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Review: Lauren Lakis – Deadlights

There’s a strange thing that happens when you go through a heavy grief process. Sure, you have all the agony, regret, emptiness, and at least brief moments of madness, but sometimes, after the dust settles a bit, you also have a moment when you realize you can, will, and must continue your journey. It’s an empowering, powerful flash of insight that can zip past you if you’re not careful. You have to grab it when it arrives. It might not return.

Lauren Lakis grabbed it while making her excellent new record Deadlights. She’d already lost friends and family to addictions as she grew up the kid of a single mom in Baltimore. She turned to music and film to make sense of it all, joined some bands, and went around the world. While singing in one of those bands, she went through a bad breakup and then learned her mother had been in a car accident that left her paralyzed.

That’s a lot to carry and channel, and she faces the challenge head-on with “There” opening the album with shoegaze guitars and her voice rising above the dissonance. “Heaven Felt Too High” roars with heavy bass grooves that would make Greg Edwards proud.

“I Fall Apart” has Lakis acknowledging the tough parts of grief, but also how she can keep moving (“I won’t let you down. I won’t turn back and around.”). The bass on “The Other Side” hits as hard as anything Kris Novoselic ever dreamed up and probably starts a mosh pit whenever Lakis plays this song live. She makes some Zen allusions on “It’s So Amazing” in which she sings about being in the here and now.

The title track buzzes like your head after you’ve endured a heavy loss. It’s quiet and yet deafening. “No One’s Around Now” reminds me of advice one of my best friends gave me a couple days before my late wife’s funeral: “You’re going to be surrounded by people who love you…and then they’re all going to go home.” It’s true. Eventually, no one is around to help. You have to do it yourself. Lakis knows this and accepts the challenge. What else can you do?

“Love Like a Dog” is a contender the saddest song on the album. The guitar tones let you know it’s going to be rough sailing for a bit, but there is sun on the horizon. “I Want You Here” probably takes the “saddest song” title, and the drone-like bass and melted guitar chords emphasize the loneliness in the lyrics. Ending with “With That Body,” the album drifts away on almost a dream-psych note. The guitars wind around you like a desert wind and the synth bass and drums nearly pull you into a trance.

Deadlights hypnotizes throughout its length. Its a solid record and one that you’ll revisit a lot during late night drives and gray days.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Daniel at RidingEasy Records.]

Review: Automatic – Is It Now?

I love how the title of Automatic‘s newest album Is It Now? can be pronounced multiple ways to create multiple meanings, which I think was the point when they named it. It’s open for interpretation. Is it pronounced Is It Now? or Is It Now? or Is It Now? I think it might be all three.

Halle Saxon‘s funky bass on “Black Box” opens the album with synth player / lead vocalist Izzy Glaudini singing about the frustration of fighting a losing battle, be it in a relationship or the world at large. “MQ9” reveals their love of Devo and krautrock. Drummer Lola Dompé (who has since quit the band) puts down some of her best cyborg beats on the whole record here.

“Don’t sleep your life away,” Glaudini urges on the ultra-cool / sexy hot “Mercury” – a song about not finding excuses for your bad choices. On the next track, “Lazy,” she proclaims, “The thing you thought you wanted was just the image of control.” That’s some Zen right there.

I love how “Country Song,” a song about getting out of the city and embracing a quieter life, is pretty much a city pop song. Glaudini’s bright synths, Saxon’s happy bass, and Dompé’s dance drums put the song in a city club while Glaudini sings about embracing nature. The title track brings OMD and early New Order to mind with its fast beats, grumpy badger bass, and fuzzy synths. Also, the title track doesn’t give any indication on the “proper” way to pronounce the album and song’s title, which is a fun move by them.

“People are polite and frightening,” Glaudini notes on “Don’t Wanna Dance.” She’s stuck in a loud, bright club and would rather avoid the crowd and hang out on the back steps. “Smog Summer” has the band reluctantly returning to city life (“I’ll miss the rain. I’ll miss the moose. I’ll miss the sweet wind whispering tunes.”) as a thick bass riff from Saxon leads the way. It and the following track, “The Prize,” have heavy environmental themes. “Smog Summer” talks about wanton destruction of natural environments, while “The Prize” snarls at the lust for oil and how it ruins everything around it (“You’re gonna learn what the cost to the future means.”).

“Playboi” is a warning to women on the verge of a toxic relationship (“The little boy is losing his head. A malcontent that you’ll never fix. You better run, you better be quick.”). The three of them making this track one of the sultriest on the record is a great in-joke.

The closing track, “Terminal,” is sung in Arabic, with the main (only?) lyrics being “Enough is enough. The coffee boils and the fire doesn’t go out.” It’s almost a drum and bass track and ends the album with an energy boost to inspire us to do something now.

Perhaps that’s the key to the album’s title. Automatic is asking us “Are you going to do something now? How many more red flags do you need?” Now is it, because now is all we have.

Keep your mind open.

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Austin Psych Fest 2026 – Day Three recap

The final day of the 2026 Austin Psych Fest was the most humid of the three, and easily the most soulful. The festival bumped up all the sets by an hour, presumably to avoid the thunderstorms predicted to roll in around 10pm that night just as the final set was about to end.

As a result, I wasn’t able to get in a disco nap before the festival and trotted my slightly sunburned body to the Far Out Lounge just in time to catch Night Beats play a solid set of psychedelic, fuzzy soul rock. It had been a few years since I’d seen them, and they haven’t lost a step. They still deliver the goods.

Up next were the funky Dumbo Gets Mad, who had everyone happily dancing in the hot sun without a care. Finding shade is a skill at this festival. You have to claim spots early or rely on the charity of others to squeeze you into a shady space. The occasional breeze elicited happy sighs from the crowds, and it kept hitting at good times during DGM’s set to make dancing all the easier.

A big crowd had assembled for La Lom, who hit the first note exactly at the start of their set time. The Los Angeles trio played a fun set of instrumental cumbia, rockabilly, and border rock. Everyone was smiling during this set. Couples were dancing and making out. People were cheering their ancestry as La Lom announced the origin of several tracks (“We’re going to play a song from Columbia!”, “This is an old one from Mexico!”).

Trish Toledo was the next artist on the bill, bringing her Latina soul siren vocals to the second stage with her killer backing band. She started with her version of Diana Ross’ “Bad Girls” and proceeded to win and break hearts from there. Everyone was spellbound by the end.

Trish Toledo wrapping everyone around her fingers.

The night, and the festival, ended with the big sounds of Thee Sacred Souls. Much like La Lom and Ms. Toledo’s sets, everyone was buzzing and happy during it. The heat and sun didn’t matter (“It’s like being in a club at 3am,” said lead singer Josh Lane). People all around me were dancing, cheering, smooching, and loving the opportunity to go out with dance grooves to carry them home.

The thunderstorms hit almost an hour later, preventing me from getting to the late night show downtown. That was a bummer, but overall it was a good time and, as always, an excellent blend of genres and bands from all over the map.

And now, my random Festival Awards!

Best set: The Flaming Lips. The sound engineering was top-notch and it was a fun set list. On a personal note, they were one of my late wife’s favorite bands and they played the night before our 29th wedding anniversary, so that was special. I got choked up during “The Golden Path.”

Heaviest set: The Black Angels. Good heavens, the modern versions of the songs from Passover somehow have even more fuzz and weight on them.

Shame on You if You Missed It set: Almost Heaven. They were the second set on the first day and put on a sharp, post-punky / electro-funky set that had a lot of people buzzing by the end of it and wearing their new band shirts over the next two days.

Wildest set: J’cuuzi. Absolutely bonkers and a ton of fun. Crazy costumes, exotic dancers, glam-punk riffs, a spinning chair substituting for a stripper’s pole, and more stuff I’ve forgotten were all crammed into it. They opened the festival and set a high bar for everyone to follow.

Loveliest set: Trish Toledo. This was like a cool breeze refreshing you after a long day. The soul ballads and psychedelic funk sounds were a great addition to the festival. This was another set you’ll kick yourself for missing if you weren’t there.

Sweatiest set: Night Beats. Lead singer and guitarist Danny Lee Blackwell’s shirt was soaked enough for him to win a wet t-shirt contest by the end of this. The fuzzy, guitar-roar sounds were sweaty, too. Everyone in the crowd was sweating, at least a bit dehydrated, and yet ready for more by the end.

Happiest set: La Lom. Everyone was dancing and smiling the whole time, including the band. The back-and-forth cheering between La Lom and the crowd reflected how everyone was participating in a big party and not caring about the humidity.

Most Happy to Be There set: New Candys. I didn’t get to see every band at the festival, but of all the ones I did see, the Venetian trio seemed to be the happiest to be there and hanging out with the rowdy crowd and a bit surprised at how many people came to see them.

Trippiest set: Holy Wave. These guys do psych-rock very well and are local favorites. I usually see them in dark venues or at night, but the afternoon sun only seemed to make them sound brighter and dreamier.

Most Shredding in a Set: Ty Segall. There were a few times in his raucous set that he just unloaded a crate full of mega-riffs. How a mosh pit didn’t break out during this is beyond me. It must have been the heat.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cheyenne Doerr for the press credentials and support.]

Austin Psych Fest 2026 – Day Two recap

I heard the thunder rumbling as I started the walk to the Far Out Lounge for the second day of Austin Psych Fest. I got about three blocks when the rain started. My phone’s weather app said it was just an isolated storm that would soon pass. I put on the raincoat I’d packed and continued walking…

…into a full-on thunderstorm complete with flash flooding and rain hitting so hard that at one point I thought it was hail. I later learned there were funnel clouds in the area at the time. I sloshed my way back to the Air BNB place I was sleeping in for the weekend, wrung out my socks, and waited out the storm for at least another hour before making the trip in the now sunny, jungle-humid afternoon.

APF had been delayed for those two hours due to a couple lightning strikes. As a result, the first four bands of the day – Commercial Breaks, Strange Lot, The Dead Canyon Family Reunion, and Grocery Bag – ended up with canceled sets. Annabelle Chairlegs barely managed to squeeze in their set when the festival finally opened.

So, first on the bill for me was Ty Segall. I hadn’t seen him since the (unknown to everyone at the time) final Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2021. As one photographer in front of me said before the set, “You never know what you’re going to get with Ty.” That’s true. You could get a lot of shredding, acoustic ballads, or even electro-infused dance rock. For APF 2026, Segall and his band brought the rock.

Ty Segall and crew bringing another kind of thunder.

It was a fun set from him, and a ripper of a way to start my festival day. He included at least two new tracks which sound great. The set had a heavy 1970s garage rock sound to it, and I’m surprised mosh pits didn’t erupt throughout it.

Segall’s set was followed by a double-bill of psychedelia. Up first were world travelers Al Qasar who had everyone dancing and grooving with their neat mix of Dutch, Brazilian, Arabic, Jamaican, and several other nations’ sounds. They even ended with a wild reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.”

Then, Melody’s Echo Chamber performed to a big crowd who fully embraced their mind-bending sound and light show. I saw a lot of, ahem, blissed-out people during their set having a great time.

Is it a jellyfish? A butterfly? A jellyfly? A butterfish? That edible kicking in?

Many of us zipped over to the smaller stage to catch New Candys’ set. The Italian trio (No longer a quartet?) roared for the whole performance, knocking out heavy riffs, shoegaze fuzz, and slapping beats. “Damn, those guys are really good,” said a guy behind me once they’d finished. He was right.

The day ended with our hosts, The Black Angels, performing their Passover album in its entirety as well as other tracks (including at least one new song). The crowd was packed for them. One group in front of me had some weird fire dance circle going with a couple lighters being waved near the ground. The Black Angels are currently touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Passover, so don’t miss them. It’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of deep cuts.

Don’t pass over a Black Angels show! See what I did there?

Up next: Latin psychobilly surf rock, psychedelic cumbia, and a lot of soul!

Keep your mind open.

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Austin Psych Fest 2026 – Day One recap

I hadn’t been to Austin Psych Fest in several years. Mind you, I’d been to Levitation festivals multiple times, and on two continents, but I hadn’t been to APF since the Reverberation Appreciation Society brought it back after “APF” had been changed to “Levitation” and moved to the fall. APF returned to the Far Out Lounge in Austin a few years ago for the RAS’ spring festival, and this was the first chance I had to make the trip.

Austin’s own J’cuuzi were the first band on the bill and the first I wanted to see. They set a high bar to meet for everyone to follow, complete with dancers, t-shirt tosses, a somewhat famous spinning chair, a Capri Sun costume, bubble guns, and so much dance-punk / art-punk / glam-punk / drag-punk / I-don’t-know-what-the-hell-is-happening-punk that you could barely take all of it in during their set and left you feeling a bit post-orgasmic and somewhat baffled afterwards.

L-R: Durs, Gorge Bones, Trey Razeldazl. Oddly enough, this was one of the calmer moments of J’cuuzi’s set.

Next up were another local group, Almost Heaven. The electro-duo were celebrating the release of their first EP, Raw Cranium, and immediately commanded the stage upon the first note. The whole set was bumping, with solid, wicked beats from Jaelyn Valero and vocals from Stefan Barazza that reminded me of everything from The Cramps to Roxy Music.

Almost Heaven getting us pretty close to there, really.

Within moments of their set ending, you heard this loud wall of sound coming from the other direction. That turned out to be shoegaze rockers Glare blasting us with multiple guitars and echoing vocals. It was a change in tone for the festival up to this point, and not a bad one at all. Sometimes you need a ton of reverb and fuzz to keep you going for the coming hours.

Not long after that, we dove into psychedelic waters (It is a psych fest, after all.) with Holy Wave. I’ve been a fan for a while, so it was good to see them again after a few years. As usual, they put on a good set of psych-rock that ranged from dreamy to heavy. I bumped into The Black Angels’ Alex Maas later and he described their sound as “like opening a scroll.” Accurate.

I needed a break by this point, so it was off to Torchy’s Tacos across the street for some much-needed grilled chicken nachos. They were delicious, as was the Cubs working their way to a win over the Rangers at the time. I got back in time to see a big crowd had gathered for Diiv and their trippy set of shoegaze rock that mixed in weird short films of corporate presentations and public domain footage. It reminded me of Devo’s corporate anthem stuff.

The night ended with a fun set from The Flaming Lips. The crowd was happy to have them back and they seemed delighted to be there. Confetti and balloons rained down on us for several songs, with “Turn It On” and “The Golden Path” being big highlights for me, as well as their encore of “War Pigs.” Everyone was exhausted but elated by the end.

A typical day for Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips.

The festival is off to a fun, sweaty start. Up next, more local talent, a guy I haven’t seen live for many years, Italian shoegaze, a twentieth anniversary show, and more!

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Dry Cleaning and YHWH Nailgun – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL – April 30, 2026

I got to chat with Dry Cleaning’s drummer, Nick Buxton, a bit at Chicago’s Thalia Hall before their set. He told me they love playing in the U.S. and especially in Chicago. Guitarist Tom Dowse mentioned during their set that the Chicago show was the fastest one to sell out for their current U.S. tour. It was thus an enthusiastic crowd for them.

First up were post-punkers YHWH Nailgun. At least, I think they’re post-punkers. They’re difficult to describe and also fascinating to watch. Sparse guitar arrangements from Saguiv Rosenstock that sound like synthesizers, synthesizers from Jack Tobias that sound like bass, acoustic drums from Sam Pickard that sound electric, and vocals from Zack Borzone that sound like chants and sometimes beatboxing. Their set was frenetic, weird, and had everyone intrigued for the entire half-hour they played.

Tobias at far right making a bold choice to wear a Detroit Lions jacket in Bears territory.

Dry Cleaning came out to a loud welcome and got down to business with “Sliced by a Fingernail” and the whole band sounded great from the start. “Blood” was the first song they played from their newest album, Secret Love, and they ended up playing the entire record interspersed with some of their (by now) classics.

“Gary Ashby” was the first of those other tracks, and I’m surprised that fans aren’t showing up in turtle costumes to Dry Cleaning shows by this point. The song is a fan-favorite and is about a lost turtle, after all. The place went nuts for “Scratchcard Lanyard.” “Don’t Press Me” was a solid cut from Secret Love that had everyone agreeing with Florence Shaw.

Lewis Maynard was practically throwing down metal riffs by this point, and Buxton’s drumming was top-notch for the whole set. My favorite part of the show was their stretched-out, psyched-out version of “Conversation” (all the way back to their first EP – Sweet Princess) that ended the main set. It was great to hear them trying a new spin on it.

They closed the show with the funky “Hit My Head All Day,” which had the whole crowd grooving. It’s easy to overlook how good this band is at times, as it’s easy (and fun) to get lost in the stories and mysteries of Shaw’s lyrics. Hearing them live gives you a new appreciation for them. Get your tickets before their next show sells out.

Keep your mind open.

Thanks to the kind gent who let me snap a photograph of this.

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[Thanks to Matt for the press credentials!]

Rewind Review: New Candys – Vyvyd (2021)

Back in 2021, we were just coming out of a catastrophe that shut down the entire world. Everyone was euphoric from being able to get outside and see each other again. We’d seen how gorgeous the Earth is when we all pause and stop screwing with it. Rivers cleared, smog abated, dolphins swam in Venetian canals. We were given a vivid reminder of how vivid the world is.

New Candys are from Venice. Those dolphins might have swam right by their apartment building for all I know. They saw the change in the city, and the world from the pandemic. The clear waters and skies, and all of what had happened and what we lost before, during, and (they saw it coming) after them sureley inspired Vyvyd.

The album starts off with a killer bass line from Alessandro Boschiero on the track “Twin Mime” (a song about suppressed rage and desires finding companionship in them). Fernando Nuti‘s vocals are layered with echo effects, making him sound both present and distant at the same time. “Zyko” is a play on “psycho” and has a bit of grunge guitar flavor from Andrea Volpato. The title “Factice” might be a play on “practice” or “fact is” or “fuck this.” I doubt it has to do with rubberized oil (a “factice” arises from mixing oils with sulphur), but I’m willing to believe it could be a reference to display perfume bottles (“factices”) that are filled with colored water. I’m leaning toward “fact is” or “fuck this” with Nuti’s lyrics of feeling trapped (“We look so sick, I’m gonna lose my mind…Need to get out of here, somewhere to go far from my mind.”) and the lack of accountability by so many (“Are you forgiving what went wrong? I keep forgetting what we want.”).

Volpato’s guitar on “Begin Again” is beautiful and haunting. “Evil Evil” is fuzzy, frantic, fierce garage-psych with blasting guitar work from Nuti and Volpato and a driving, almost relentless beat from Dario Lucchesi. “Vyvyan Rising” has a great sound and feel to it across the whole track and, I think, is about Nuti questioning his faith (“All that I wanna know, are you speaking the truth? When everything around is getting so bright but ends up not being pure white.”).

“Helluva Zoo” slows things down just a touch, adding acoustic guitars to their soundscape. “The Clockmaker” has Nuti musing on how time gets away from us and how precious it is (“I feel lost since I have no memory. We should spend the time ahead as one being.”). The use of a ticking clock sound in this track is a great touch, as loud as a cowbell beat at the right time. “Q&K” stands for “Queen & King” and is about two people trying to find some kind of equilibrium, an allegory for the entire world in 2020 (“Are we alone together?”). The closing track, “Snake Eat Snake,” is about the desire to retreat within, which can eventually lead to a never-ending, meaningless introspection if you’re not careful.

Vyvyd was made during a weird time for weird times (which have only kept coming). Hearing it in 2026 still feels relevant. New Candys are still evoking vivid sounds and memories, and are currently on tour (soon to be at the 2026 Austin Psych Fest, among many other shows).

Keep your mind open.

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Yard Act announces 2026 tour dates.

Leeds quartet Yard Act announce a summer North American tour including stops throughout the West Coast, East Coast and Canada. This marks the band’s first North American run since 2024. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 24th at 10am local time and will be available here. Yard Act will also make several festival appearances across Europe in June and embark on an extensive UK and EU tour in the fall.

Watch Tour Announce Video

Since 2020, Yard Act – frontman and vocalist James Smith, bassist Ryan Needham, guitarist Sam Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell – have become one of the great indie success stories of the decade so far. They’ve ticked off milestones ranging from a number two UK chart placement and Mercury Prize nomination for The Overload, to a co-sign from Elton John who joined the band to guest on a string-laden reworking of album closer “100% Endurance,” to multiple UK and US television appearances and beyond. Billboard described their last album, 2024’s Where’s My Utopia?, as “an uplifting and sometimes frenetic mix of trip-hop, dub, bass-and-drum indie rock, electronica, strings and sax punctuated by Smith’s mellifluous speak-singing,” while Under The Radar hailed it’s “an album that overflows, both in excess and excellence.”

Yard Act Tour Dates:
(New Dates in Bold)
Wed. June 3 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Thu. June 11 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound Porto
Thu. June 11 – Hradec Králové, CZ @ Rock for People
Sun. June 14 – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret
Thu. July 2 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
Wed. Aug. 5 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Thu. Aug. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Aug. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
Sun. Aug. 9 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Mon. Aug. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Tue. Aug. 11 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
Thu. Aug. 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Fri. Aug. 14 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Sat. Aug. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sun. Aug. 16 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Oct. 1 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
Fri. Oct. 2 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
Sat. Oct. 3 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
Mon. Oct. 5 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria-Theater
Wed. Oct. 7 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Thu. Oct. 8 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
Fri. Oct. 9 – Stockholm, SE @ Kägelbanan
Sat. Oct. 10 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA
Mon. Oct. 12 – Warsaw, PL @ NIEBO
Tue. Oct. 13 – Prague, CZ @ MeetFactory
Wed. Oct. 14 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Fri. Oct. 16 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
Sat. Oct. 17 – Milan, IT @ Magazzini Generali
Sun. Oct. 18 – Toulouse, FR @ La Cabane
Tue. Oct. 20 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
Wed. Oct. 21 – Madrid, ES @ Teatro Eslava
Fri. Oct. 23 – Lisbon, PT @ Cineteatro Capitólio
Fri. Nov. 6 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds
Fri. Nov. 13 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
Thu. Nov. 26 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Matt at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Dead Pioneers declare “No Kings” with their newest single.

Following their packed-out first EU and UK headline tour last month, Dead Pioneers, the Indigenous fronted band from Denver, are now preparing to unleash their third album, Wagon Burner, set for release June 26th via Hassle Records. Succeeding the album’s first statement with initial single “Nazi Teeth,” a powerful attack on the upsurge of the far right and white supremacists, Dead Pioneers are back with a second single, “No Kings,” that delivers an equally powerful punch to right wing politics.

“Last summer there were protests all over the United States called ‘No Kings’, in opposition of the current administration, the policies they’ve been implementing, and the rights they’ve been taking away from citizens,” explains frontman Gregg Deal. “While the issues are obvious, it’s important that we all say it out loud. It’s important that we show up and make our opinions known, that we won’t allow our inherent rights to be trampled upon for the benefit of the Epstein Class. Not unlike ‘Nazi Teeth’, ‘No Kings’ is meant to bring the points home,” he continues. “ICE, rights being taken away, mass shootings, greed over life, demonizing immigrants, black, brown and queer people, widened economic gaps by the Epstein class, and the sincere frustration Americans feel over this. While this is happening, we realize that the right-wing politics coming out of the United States is emboldening conservative right-wing politics all over the world. We are against dictators, authoritarian regimes, Nazis, fascism or any other power structure, political, social or otherwise that seek to take away the rights, freedoms or lives of human beings trying to live their life. To that, we keep it simple: NO KINGS.”

Dead Pioneers is rooted in a 2020 piece called The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy, a deeply personal work that dealt with Deal’s upbringing. Following an embryonic performance of the piece, Deal secured a grant to expand it to include music created especially for the work. “The idea was to mix spoken word with punk music,” explains Deal, who hooked up with drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Joshua Rivers during lockdown and began kicking the concept around.

A miraculous, natural chemistry made this supposed one-off project an actual band almost as soon as they cut what became their 2023 eponymous debut album (“We approached it like I approach my visual art: execute quickly, first thought is best thought,” Deal says), but they didn’t necessarily take it seriously until, unexpectedly, the outside world did. “I was like, we’ve made this record – what should I do with it? Put it online?” Deal remembers. The response was vigorously positive and soon came demands to commit this noise to vinyl. A first thousand-copy pressing sold out in minutes. “So, then we pressed another thousand,” he adds, still marvelling at it all. “And then they were gone, too.”

What followed was “a series of strange accidents” that led to the group signing to Hassle, befriending Jello Biafra and touring with kindred spirits like Pennywise, Propaghandi, even Pearl Jam. “Punk-rock had made everything seem so accessible when I was a kid,” says Deal. “Like, simply having the balls to get up on stage and stage dive and then be carried off by people that become your best friends once they get your feet back on the ground.” Now, punk-rock was reaching out its hands to Dead Pioneers and pulling them onto larger and larger stages. The group returned that favour by simply getting better and better: their second album, 2025’s PO$T AMERICAN, was sharper, angrier, funnier than the debut, a riot riveted with punch-a-Nazi thrills.

And now, Wagon Burner, their fearsome third album. Described by Deal as “more collaborative”, it’s a heavier, harder but also more accessible set, vicious hooks scattered among the punk-rock melee and guest appearances by kindred spirits Cheap Perfume (on the righteous “Nazi Teeth”), The Interrupters (on the shout-a-long anthem “Never Alone”) and, bringing it back to the group’s beginnings, Sleaford Mods (on the searing slow-burn of “The Worst Among Us”). The world might be darkening by the day, but Dead Pioneers are rising to that miserable occasion, casting their empowering light into the gloom.

Follow Dead Pioneers here. Pre-order ‘Wagon Burner’ coming out June 26 via Hassle Records here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dan from Discipline PR.]

Lowsunday’s new single “This Is Not Heaven” descends with a roar.

Legacy postpunk-shoegaze outfit Lowsunday unveils ‘This Is Not Heaven’, the first taste of their forthcoming ‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine – Black EP’, forthcoming via Projekt Records, the video for which was produced by Jer Herring.

This is the second of two ‘duality’ releases, presenting the band’s first new material since 1999, following their ‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP’. Showcased by ‘Love Language’, ‘Soft Capture’ and the latest single ‘Nevver’, the ‘White EP’ ranked second among Post-Punk.com’s Best EPs of 2025.

Formed in the mid-1990s in Pittsburgh, Lowsunday (initially known as Low Sunday Ghost Machine) emerged as a “retro-futurist” pioneer, blending darkwave and shoegaze long before the genres saw their modern revival. Their legacy was cemented with their debut album ‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine’ and the 1999 masterpiece ‘Elesgiem’, both of which were re-released via Projekt Records over the past 18 months (for their 30th and 25th anniversaries, respectively).

The band dissolved, leaving behind a cult reputation for mercurial sounds and blistering guitar work that set the stage for subsequent generations of alternative artists. Following a nearly 25-year period of inactivity, the band resurfaced as a duo in 2025—consisting of original members Shane Sahene (vocals, guitar, synth, bass, drums) and Bobby Spell (bass, guitar, drums).

“‘This is Not Heaven’ was the last song we recorded for the Black EP. We really enjoyed injecting the heavy synths on the chorus, the asymmetrical guitar leads and the driving bass line beneath an intricate and melodic rhythm guitar,” says Shane Sahene.

“We felt this song captured everything we are about in that it hits the refrains with a shoegaze atmosphere, more electronic choruses and lyrical transparency, much less vague than many of our songs… it touches on many aspects of our sound.”

Bobby Spell adds, “This was another really enjoyable song to write. The guitar textures and melody lines create a dark song with uplifting sections. The mood shifts in the choruses giving a feeling of brightness or a way out of melancholy”.

Crafting a sound defined by atmosphere, precision, and heartfelt shadow and depths since 1994, Lowsunday is now asserting their presence with a new force. While the ‘White EP’ explored light and texture, the ‘Black EP’ is ultimately the 2026 series’ darker counterpart and definitive statement.

Plunged into shadow and intensity with layered guitars, tight rhythms, and austere synths amplifying themes of isolation, reverie and introspection, the ‘Black EP’ distills Lowsunday’s vision into a sharper, more potent form — a bold declaration of their enduring artistic power.

‘This Is Not Heaven’ is available from digital platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. The ‘Low Sunday Ghost Machine – Black EP’ will be released on May 15th digitally. The ‘White EP’ is available now via Bandcamp and the Projekt Recordswebsite – the vinyl edition of both EPs are limited to 200 copies. The two anniversary reissue albums, as well as the limited edition 7″ of ‘Static / Besides’, can also be found on these platforms.

Keep your mind open.

[It would be heavenly if you subscribed.]

[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]