explosive live performances to venues across the continent, with the dates marking the band’s first outings on u.s./canadian soil since the release of their enchanting new album, the world is still here and so are we.

tickets are on-sale this friday at 10 a.m. local time via ipecac.com/tours.

falco (andrew falkous) shares of the impending visit:

“nostalgia – which is a powerful drug, it turns out – brought us back to your shores just a couple of years ago. some people got to remember what they were like when they were twenty – their hopes, their dreams, their fully operational knee joints. also, there were attendees who weren’t there the first time out – i know, cos i can count. it was very lovely. the band – well, i, certainly – nostalgia’d all over the place too – it was difficult not to. it was fun (this is an understatement).

well, now we all get a chance to break free from nostalgia, to prove to ourselves that we’re more than the cast of cocoon sporting telecasters. we (the band) get to play the old songs – the ‘hits’ as a much loved grandparent might have it – and the new ones too (well, probably five or six of them over the course of a set, that’s the magic number for ‘new’). you, hopefully, come along and watch, listen and interact as per the social contract of such events. what do you say? the support bands – which we can’t tell you about yet – are great too. i promise to respond to heckles in a british accent which makes anything i say 23 percent funnier (i’ve checked this with nate silver). damien will dance and flex and repeat ad infinitum. jack will be the butt of all jokes (on stage, though not in private).

hope to see you there, unless you’ve got something better on – but i honestly can’t imagine what that could be.”

mclusky north american tour dates:

march 24 denver, co marquis theater

march 26 seattle, wa the crocodile

march 28 portland, or aladdin theater

march 30 san Francisco, ca the chapel

march 31 los angeles, ca the regent theater

april 2 austin, tx empire control room & garage

april 3 minneapolis, mn fine line

april 4 chicago, il metro

april 6 toronto, on mod club

april 10 philadelphia, pa underground arts

april 11 washington, dc black cat

international dates:

october 2 antwerp, be trix

october 4 brugge, be cactus

october 6 paris, fr le petit bain

october 7 orléans, fr l’astrolabe

october 8 lyon, fr le marché gare

october 9 winterthur, ch gaswerk

october 11 bologna, it covo club

october 12 milano, it arci bellezza

october 13 strasbourg, fr la grenze

october 17 newcastle, uk the cluny

october 18 glasgow, uk the classic grind

october 19 nottingham, uk the bodega

november 7 hannover, de café glocksee

november 8 wiesbaden, de kulturzentrum

november 9 berlin, de SO36

november 11 dresden, de beanpole

november 12 hamburg, de Molotov

november 13 köln, de gebäude 9

november 14 trier, de mergener hof

november 27 oxford, uk the bullingdon

november 28 brighton, uk chalk

december 19 cardiff, uk clwb lfor back

january 6 melbourne, au corner

january 9 adelaide, au lion arts factory

january 10 sydney, au factory theatre

january 11 brisbane, au crowbar

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go!]

[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Stomp Records celebrates its 30th anniversary with big shows across Canada.

Matt Colyer & Mike Magee of Stomp Records

Thirty years ago, Stomp Records kicked off in Montreal with a simple mission: to give Canada’s independent punk and ska bands a home, a voice, and a way to reach beyond their own city limits. It was an ambitious idea for a couple of musicians with no business plan and even less money, a plan that should’ve crashed harder than a tour van on bald tires in a prairie blizzard. Instead, it helped ignite a national movement and built one of Canada’s longest-running and most influential independent labels. From day one, Stomp Records wasn’t just releasing records, it was building culture. In the pre-internet era, Canadian punk and ska scenes were thriving in isolation, each city a bubble. Stomp burst those bubbles, uniting bands from coast to coast, creating touring circuits, and turning hometown heroes into cross-country road warriors. “This label is built on community, creativity, and helping each other get our shot,” says Stomp co-founder Matt Collyer. “We’re still here because the fans show up, the bands work their asses off, and we love every minute of doing this.”

Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, Stomp helped define the next wave of Canadian punk and ska, not by chasing trends but by championing artists with grit, conviction, and personality. They supported small scenes through compilation series (The All-Skanadian Club) and got in the van with bands — literally and figuratively — helping develop careers from the bar circuit to international festival stages. As trends shifted and the music industry free-fell into the Napster era, most indie labels folded. Stomp didn’t. They embraced digital early, built a full-service ecosystem of booking, management, and publicity, and widened their sonic scope to reflect the beautifully messy realities of underground music. Punk, ska, rockabilly, hardcore, folk-punk, skate-punk, bagpipes, brass, blood, sweat. if it had guts and a pulse of rebellion, Stomp gave it a home.

That fearless curation brought countless Canadian subcultural staples into the world: The Real McKenzies, Wine Lips, The Dreadnoughts, The Flatliners, The Creepshow, The Anti-Queens, Brutal Youth, Belvedere, Bedouin Soundclash, Raygun Cowboys, PKEW PKEW PKEW, The Sainte-Catherines, Down By Law, Snuff… and many more who continue to fill rooms and make noise worldwide. It has never been a smooth ride. Along the way there have been industry collapses, floods, robberies, broken bones, car jackings, even literal Nazi attacks. Somehow, through all of that, a few Juno nominations, a win, and accidental gold and platinum plaques still ended up on their walls.“The odds were stacked against us from day one,” says long-time Stomp partner Mike Magee. “Luckily Stomp Records didn’t, and still doesn’t, give one single flying f*ck about the odds.”

Three decades in, the mission hasn’t changed: artists first, community always, and a stubborn refusal to water anything down. And the stats speak for themselves: nearly 300 releases with distribution in over 190 countries, artists who’ve earned Juno recognition, and alumni who have gone on to perform in Simple Plan, Walk Off The Earth, Kings of Leon, The Stills, Patrick Watson and Broken Social Scene among a long list of others.

To celebrate surviving 30 wild years, and because they love any excuse for a loud night out, they’re celebrating with a nationwide run of absolute blowout shows. A toast to every late-night drive, every curb-side gear load, every sweaty pit, and every fan who ever found belonging in the chaos.

For interview opportunities with Stomp founders and artists, please reach out. -Chad

30TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS

Nov 21 – Vancouver – The Rickshaw Theatre

The Real McKenzies, The Planet Smashers, Raygun Cowboys

Dec 11 – Toronto – Lee’s Palace

The Dreadnoughts, The Creepshow, The Filthy Radicals

https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/dreadnoughts-with-the-creepshow-lees-palace-tickets/13786114

Dec 13 – Ottawa – Overflow Brewing

The Dreadnoughts, The Creepshow, The Filthy Radicals

https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/the-dreadnoughts-the-creepshow-the-overflow-brewing-co-tickets/14579493

MONTREAL – DOWNTOWN VENUES

Dec 10th @ Turbo Haus

Capable, Doghouse Rose

FR: https://lepointdevente.com/billets/stp251210001

EN: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/stp251210001

Dec 11th @ Turbo Haus

Dig It Up, Brutal Youth, Crossdog

FR: https://lepointdevente.com/billets/stp251211001

EN: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/stp251211001

Dec 12th @ Foufs

The Dreadnoughts, The Creepshow, PKEW PKEW PKEW, K-Man and the 45’s, The Penske File, The Fake Friends, Boids, The Filthy Radicals

FR: https://lepointdevente.com/billets/stp250923001

EN: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/stp250923001

Dec 13th @ Club Soda

The Planet Smashers, The Flatliners, Wine Lips, The Anti-Queens, Crash Ton Rocks

FR: https://lepointdevente.com/billets/stp251213001

EN: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/stp251213001

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Chad at No Rules PR.]

Live: Osees and DMBQ – Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN – October 22, 2025

I hadn’t been to Indianapolis’ Old National Centre since it was called the Murat Temple Theatre…and that was sometime in the 1990s. Entry was quick, and the woman checking IDs and handing out “21+” wristbands told us, “Straight ahead and down the stairs.” I figured Osees were playing in the large performance space in the building. I figured wrong. They were playing two floors below street level in a room the size of an average wedding reception hall.

Stone pillars on the mosh pit’s four corners.

Low ceilings, no windows, two entrances / exits, and a lot of people. My first thought was, “It’s going to be loud as hell in here.” I also saw many people who weren’t well dressed for an Osees show, possibly because they’d never seen them live before now. There were women in high heels, men in hooded sweatshirts and stocking caps, and a majority of the crowd without earplugs.

My prediction about the volume immediately was proven correct when, all the way from Japan, DMBQ took the stage to open the show and unloaded a crazy set of noise / kraut / punk / acid jazz / chaos. Lead guitarist and singer (and journalist) Shinji Masuko) was a wild man, drooling, slapping and punching himself, kicking the air, and creating a collapsing wall of sound while drummer Shinji Wada played stuff that would make many prog-rock drummers jealous and bassist Maki was a cool anchor the entire time. Again, you could tell that most of the crowd had no idea how to react to so much sound in such a small space. They had a lot of new fans by the end of their set.

Osees came out almost immediately after DMBQ finished crushing us, set up their gear, and started their wild, sweaty set at 9:01pm. Any place is a good place to see Osees, but a small space like the one we were in is perfect. The band and their fierce, energy is right there and it almost overpowers you.

They tore through favorites like “Carrion Crawler,” “The Dream” (during which I started the crowd surfing, you’re welcome Indianapolis), and a fun, somehow even more raucous version of “Contraption” (with bassist Tim Hellman being an absolute beast with his groove).

It was a set of many classic cuts from them, with noting newer than material released in 2018 (“C” from Smote Reverser, which closed the show). This might have been because they hadn’t played an Indianapolis show in a long time. Lead singer / guitarist John Dwyer apologized at the start for them not playing there in many years: “Hey, Indianapolis. I’m sorry we never come here but (drummer) Dan (Rincon) hates it…No, I’m only kidding. He hates that fucking joke.”

“I Come from the Mountain” (again, with a killer bass line from Hellman), “Tidal Wave,” and “Ticklish Warrior” were big hits with the crowd, and I was happy to hear old cuts like “I Was Denied” (from 2010’s Warm Slime, the first Osees record I bought) and “Meat Step Lively” (from 2009’s Help).

The pit, as you might imagine, was a sweatbox being in such a small space. I had to back out after “Tidal Wave” (almost halfway through the show) to avoid overheating and burning the rest of the few calories I had in me. I slugged down a big cup of tonic water and then spent the rest of the show out of the pit but within view of the stage. I overheard a woman, seeing them for the first time, say, “They’re playing all my favorites.”

Mission accomplished, gentlemen.

Want to hear the whole set? Well, here you go.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Guard your eardrums. Numero Group is releasing a four album set of live Hüsker Dü music on November 07, 2025.

Numero Group announces the release of Hüsker Dü’s 1985: The Miracle Year, a live 4 LP box set, out November 7th. Witness the transcendent Minneapolis punk trio tearing into the most incendiary year of its existence, captured live on stage at First Avenue in perhaps the highest fidelity recordings of the band’s lauded SST era. 1985: The Miracle Year includes Beau Sorenson’s restoration of an entire January 30, 1985 set, plus 20 extra live tracks from the year’s touring schedule, and a deluxe booklet detailing twelve months of history-making Hüsker Dü. Along with today’s announcement, four songs from the box set are available to stream now. Titled Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 2, the collection features “The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill,” “I Apologize,” “If I Told You” and “Folklore.” What is the sound of a legend being written?

Stream Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 2

Looking at 1985 through the dynamic lens of independent DIY music, mid-decade, there was a year-long succession of leaps by Hüsker Dü, each building on the powerful and undeniable sprint from the scrappy punk institution SST to the artistic empathy of Warner Bros. As observers began to catch on, testimonials came from many quarters, including the New York Times, which recognized the band as “the best to have emerged from the hardcore scene.” Consistent with such praise, Hüsker Dü revealed a heightened creative pace rarely, if ever, seen in any musical era. Before or since. After blowing the doors off the burgeoning alt-rock movement with Zen Arcadethe previous July, the band dropped New Day Rising just six months later on January 14, 1985, and then never stopped chasing the Hidden Beach sunrise that adorned that album’s cover.

On January 30, 1985, Minneapolis reached -11° at show time, marking 19 points of mercilessly dropped mercury from the day’s 8° apex. The 1500 attendees inside First Avenue, however, wouldn’t be needing so much as a T-shirt, let alone the nearest fiberfill parka: from the first blinding moments of “New Day Rising,” it was clear that Bob Mould, Grant Hart, and Greg Nortonhad arrived intent on setting every molecule in the room alight. Their setlist displayed a night-long cascade of fireballs chosen from Everything Falls Apart, Metal Circus, Zen Arcade, and New Day Rising, and five new songs that would reappear later on Flip Your Wig. They also made several nods to the band’s rock forbears, with a ballistic take on The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High,” a turbulent spin on The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” featuring Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner, a pop-punk remake of “Ticket To Ride, ” and closing with their signature cover of Sonny Curtis’s Mary Tyler Moore theme “Love Is All Around.”

Considering the late-January 2011 house fire that consumed a precious portion of the Hüsker Dü archive, it has to be reckoned as a kind of subordinate miracle that the 1985 First Avenue tapes survived at all. They deliver peak Dü at full gallop through already beloved material, still years shy of fully cementing their status as a blueprint for the alternative rock skyscraper to come. This box set celebrates these tapes, strikingly perhaps the highest fidelity Hüsker Dü recordings ever produced during the band’s lauded SST years. “When I think of that time,” Greg comments, “it was three guys doing what they loved, having fun, and basically showing other people that you can be true to yourself, true to your music, and not have to bow down to fashion or expectations to make something really great.”

Pre-order/Pre-save 1985: The Miracle Year

1985: The Miracle Year Tracklist:
Minnesota Miracle
SIDE A
1. New Day Rising
2. It’s Not Funny Anymore
3. Everything Falls Apart
4. The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill
5. I Apologize
6. If I Told You
7. Folklore

SIDE B
1. Every Everything
2. Makes No Sense At All
3. Terms Of Psychic Warfare
4. Powerline
5. Books About UFOs
6. Broken Home, Broken Heart
7. Diane

SIDE C
1. Hate Paper Doll
2. Green Eyes
3. Divide And Conquer
4. Pink Turns To Blue
5. Eight Miles High

SIDE D
1. Out On A Limb
2. Helter Skelter
3. Ticket To Ride
4. Love Is All Around

More Miracles
SIDE E
1. Don’t Want To Know If You’re Lonely
2. I Don’t Know For Sure
3. Hardly Getting Over It
4. Sorry Somehow
5. Eiffel Tower High

SIDE F
1. What’s Going On
2. Private Plane
3. Celebrated Summer
4. All Work And No Play

SIDE G
1. Keep Hanging On
2. Find Me
3. Flexible Flyer
4. Sunshine Superman
5. In A Free Land
6. Somewhere

SIDE H
1. Flip Your Wig
2. Never Talking To You Again
3. Chartered Trips
4. The Wit And The Wisdom
5. Misty Modern Days

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR!]

Levitation 2025: Day Three recap

You can always recognize faces by the final day of Austin, Texas’ Levitation Music Festival. You see the same people who’ve been sweating and rocking with you all weekend and can tell who hasn’t had enough sleep, who’s been in the sun too long, who’s hungover, who’s dehydrated, and who’s an old pro.

The crowd was light when I arrived to see Daiistar open the final day of the festival. This isn’t because Daiistar is a bad band, quite the contrary, but the people who show up early on Sunday are either the die-hards who are getting every cent of their money’s worth for the weekend pass, the people who can only make it on Sunday and have the same logic, the fans of the first band, and those who are so deep in the festival zone that showing up when the gates open has become as automatic as breathing. All of those people got to see a good set of early-90’s vibe psychedelia from Daiistar that was a good warm-up to a hot, humid Sunday.

Afterwards, shade spots were prime real estate at the outdoor stage for Population II, who brought their fiery cosmic psych all the way from Quebec and wowed the audience. They cracked jokes about touring, their own merch, and lack of English in between songs about everything from pizza to panic.

Population II gathering a large population of new fans.

Two friends, Wes and Chelsea, met me at the festival on this day, and I took them to see A Place to Bury Strangers. This was their first time seeing APTBS. “I envy your innocence,” I said. We walked into the indoor stage area within moments of the opening notes of the set and, of course, were greeted by what sounded like a saw mill on fire. As is now custom at an APTBS show, they came into the middle of crowd, near us, to perform a wild, weird set of hammering rhythms and distorted synth…something. Chelsea said, “It felt like they’d summoned us to be sacrificed and then put a hex on us.” We later told frontman Oliver Ackermann this and he said, “Yes! That’s it.” Chelsea said she was still thinking about their set by the end of the night.

A Place to Bury Strangers casting spells.

As if that wasn’t enough face-melting for you, along came Frankie and The Witch Fingers afterwards with a ton of groovy garage-punk chaos for which I joined the mosh pit and rocked out with the sweaty crowd for a bit (which you could easily have done outside as well since it was so hot and humid that day). FATWF always play well and are a ton of fun.

Frankie and The Witch Fingers casting spells.

We had some time for food at some point. It’s difficult to remember when you eat and which set is at which time when you’re on Day Three. We did remember that The Black Angels were up next for us. The festival’s hosts and curators always play and put on a set of some rare tracks I hadn’t heard in a while, possibly ever, which was a treat.

The final two bands of the night on the indoor stage were indie rock giants -— both of whom drew big crowds. First was Built to Spill, whose lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch had some of the best guitar tones of the entire festival.

Spilling thrills for the appreciative crowd.

Next, and closing the day and the festival, was Pavement. They had a great time on stage, laughing a lot, poking fun at each other, and getting a lot of cheers from the crowd.

There’s always an odd feeling when Levitation ends. You’ve been there for multiple days and nights. You’ve made some new friends, seen the same groups of weirdos, ate some spicy food, drank too much caffeine, and your ears are sore from wearing earplugs for three straight days or not wearing them at all. You’ve experienced something…and now it’s finished. You don’t feel empty or sad, but you do wish you could squeeze another day or night out of it…and you also feel renewed and ready for next year.

See you in 2026, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Levitation Austin 2025: Day Two recap

“This is gonna be a sweat-fest.”

Those were the first words I heard about Day Two of 2025’s Levitation Austin musical festival as I walked toward the entrance of the Palmer Event Center. Some guy said this to his pal as they steeled themselves for the day to come. The guy was right, as the bright sun was brutal at times — especially at the outdoor stage.

I started indoors, both to avoid the peak sun and to see Hooveriii put on a solid set of psych-rock that bordered on grunge rock a couple times (which was fine by me).

Hooveriii (pronounced “Hoover Three”, not “hoovery.”)

Many of us ventured out into the sun to see Dutch disco funkers Yīn-Yīn play for the first time anywhere in the United States. They had the afternoon crowd jumping and were having a great time despite not being used to such heat.

Yīn-Yīn getting their sweaty groove on, and on all of us.

I had time for a chicken shawarma wrap (possibly the best food bargain at the festival) and some ice cream before heading back to the outdoor stage to see Model / Actriz put on a blistering set of queercore post-punk with lead singer Cole Haden prowling through the crowd while his bandmates played tight, snappy beats and riffs. Guitarist Jack Wetmore knows not only how to play, but the right moments not to play — a skill overlooked by many.

Model / Actriz bringing more heat than the afternoon sun.

I took some more time to hydrate and get a full meal (It’s a marathon, not a sprint.) before heading back indoors to join the large crowd for The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who played to a happy crowd — many of whom (at least around me) hadn’t seen them before now. It was a good set, with only minor issue when, believe it or not, Anton Newcombe decided his microphone had too much reverb.

The Raveonettes were a welcome return to Levitation. I hadn’t seen them since 2013 when Levitation was still the Austin Psych Fest (which has returned in its own form). They still sound great and played classics and newer stuff.

The biggest show of the night, and for the entire festival for me, belonged to TV on the Radio. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see them, so their appearance at Levitation made the decision to fly here a no-brainer. They slayed it and had everyone jumping and moving. Their energy was infectious and immediate, and a great way to close the night.

TVOTR didn’t close my night, however. I was so wired after their set that I walked over a mile to Elysium to see Past Self and Urban Heat. I knew we were in for a treat when Past Self’s bassist started the show by playing his guitar with a bow. What followed was a mix of desert rock (They’re from Las Vegas, Nevada.), New Romanticism, and dark wave.

Past Self. Are they ghosts, musicians, past incarnations of you?

Urban Heat are local heroes who play aggressive shoegaze mixed with post-punk anger. It’s good stuff, and they seem destined for big things. They reminded me a bit of early TVOTR, which was fitting because I bumped into TVOTR’s guitarist / multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton at their show and got to thank him for the great set.

Up next, psychedelia, indie rock, and a couple sets that might cause you to seek a chiropractor afterwards.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Levitation Austin 2025: Day One recap

I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the first full day of Levitation 2025 than a slow-motion sword fight between a Rat Queen and a rat skull-headed incarnation of Death over a book containing countless souls.

That’s how Day One of the festival started in its new home — the Palmer Event Center. The new space is impressive. The interior stage is in a massive cave-like room with 360-degrees of projections to keep you tripping all day if you’d like. Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers described it to me as “amazing,” and I think he and his bandmates (still a bit bleary-eyed from their recent South American tour) are eager to blast the place on Day Three.

First to blast it, and setting a high bar for the rest of the bands to come for the rest of the festival, were a band consisting of a vampire, a druid, a plague doctor, and a warrior queen.

Castle Rat came out to an exuberant crowd as the voice of a distant wizard told us they had been given the task of protecting The Bestiary — a book of souls they must protect at all costs from evil forces. As a friend put it, “Listening to them is like opening your Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook for the first time.” They proceeded to flatten the place, ending their too short forty-minute time slot with the aforementioned sword fight.

The line for Castle Rat’s merch was at least twenty minutes long for hours after their set. I later met their drummer, The Druid, and told him my friend’s description of their music. He laughed and said, “Yes! That’s exactly what we’re going for.”

The exterior stage is in a smaller space, and set up facing south with the unintended result of having many of the bands (depending on their set time) staring into the afternoon sun. One such band was Skloss, who’d just returned from a tour in Scotland and had become unaccustomed to such bright sunlight. Guitarist Sandy Carson had trouble seeing his foot pedal board a couple times, resulting in what drummer / singer Karen Skloss called “the Skloss experimental set” by the end. Regardless of the pedal trouble, they still put on a loud, psychedelic show that blasted as hard as the sun.

I had to get some hydration and calories by this point, so I missed the opening of Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol‘s set, but got there in time for a lot of solid rockers such as “Heel,” “1-800-EAT-SHIT,” and “I’m the Fucking Man.” They sounded great, even better when I saw them at Levitation last year at Stubb’s BBQ on a much bigger stage.

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Whatever the Fuck

I had a little time to wander for a bit, checking out the various vendors there, and then got to see most of the set from Austin’s own The Sword — who played to a packed house indoors. Their set got a bit funky by the end, which I thought was great.

The Sword cutting through time and space.

I took a much-needed disco nap back at the hotel after their set, and it was almost too good of a break. I woke up groggy and debated not going downtown to see the late night show for which I’d purchased a ticket a while ago. I decided to go outside, get some fresh air, and make the decision. It turned out to be a good one.

I didn’t get to Elysium in time to see Austin drag star Louisanna Purchase perform, but did get there for the last half of Auragraph‘s drum and bass set that had the place bumping. Much like the Boy Harsher show the previous night, the goth and queer crowd was out in force here — which is always great to see.

Pixel Grip was playing down a man with synth player Jonathon Freund not being able to make the show, but pre-programmed loops and chords keyed up by drummer Tyler Ommen worked just fine and singer Rita Lukea commanded the stage and the jam-packed crowd. They had the floors shaking multiple times. It was a wild end to a wild day.

Up next for Day Two…post-punk, disco, and a DJ set from my favorite band.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]