It’s odd that I haven’t seen a full concert in almost five months, so opening my 2025 concert season with one of my rock heroes seemed appropriate. The Bob Mould Band was playing an easy drive from my house, so seeing them for the third time, and in a small venue, was an easy decision.
First up were Winged Wheel, who described themselves as being “from multiple cities” and thus rarely getting opportunities to play and tour together. They played an interesting brand of psychedelia that mixed synthwave with trippy guitars, a violin, and even lap steel guitar.
Winged Wheel
They had a great sunset to provide a light show, and I thought, “They could play Levitation.” Their sound is unique and they all look like someone you know.
After about a twenty-minute gear switch, The Bob Mould band came out and got straight to business. It was the last show of their current tour, and they emptied the gas tank on the Bell’s outdoor stage.
They tore through the first group of tracks so fast that you could barely breathe. The crowd, mostly aging hipsters like yours truly, seemed a bit low key. The trio of Mr. Mould, Jason Narducy (bass), and Jon Wurster (drums) were roaring and few people were dancing at first. I think some were just overwhelmed by the tidal wave of sound coming at them. There were a couple songs when it felt like a mosh pit could, and should, have broken out. Three guys tried to start one for a moment, but one of the trio soon stopped it and calmed his pals down before it could form.
The Bob Mould Band was undeterred by this, thank heavens, and ripped through a lot of good stuff from their catalogue, both new (from their Here We Go Crazy album) and even a short set of tracks from 2020. Wurster was dropping some killer fills the whole night, and Narducy’s bass grooves were locked in the whole set.
Mould, go figure, shredded the entire evening with both his guitar and his voice. It’s wild to see and hear him create that much sound.
A highlight for me was them playing the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show near the end of the night. If you’re a fan of Hüsker Dü, then you know that cover was a staple of their early shows so it was a blast to hear that gem brought out to shine.
It’s great that these guys are still crushing it and that Mould is still putting out great music and showing youngsters how it’s done.
Keep your mind open.
Thanks to the chap who let me snap a photo of this set list he scored.
[Thanks to Jim and Mia at Big Hassle for the press pass!]
The Beths — the New Zealand-based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck — announce signing to ANTI- and release the new single/video, “Metal.” “Metal” is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of 2023’s Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe), the expanded version of their beloved 2022 album.
Following Liz Stokes’s recent, sold–out solo show at Largo in Los Angeles with special guests Courtney Barnett and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), The Beths announce a world tour across North America, the UK and Europe this fall. The band returns to the U.S. for the first time since playing Coachella, Bonnaroo and Newport Folk Festival, and supporting The National, Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in 2023-2024. They’ll headline some of their biggest venues to date including The Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, The Salt Shed in Chicago, Brooklyn Paramount in New York City, Union Transfer in Philadelphia, 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and more. Tickets go on sale Fri. May 2 at 10am local and are available here.
Today’s single “Metal” was born out of a time of rigorous touring, mental health struggles, and several diagnoses for Stokes. “In some ways ‘Metal’ is a song about being alive and existing in a human body,” she explains. “That is something I have been acutely aware of in the last few years, where I have been on what one might call a ‘health journey’. For parts of the last few years, I kind of felt like my body was a vehicle that had carried me pretty well thus far but was breaking down, something I had little to no control over. All of the steps in the Rube Goldberg machine of life are so unlikely, and yet here we are in it. I have a hunger and a curiosity for learning about the world around me, and for learning about myself. And despite all the ways that my body feels like a broken machine, I still marvel at the complexity of such a machine.”
“I can hold that knowledge in one hand, and yet with the other hand I can point to my reflection and just be like ‘you are shit’. Or ‘ugly’. Or ‘worthless’. I can reliably respond to any suggestion that I might be able to achieve any small thing with ‘no’. And these are variations of the ‘short word’ referenced in the song.”
Sonically, the track sees The Beths fully embracing jangle rock. Stokes says, “There was a propulsion to the acoustic strumming pattern on the original demo. Tristan’s drums meet that feeling so perfectly, the feeling of a train pushing up the tracks. Jonathan got to play his Burns 12 string guitar as sparkly as he wanted, and Ben as usual can’t be contained to the lower register. I think we ended up with an arrangement that embodies the frenetic intricacy of an engine in action. There’s a lot going on, until there isn’t.”
2023’s Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe) expanded upon the brilliance of The Beths’ acclaimed 2022 album, “another collection of tunes that cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment” (Stereogum). The third studio album from The Beths, Expert In A Dying Field was released to a wealth of critical praise, and was named one of 2022’s best releases by the likes of Pitchfork, The Ringer, Stereogum and more. Surrounding its release, The Beths were profiled by Rolling Stone, made their U.S. television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and performed a NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, The Beths are undeniably one of the most exciting indie rock bands to emerge in recent memory.
The Beths Tour Dates: Thu. Sept. 18 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory Sat. Sept. 20 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall Sun. Sept. 21 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio Mon. Sept. 22 – Leeds, UK @ Project House Wed. Sept. 24 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Thu. Sept. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO Fri. Sept. 26 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Sat. Sept. 27 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK Mon. Sept. 29 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix Tue. Sept. 30 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo Wed. Oct. 1 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Fri. Oct. 3 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine Sat. Oct. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Sun. Oct. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Krust Tue. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan Wed. Oct. 8 Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene Thu. Oct. 9 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset Sat. Oct. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Lido Sun. Oct. 12 – Munich, DE @ Strom Mon. Oct. 13 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza Wed. Oct. 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2 Thu. Oct. 16 – Madrid, ES @ Nazca Fri. Oct. 17 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV Thu. Oct. 30 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel* Fri. Oct. 31 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse * Sat. Nov 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl * Mon. Nov. 3 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory * Tue. Nov. 4 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s * Thu. Nov. 6 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren * Fri. Nov. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^ Sat. Nov. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore * Wed. Nov. 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades * Fri. Nov. 14 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom * Sat. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre * Sun. Nov. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom * Tue. Nov. 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall * Wed. Nov. 19 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre * Fri. Nov. 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman * Sat. Nov. 22 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre * Sun. Nov. 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * + Tue. Nov 25 – Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron * Wed. Nov. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre * Fri. Nov. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * Sat. Nov. 29 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre * Tue. Dec. 2 – Boston, MA @ Royale * Wed. Dec. 3 – Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall * Fri. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * # Sat. Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Tue. Dec. 9 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club *
Hotline TNT — the New York-based band fronted by Will Anderson — announce their third album Raspberry Moon, out June 20th via Third Man Records and share its lead single, “Julia’s War.” The follow up to Cartwheel, the band’s “exquisite” (Billboard) 2023 breakthrough, Raspberry Moon is the most sweeping and compelling Hotline TNT album to date and, crucially, the first built by a full band. Funneled into the album are moments of vulnerability and romance, creating a generationally great statement of youthful wistfulness and very adult growth that also happens to be very charming and sometimes funny.
While in the studio of modern D.I.Y. hero Amos Pitsch (Tenement), Anderson found himself in an unusual position. This time, and for the first time, the quartet that had toured for the last 10 months as Hotline TNT had come with Anderson, somewhat unexpectedly. He had intended to make one more album his way—holing up with a producer and building songs piece by piece, as he’d done for Cartwheel—before making Hotline TNT a full-band affair in the future. But there was no avoiding it. Guitarist Lucky Hunter, bassist Haylen Trammel, and drummer Mike Ralston wanted in. Anderson relented.
In making Raspberry Moon, Anderson confronted a burgeoning if occasionally difficult belief: Hotline TNT was now a band, and this was the band. The benefits are self-evident— it is the most texturally rich and energetically nuanced album Hotline TNT has ever made—from start to middle to finish. Some of these 11 songs deal with the sting of regret, of being left or leaving, as Hotline TNT always has. But this is a record animated by a sense of newness and possibility, of pushing back against the global sense that curtains are closing to make room in your own life for new friends. It is perfect music for looking forward, no matter how fucked the past may feel.
Lead single “Julia’s War” is an anthem of nascent affection where a simple and wordless chorus of “na na na nah” paints a horizon of possibility. The guitars are perfectly warm and sharp, cutting into you but simultaneously pulling you into the song. Of the track, whose title is a hat tip to regional contemporary They Are Gutting A Body of Water’s sprawling imprint, Anderson says: “In a world of half-hearted hooks, and buried-in-the-mix vocals, we had to muster the courage to do what the rest of the shoegaze community could not… We looked out to the stadium and reassured the audience: Our voices, together, will be heard. You’ve never heard a TNT chorus this straightforward – when we stress-tested it during the writing process, the ‘try not to sing along challenge’ came back with a 100% fail rate.”
Of the song’s accompanying video directed by Johnny Frohman, Anderson says: “When it came time to cook up the music video, Johnny Frohman created a Full-Metal-Jacket-style shoegaze bootcamp… It’s not the Marine Corps, it’s Slow Corps. Edy Monica, Dan Licata, Peter Mills Weiss, and an ensemble cast of NYC comedy underworld alts rounded out the platoon and drafted us into a world where we could enlist in a strict regimen of pedalboard assembly and underwater vocal lessons.”
Musical auteurs have been a feature of rock ’n’ roll since its very early days—folks who could imagine a sound and the path to it, largely alone. Something akin to Moore’s Law has made it easier to become exactly that during the subsequent decades, since studios with solid gear are now as accessible as a bedroom. It is increasingly convenient to be solo. The real work, though, is to abandon the ego and singular devotion to your absolute vision and make something better with the people you trust. Hotline TNT has done exactly that on Raspberry Moon, an album where Will Anderson gives himself space to fall in love with the world around him and sing as much in songs so loaded with hooks you’ll need to choose which ones to hum at any given moment.
Hotline TNT will play a series of headline shows in early May and will then embark on a North American Tour supporting Hippo Campus with stops in Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Austin, Chicago, and more. A full list of dates can be found below.
Hotline TNT Tour Dates Thu. May 1 – Louisville, KY @ Mag Bar Fri. May 2 – Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern Sat. May 3 – St Louis, MO @ Sinkhole Sun. May 4 – Columbia, MO @ Rose Music Hall Tue. May 6 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Vultures Thu. May 8 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder Fri. May 9 – Sat. May 10 – Portland, OR @ Roseland* Mon. May 12 – Tue. May 13 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox* Wed. May 14 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue* Fri. May 16 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24* Sat. May 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl* Sun. May 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren* Tue. May 20 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec* Wed. May 21 – Austin, TX @ Moody Theater* Thu. May 22 – Dallas, TX @ Bomb Factory* Sat. May 24 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Jones Assembly* Sun. May 25 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary* Tue. May 27 – Columbus, OH @ Kemba Live* Thu. May 29 – Grand Rapids, MI @ GLC Live at 20 Monroe* Fri. May 30 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed* Sat. May 31 – Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing* Sun. June 1 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club % (early & late shows) Tue. June 3 – Buffalo, NY @ Rec Room
Anika is fed up and, frankly, bored with the world right now. It can be a soulless place sometimes…and a soulless time in some places. It can feel like everything is teetering on the edge of the album’s title, Abyss. Recorded in just ten days with a live band, Anika pulls no punches and channels her confusion, frustration, and distrust into a powerful record.
“I’m tired of all this game-playing,” she sings on the opening track, “Hearsay” – a wicked track about media manipulation, romantic manipulation (“You’re telling me tales to get your own way.”), and the vicious divides a rumor mill can cause. The title track roars with Lawrence Goodwin‘s metal-cutting guitars and then Tomas Nochteff drops sexy, heavy bass on you. “Honey” is a tale of Anika walking away from a lover who has become too much like her. Is it a coincidence, then, that the next track is the Velvet Underground-like “Walk Away,” in which Anika admits, “The truth is that I’d rather be alone, than with you.” Don’t feel bad, though. Anika doesn’t have much feeling for anyone in this glossy fake world. It’s not just you. It’s everyone. She doesn’t even trust herself or believe that she wants to spend lonely nights in her house, or if she wants the world to burn up or not.
“Into the Fire” is another hypnotizing track that Anika does so well as she longs for someone to take her off this planet we’re destroying and to somewhere quiet for a change. On “Oxygen,” Anika lets us know that she’s interested in trying something new, in exploring dark places, in finding breath amid the choking clouds of noise and limitations being put on our methods of expression and even our own bodies. “Out of the Shadows” is a rocker, with Anika putting divisive politicians in their place using fierce words (“Full of opinions, full of hot air. Am I supposed to fall before you?”) and fiercer riffs.
“It’s a one-way ticket, and I’m not on it,” she sings on “One-Way Ticket” — a song about the growth of fascism (“This city didn’t learn the lessons from its past, making deals with the snakes and the sharks.”). She tries to warn us about the growth of idiocracy and screen addiction on “Last Song” with lyrics like, “The robots are ruling, the logic is drooling, dripping out your open mouth.” By the time we get to the last track, “Buttercups,” Anika is “thinking of the simpler days” and wishing she (and we) could escape from the unrelenting pressures of this age of constant stimulation. Wouldn’t it be nicer to just lounge in a field of flowers for a while?
Abyss is a powerful record with multiple layers, each one getting darker as you go deeper into it. Anika is mad right now, righteously mad, and she’s trying to pull us out of the darkness, even if only for a little while.
“people person” is a new song from mclusky that they are sharing today, along with a video directed by remy lamont, which you can watch now if you like (https://mclusky.lnk.to/people).
This follows their recent announcement of their first album in 20 years: the world is still here and so are we (may 9, ipecac recordings).
Andrew Falkous says: “’people person’ is the song that gave me tinnitus, so asking me about it is really cruel. It’s probably about being overwhelmed by the world because that’s what all of our songs are about.”
As the song itself says: “a lot of people like to be wise after the event.”
It’s important to state that the world is still here and so are we is the fourth mclusky album (no qualification being needed). they had an asterisk next to the name for a bit – out of respect for past band members and the precious memorial glue of teenage musical crushes – but fuck that, in for a penny, in for a pound. lyrically it touches on subjects as rich and as varied as work-it-out-yourself and impenetrable-inside-joke-for-the-band, but one thing is clear, all of the songs have different words. all hilarious joking aside, the best songs are about things without being precisely about them. mclusky endorse this sentiment. they positively insist on it.
Album pre-orders are available now (https://mclusky.lnk.to/world) with the world is still here and so are we available on multiple limited-edition vinyl variants (marble vinyl and 180 gram black vinyl), an indie store exclusive clear vinyl, as well as a standard blue vinyl. the release is also available on CD and digital formats.
mclusky tour dates:
May 8 – wrexham, uk the rockin’ chair
may 16 – tourcoing, fr le grand mix
May 18 – brussels, be les nuits botaniques (w/ The Jesus Lizard)
May 23 – manchester, uk gorilla
May 24 – leeds, uk brudenell
May 29 – london, uk electric ballroom
May 31 – bristol, uk swx
January 6 – melbourne, au corner
January 9 – adelaide, au lion arts factory
January 10 – sydney, au factory theatre
January 11 – brisbane, au crowbar
Tickets for all shows are on-sale now with links available via ipecac.com/tours.
Lucie Sue, the female-fronted French rock band who are set to make their festival debut this June at Hellfest, have released a second single in advance of their anticipated late Summer debut full-length album, unveiling “Hush” and an accompanying video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCjSIdIs9Bk).
The Antoine Doyen-directed video, which was shot in an abandoned and untouched ‘70s era hotel, features two mischievous children wreaking havoc and making their mother’s life hell.
“Hush,” which features driving riffs overlaid with powerful, infectious vocals, relays the chaotic struggle of a single mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown, facing the rebellion of her children. Lucie Sue explains: “’Hush’ is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. I reject the idea of ‘parental sacrifice’ or ‘compromise,’ which creates unnecessary guilt. Kids should know how to cook, get around and organize themselves, forging a strong character.”
Lucie Sue previously released the song, and hockey-infused video, for “Battlestation.” New Noise said the track is “unapologetically fierce” and speaks to “femme empowerment,” while Riff Magazine said the track is “for those of us who always wished grunge was more metal,” and in Lucie Sue’s native France, Rolling Stone said the music is “direct and powerful, it mixes modern and vintage influences without forgetting the musician’s signature style…”
A child of the MTV generation, Lucie escaped to the sounds of L7, Metallica and PJ Harvey after her cello lessons at the Lyon National Conservatory. An accomplished visual artist, she pivoted to music during the COVID lockdowns; her stylish, DIY releases quickly gaining a devout following via social media.
A 13-track album is due for release later in 2025, with European tour dates to be announced soon.
Oklahoma-based band Broncho present a new single, “I Swear,” off of Natural Pleasure, their first new album in six years, out April 25th. In conjunction, they announce a massive North American tour. Each track on Natural Pleasure is meticulously crafted, and today’s “I Swear” marries the sing-along energy of their 2014 breakout “Class Historian” with a downtempo, more mesmeric pulse. Its instantly addictive “da da da da da” refrain will feel like a homecoming for longtime fans. “I’ Swear’ had been running around in my head for years until I finally did something about it,” says Ryan Lindsey. “I always knew it would be on this record somehow.” The accompanying video was directed by the band and filmed in their hometown of Tulsa.
Broncho – Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums) – has always been synonymous with reinvention, and Natural Pleasure marks their boldest transformation yet. Since 2014, they’ve been at the forefront of indie innovation, finding fans in legends like Josh Homme, Jack White, and Hayley Williams. Their music has been featured in iconic shows like HBO’s Girls and FX’s Reservation Dogs. Despite national recognition, Tulsa remains their spiritual home, a city whose musical lineage—from Leon Russell and JJ Cale to The Flaming Lips—infuses every note they play.
Natural Pleasure, the long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Bad Behavior, is a kaleidoscopic dreamscape where lo-fi textures collide with psychedelic wonder. One of Broncho’s most defining features is Lindsey’s unmistakable vocal delivery—a phenomenon in its own right. His lyrics are often enigmatic, delivered in a way that feels like an instrument of pure emotion rather than straightforward storytelling. At first listen, it may be impossible to catch a single word, yet the emotional intensity he summons is undeniable. It’s a rare and uncanny ability—one that connects listeners to the music on a visceral level before the lyrics fully reveal themselves. It’s a testament to his singular artistry: instantly recognizable and deeply affecting.
Broncho’s live show is one not to miss. For over a decade, they’ve been selling out shows all across the world, from sweaty clubs to massive rooms while opening for bands like Queens of the Stone Age. They’ll play songs from Natural Pleasure, plus favorites from across their beloved discography. Tickets are on sale this Friday at 10am local time.
Broncho tour dates Sat. June 14 – Tulsa, OK @ Guthrie Green Tue. June 17 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater Wed. June 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge Thu. June 19 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club Fri. June 20 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Sat. June 21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl Sun. June 22 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Thu. June 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Fri. June 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco Sat. June 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Thu. July 17 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tannahill’s Music Hall Fri. July 18 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk Sat. July 19 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Sun. July 20 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s Tue. July 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Wed. July 23 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Thu. July 24 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage Fri. July 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas Sat. July 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Wed. Aug. 6 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar Thu. Aug. 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Fri. Aug. 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club Sat. Aug. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Sun. Aug. 10 – Detroit, MI @ The Shelter Tue. Aug. 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom Wed. Aug. 13 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue Thu. Aug. 14 – Nashville, TN @ TBA Fri. Aug. 15 – Lexington, KY @ The Burl Sat. Aug. 16 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
Ty Segall rides back in with his 16th album, Possession, to be released May 30th via Drag City, and with today’s announcement, releases the lead single, “Fantastic Tomb.” Following 2024’s Three Bells, Possession sees Ty on the hunt for new horizons, hitting the trail beneath the big skies of our frontier empire to take us on a high-octane narrative journey. A literary set of lyrics co-written by his longtime collaborator, filmmaker Matt Yoka, paint an abiding view of quintessentially American stories. All the while, there are invigorated new sounds around every bend – glittering rhythm arrangements feature more of Ty’s own piano woodshedding than ever, joined in battle by sweeping movements of strings and horns. Rife with singing guitar leads and banks of Ty’s vocal harmonies, Possession features some of Ty’s most inspired songs to date.
Tapping Yoka to write with him was one of the keys to this new music. As a non-musician, Yoka’s language sense is different from the one Ty’s amassed as a player of music. With the trust they’ve developed over the years — brainstorming the visual worlds of Goodbye Bread, Manipulator, Emotional Mugger, and music of Yoka’s Whirlybird documentary — they throw the conceptual ball back and forth to translate a general feeling or a vibe into wicked lyric imagery, each acting as writer and editor in the process. Be it de Toqueville, duBois, George H. Nash, Howard Zinn, Bob Dylan or Smile-era Beach Boys, Ty’s sharpened narrative approach and storytelling takes a page from everyone’s history.
Today’s single, “Fantastic Tomb,” is an epic story-song. Desperate for something he can hold onto, our hero takes a job hitting the house of “a man worth more than a country could make,” only to find the treasure hunt to be just another ride to nowhere. The song is a modern American noir-cum-classic rock hoedown, scored with Ty’s burnt-filament lead guitar and ingeniously sealed with Mikal Cronin’s saxophone section.
Possession is Ty Segall’s own bizarre traversing of the American landscape, taking back alleys through complicated cityscapes and singing about the end of the rope while resisting defeat — suggesting an ecstatic new empire to build as he cruises the countryside. Ty is currently on a solo acoustic tour throughout North America, with a full band fall tour commencing in October. Tickets are on sale now.
The Ophelias unveil a new single/video, “Salome,” off of Spring Grove, their new album produced by Julien Baker, out April 4th via Get Better Records. As first heard on lead single “Cumulonimbus,” a “bruiser of a ‘f*ck-you’ song” (AV Club), there are “zero songs about break-ups” on Spring Grove. Today’s teeth-gnashing “Salome” uses a Biblical story as a lens through which to view the experience of getting involved with an older man: “The knife // Swings heavy in // My hands // Maybe this was a mistake // I want your head on a platter.” It’s an album standout, emanating swagger through rousing guitar and precise, machine-like drumming. In the accompanying video, directed by the band’s Spencer Peppet and Jo Shaffer, shows the band wandering around a city to gather magic objects.
“‘Salome’ loosely follows the biblical story of (you guessed it) Salome, who danced for King Herod at his birthday celebration and was told she could ask for anything in return,” says Peppet. “She asked for the head of John the Baptist. While I personally have never facilitated someone’s beheading, I find the story and the way it has resonated with playwrights, filmmakers, and artists fascinating — a real depiction of ‘female biblical rage,’ as the TikTok girlies would say. The video is our campy camcorder take on that.”
While writing Spring Grove, old ghosts were popping up from Peppet’s past. She heard from people she hadn’t heard from in years, reached out to people she didn’t talk to anymore, and found herself dreaming vividly of ex-lovers, ex-friends, co-workers and acquaintances. At a similar time, she was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, which she says created “a hyper-awareness of the body, a sense of removal where I could see myself from outside.” As a result, the album’s lyrics abound with references to premonitions, future-telling, and prophetic dreams. It’s a luminous document of facing the visages that haunt us, whether those of others or our own. Across thirteen tracks that alternately rage and soothe, Spring Grove picks at the nuanced textures of relationships and the multifaceted nature of personhood, smashing through the infinite refractions of the self to find clarity and new perspectives. The lyrics abound with references to premonitions, future-telling, and prophetic dreams.
While The Ophelias – Spencer Peppet (vocals/guitar, she/her), Mic Adams (drums, he/him), Andrea Gutmann Fuentes (violin, she/her), and Jo Shaffer (bass, they/she) – began as an “all-girl” band, they have since shed the reductive mantle of that label. With one queer and two trans members, these four individuals have collectively explored a vast terrain of womanhood, dancing around the center of that identity and what it means to move through the world. To that end, Spring Grove is primed to tackle a wide array of relationship dynamics, emotional negotiations, and power imbalances. There’s a simultaneous intensity and delicacy in its dynamics, and it’s a marked evolution in The Ophelias’ sound and storytelling.
The Ophelias Tour Dates Fri. April 4 – Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy Sat. April 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Broadway – record release show Sun. April 6 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java Tue. April 8 – Boston, MA @ The Rockwell Wed. April 9 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room Sat. May 10 – Lansing, MI @ Stoopfest Sun. May 11 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G Tue. May 13 – Montréal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo Wed. May 14 – Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
Keep your mind open.
[Dance over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
Two decades as one-half of the garage psych-pop duo Crocodiles confined San Diegan musician Brandon Welchez to the mid-fi n’ melodic end of the sonic spectrum, but his new project, Psychic Pigs, shows a different side with how the raw n’ bleeding hardcore punk and power pop bands on the Killed By Death compilations influenced his work just as much as The Jesus and Mary Chain has. Psychic Pigs certainly has a certain Robert Louis Stevenson novella angle to Welchez’s career, but the unhinged nature of the songwriting boils down to Welchez not sticking to his comfort zone.
Psychic Pigs was born from Welchez writing music he knew was too discordant for Crocodile’s poppy sound. Recorded in April 2024 over four days while in London with Jonah Falco (Fucked Up, Career Suicide) handling the production helm and the drum kit, the project went Stateside with the goal mind of forming a band that could replicate the aggressive live sound captured on the recordings. Connections throughout the years proved fruitful as the live band rounds out with Fake Fruits, Surfbort, and Choir Boy members. The march of the Pigs begins this month in downtown Los Angeles on March 19th as they make their live debut at The Escondite with their record release show held at Permanent Records Roadhouse in late May. More dates are to come.
