Post-punk – Page 3 – 7th Level Music

Review: Model / Actriz – Pirouette

I didn’t know much about Model / Actriz before seeing them at the 2025 Levitation Music Festival, but I was instantly hooked by their frenetic, passionate live performance and their wild post-punk / electro-disco sound. I immediately bopped over to their merch booth after their set to buy their newest full-length album Pirouette.

“Vespers” opens the album. Vespers, in case you’re unaware, are prayers usually conducted at the end of a day for reflection of that day’s events (and your role and God’s role in them) and typically said before an evening mass. It is coincidence that Pirouette‘s cover appears to be an ornate gate – perhaps opening to a sacred place? Vocalist Cole Haden sings, here and elsewhere on the album, about his reconciliation with his faith growing up (“It’s all the days I carved in crimson streaks.”) and his embracing of his sexuality (“God gave me poise enough for the sharing. Claim that look, match that speed, claim that room.”)/.

On “Cinderella,” Jack Wetmore‘s guitar almost sets off a panic while Ruben Radlauer‘s acoustic and electric drums hit with wild disco abandon and Haden tells a tale of finding his true self. “Poppies” contains a central theme to the album in its lyrics: “As flesh is made in marble, as marble captures softness, as softness holds a violence within a pure expression.” The first two parts of that quote appear in large script in the middle of the liner notes.

Aaron Shapiro‘s bass on “Diva” will rumble your seat, while Haden’s whispered vocals on “Headlights” will make you sit still and pay attention. “Acid Rain” has Haden admiring the speed, grace, and weightlessness of hummingbirds and wondering if he could emulate them and leave behind cares and dwell in beauty all day. The heavy beats of “Departures” and “Audience” rush back and forth between dark house, krautrock, and industrial.

Speaking of industrial tracks, you can’t get much more machine-heavy than “Ring Road,” which is about being willing to spin a car into a whirlwind so you can forget everything and just be in one place for a little while. “Doves” seems to be another spiritual metaphor (The Holy Spirit coming down like a dove onto Christ? Haden embracing how the Creator made him?) and yet another track you’ll blast late nights on empty roads.

“Baton” closes the album. A baton can be something you pass on to the person ahead of you in the race, and Haden musing over the man he’s become and how “it can feel strange knowing I’ve been a person.” Leaving behind one life and embracing another can be intimidating to say the least, but Model / Actriz’s combined talents build the song into brightness in the second half, fading us out on a hopeful note.

It’s a sharp record from a band currently taking the world by storm. Like its title, it can make you spin with wild speed or subtle grace.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Joanna – Hello Flower

Picture this: You’re a young band (your drummer alone is just fifteen years old) from the Manchester area of England and you’ve built so much buzz that people are comparing you to the next Stone Roses. You have a strong number of ardent fans and soon labels start calling. You cut an album, but the record deal never materializes and your album ends up going unreleased…

…for thirty-five years. That’s the short story behind Joanna‘s long-lost and now-unearthed Hello Flower album that has finally seen release after being found on a shelf in a Manchester apartment. It’s a crime no one picked this up earlier, because Joanna would’ve been as big as the Stone Roses and Oasis if they had.

The simple yet groovy drum beat by Carl Alty on “If You Don’t Want Me To” gets the album off to a great start, and Terry Lloyd‘s thick, syrupy, and funky bass on “Bandit Country” grabs your attention and won’t let go for the next four minutes. “Hey Presto” has vocalist Neil Holliday singing about either a lover or, more likely, his favorite party drug (“You’re my magic pill, and you’re all I need. I just take you at will to keep me on my feet.”). The sound is, appropriately, a bit trippy.

“Weather Vane” has disco touches (check out Tyrone Holt‘s guitar licks!), which I love. Holt’s psychedelic guitar sounds are bright and buzzy on “Mr. Sunshine.” The title track is pure 1990s Manchester rock with its hooky guitars, sizzling drum beats, and slightly snarled vocals. “It’s Worth a Try” is in the heavier end of that sound, almost striding into shoegaze territory as the guitar distortion gets louder and Holliday’s vocals get a bit more distant. The closer, “Gardeners’ World,” is a hard smackdown of people sneering at and tearing each other down from both sides of the political aisle while ignoring the beams of wood in their eyes. Holliday sings, “…don’t throw your stones…There’s weeds in your garden.” to both the left and right (and himself). This song is more relevant than ever as we see people tearing each other apart, verbally and physically, while ignoring that they’re all truly worried about the same things and forgetting about rich elitists playing both sides against each other. Joanna saw all this coming in the 1990s.

Again, it’s stunning that no one offered a record deal for an album this good. Joanna did a sold out show for its overdue release. We can only hope for a tour or maybe another record. They deserve it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Modern Woman announces debut album due May 01, 2026 with its first single – “Dashboard Mary.”

Modern Woman — the London art-rock band fronted by primary songwriter Sophie Harris — announce their debut album, Johnny’s Dreamworld, out May 1st via their new label One Little Independent Records, and release the lead single/video, “Dashboard Mary.” Johnny’s Dreamworld represents the culmination of Modern Woman’s journey from Harris’ early, intimate songwriting project into a full-bodied band capable of folding post-punk, avant-garde, and folk traditions into a live force of dynamic originality. At its heart, the record explores the strange poetry buried within the ordinary. Harris’ lyrics, steeped in literary detail and filmic atmosphere, draw from a fascination with the dark underbelly of the everyday and the contradictions of womanhood.

Harris explains, “A vital theme I’ve always wanted in Modern Woman is the idea of conflicting things, of the tender/harsh, loud/quiet and scrappy/polished. The style of everybody’s playing, drawing from a melting pot of influences, coming together to form something new.” This interplay defines the album’s sound, delicate one moment, raw and untamed the next. Layers of violin and saxophone stretch across a foundation of propulsive drums and bass, creating something equally methodical and volatile. Harris’ lyrics remain rooted in the female experience; “I find it interesting to explore the rawer side of femininity that is often hidden; girlhood relationships and the complexities of female fixation and obsession.”

Modern Woman’s sound emerged from years of creative refinement. The band coalesced when Harris met violinist and composer David Denyer, who brought a background in experimental composition and textural sound work. Joined by Juan Brint-Gutiérrez on bass and saxophone and Adam Blackhurst on drums, the group forged a style that values the contrasting harsh edges of folk lyricism and noise that collides with melody. Working with producer Joel Burton (Naima Bock, Katy J Pearson, Vanishing Twin), they found a live immediacy that channels the raw intensity of their performances into a sound that is both rich and unpredictable.

Johnny’s Dreamworld is a tender but confrontational collage of shifting tones and perspectives, of dream logic, fantasy, and lived experiences, as on today’s single, “Dashboard Mary.” Guided by Harris’ voice—expressive, incantatory, and shaped by a long-standing admiration for vocalists like Björk, Sinéad O’Connor and Cat Power—the track captures the comedown following a feeling of escape, a gradually unfolding narrative that builds towards a rapturous climax. “This is a song that I wanted to write like a film. I wanted to confront the feeling of the ‘morning after’ and the decisions made during that time of exhilaration the night before,” Harris comments.

Stream “Dashboard Mary”

Since their formation in London, Modern Woman have built a reputation for performances that blur the boundary between poetry and noise, commanding stages at End of the Road, Latitude, The Great Escape, and Green Man. Harris, a literature graduate, writes with a novelist’s precision and a performer’s urgency, while Denyer, Brint-Gutiérrez and Blackhurst bring the intensity of modern composition, jazz and punk backgrounds to the table. This year they signed to One Little Independent Records, the home of Björk, Crass, Laura Misch, Penelope Trappes, and more.

Johnny’s Dreamworld cements Modern Woman as one of the UK’s most distinctive new voices, a band intelligently and purposefully exploring the relationship between beauty and brutality.

Pre-Order Johnny’s Dreamworld

Modern Woman Tour Dates*:
Mon. Jan. 19 – Vienna, AT @ Arena Wien
Tue. Jan. 20 – Graz, AT @ Dom Im Berg
Wed. Jan. 21- Linz, AT @ Posthof
Thu. Jan. 22 – Munich, DE @ Technikum
Sat. Jan. 24 – Prague, CZ @ Cargo Gallery
Sun. Jan. 25 – Berlin, DE @ Columbia Theater
Mon. Jan. 26 – Hamburg, Knust, DE @ Molotow
Tue. Jan. 27 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tollhuisten
Wed. Jan. 28 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Club
Thu. Jan. 29 – Paris, FR @ Le Cabaret Sauvage
Sun. Feb. 1 – Glasgow, UK @ The Art School
Mon. Feb. 2 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall
Tue. Feb. 3 – Bristol, UK @ Electric Bristol
Wed. Feb. 4 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town

* all dates supporting Ezra Furman

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll say a prayer that you’ll subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rare Killing Joke tracks to get first-ever vinyl release February 27, 2026.

A journey into the raw and visceral origins: from the demo sessions mixed by Steve Albini to the night of the very first secret show on December 20th, 1988. In the heart of Chicago, Geordie and Martin Atkins turned frustration and distance into pure creative energy, recording the now-legendary “Black Cassette” demos at Albini’s house. Distorted, menacing bass lines, unruly oscillators, and Albini running endlessly up and down the stairs between the basement drum room and the pantry control room defined a sound that was brutally direct and uncompromising. The first interactions with the Yamaha drum machine foreshadowed elements that would later shape parts of the album. Those sessions sparked essential ideas, while the future studio — purchased from Steve and moved to Wabash Ave — would soon become the core of Invisible Records and Killing Joke’s operations.

On the other side, a truly rare document: excerpts from Martin Atkins’s very first show with the band, at Burberries in Birmingham on December 20th, 1988. In a small, mirror-lined club filled with tension, adrenaline, and inevitable collisions with the walls, Extremities, The Fanatic, Intravenous, and The Beautiful Dead were performed publicly for the first time. It was the night when everything ignited: the blast beat still in its embryonic stage, the controlled fury Geordie demanded — “can you go a bit more Moonie on it?” — and above all Jaz’s theatrical yet strikingly genuine laughter. Not just joy, but a declaration: a giant “f*ck off” to the doubters and a prelude of what was about to come. A raw, essential, indispensable testimony: the birth of an era.

The release will have the following variants:
– Classic Black;
– White – for independent record stores only;
– Red – Invisible Records Exclusive;
– Overdrive Store Splatter Exclusive – limited to 350 copies worldwide.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dan at Discipline PR.]

Mandy, Indiana’s new single is in “Cursive.”

Mandy, Indiana — “one of the decade’s best new bands” (Bandcamp) — present “Cursive,” the latest single from their new album, URGH, out February 6th via Sacred Bones.

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. It 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.

Following the “noisy, harrowing” (The Needle Drop) lead single, “Magazine,” today’s “Cursive” is a bristling techno track that recoils and unfurls, garnering drama from the juxtaposition of quiet moments and explosive commotion. The song’s accompanying video was directed by Stephen Agnew.

Catling comments: “‘Cursive’ is probably our most collaborative track to-date. Whilst Scott and Valentine often offer the initial impetus behind most of our songs, ‘Cursive’ was built up from a number of Alex’s rhythmic sketches and my bass sequence. Valentine added her vocals later and Scott worked to sculpt these elements together. It was exciting having everyone bring their own ideas to the table from the off, throwing them together and seeing what could come out of it — a bit of a step into the unknown for us as a band.”

Watch the Video for Mandy, Indiana’s “Cursive”

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 sexual 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.

Following their acclaimed 2023 debut, i’ve seen a way, URGH sees Mandy, Indiana interpolating their own unconventional language into a mantra for self-determination and resilience, forging a template for a brighter future before it fades to black.

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

Pre-Order URGH

Watch the Visualizer for “Magazine”

Stream “Cursive”

Mandy, Indiana Tour Dates
Sat. Jan. 31 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz *
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

* = supporting Machine Girl

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rayon’s “Running” away with their new single.

Portland alt-rock / post-punk outfit Rayon present their latest single ‘Running’, a propulsive exploration of the anxiety that comes with watching loved ones struggle with cycles of addiction that they can’t shake – and the sound of a tape echo that’s about to stop working. Intentionally preserving the noise of pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding to heighten the song’s frantic pace, its sound can be considered a study in tension and tape, the video conveying a sense of lo-fi capers involving a Citroen Wagon.

Found on the flip side of the single ‘Shopping / Running’ (also available on 7″ vinyl via Little Cloud Records), ‘Running’ is perhaps even more stunning than the whacky A-side ‘Shopping’, a tongue-in-cheek ode to consumerism and travel, written by someone who happens to travel and consume a bit.

Founded by long-time North Portland resident and Detroit-area native Eric Sabatino, Rayon now also involves members of other notable Portland bands – Sun Atoms, Yuvees, Pastilla and Martha Stax – namely Anna Sabatino, Riley McLaughlin, Eric Rubalcava and Derek Longoria-Gomez.

‘Running’ is based on a relentless bass and drum groove that lived in Sabatino’s head for months before finally taking shape in the studio. To capture the song’s unsettled emotional landscape, the band leaned into the mechanical unpredictability of a dying Dynacord tape echo. By funneling guitars and vocals through the aging machine, they achieved a haunting, warped soundscape where the pitch and speed constantly bend and shift. Feeling as though it is physically straining under its own weight, this song mirrors the very themes of instability it describes.

“‘Running’ was built around a bass and drum groove I was kicking around in my head for months. The guitars and vocals are the sound of a tape echo called “dynacord” that’s barely working, bending and moving the speed and pitch of everything we run through it. Those parts wouldn’t have come out like that if I wasn’t trying to write a guitar part while plugged into that machine.” says Eric Sabatino.

The video for ‘Running’ offers a gritty, nostalgic look at the band’s world, captured entirely on a vintage Handycam, following the band in their meticulously restored Citroen wagon. Embracing the track’s jerky energy, their journey concludes with a grainy, evocative sequence of freeway signs leading into Seattle—a slow-burn outro that grounds the video’s high-energy antics in a sense of place and movement.

“The video was shot on an old handycam camcorder we found in the back of a closet. The battery miraculously held a charge. It came with a tape of someone’s school play, which we taped over (sorry to whoever’s family that was). It features the Citroen wagon from the ‘Shopping’ video. I worked on that car for months. So glad it didn’t break down during these two long video shoots,” says Eric Sabatino.

“We drove around all day picking everyone up at their home, work, local bar, favorite little shop, and went to band practice. We filmed the antics and capers along the way. Sometimes we let friends and strangers hold the camera and film us. I transferred and edited it over 2 late nights, trying to capture as much pause, rewind, and fast-forward noise as I could, timing the cuts to capture the jerky energy of the song. I love the outro and the slow noisy shots of the freeway signs leading to Seattle.”

In contrast, the video for ‘Shopping’ – filmed with their awesomely nostalgic Super 8 video – was born of near-burnout and a revitalizing trip south of the border, showcasing antics in several grocery stores there before eventually being kicked out.

Sabatino broke tradition with this release, deciding to mix the album together with famed recording engineer Larry Crane (Cat Power, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, The Go-Betweens, Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie) at Jackpot Recording and Timothy Stollenwerk (Yo La Tengo, Grouper, Morphine) at Stereophonic Mastering.

Rayon spent last winter honing these and other songs through a series of live shows, including an epic trip to Guadalajara, which served as creative fodder for the band’s latest inspiration and re-invigoration. Recording on rainy weekends in a garage studio packed with old reel-to-reel tape machines, partially-functional tube amps, and leaky British motorcycles, these songs were recorded onto 16 tracks of 1/2” tape, while running the tracks through a slightly-wonky sounding tape echo.

Before forming Rayon, Eric Sabatino spent years playing with bands in Southern Michigan and Portland, sometimes with as many as six projects on the go at the same time. Self-described as “a guy who grew up on 80’s/90’s post punk and grunge trying to reconcile their love of R&B, Soul and 60’s British Pop”, Sabatino is now fully focused on this one project, built on the experience of years of writing, collaborating, studio work and touring with some of the Pacific Northwest’s hardest working bands.

The ‘Shopping / Running’ single is out now, available both digitally and as a limited pressing of 150 blue transparent 7″ record and 150 black 7″ vinyl. It can be ordered in all formats via Bandcamp, with this snazzy vinyl also available via Little Cloud Records. This is the first in an exciting new series of similar records in the works for Rayon.

Keep your mind open.

[Run over to the subscription box!]

[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]

Top 25 concerts of 2025: #’s 5 – 1

I saw over 50 bands last year, so these five had to bring it to make the top of the list.

#5: Osees – Old National Center – October 22, 2025 – Indianapolis, IN

I’m not sure it would be proper for me to not see Osees at least once a year by this point (or The Black Angels, for that matter). This show was in a small ballroom in the basement of the Old National Center that didn’t have much airflow but did have rock-sold pillars at the four corners of the dance floor / mosh pit. It was a sweaty, loud affair, which is just what you want for an Osees show. They hadn’t played in Indianapolis in a few years, so the crowd was eager to see them — and many hadn’t seen them until that night. They were either shocked or delighted by the end.

#4: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – August 09, 2025 – Ravinia – Highland Park, IL

I almost didn’t include this show by King Gizzard (another band I seem to catch every year) because our seats were too far back to see the actual stage. However, this show teaming KGATLW up with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was too neat of a show to pass up and, what put it into the top five, they sounded great. No joke, this is probably the best sound engineering I’ve experienced at a KGATLW show, and I’ve seen many (and all of them are recorded and released by their highly skilled sound crew). I’d never heard them so clear in a live setting.

#3: TV on the Radio – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see TVOTR live, so I was bouncing when my suspicions were confirmed and they were booked for Levitation Austin. The show was everything I’d hoped for — high energy, great sound, and powerful messages. It felt like a blessing to see them after so many years without a tour.

#2: Nine Inch Nails – August 20, 2025 – United Center – Chicago, IL

Here’s a show I almost didn’t attend because the first night at Chicago’s United Center sold out so fast that I couldn’t get tickets. Luckily, Trent Reznor and his pals decided to book another show the following night and I scored tickets for that. The set included three different stages, great new versions of classic tracks, new tunes, and NIN looking and sounding like they’d never taken a break to make Oscar-winning film music.

#1: Underworld – May 17, 2025 – Radius – Chicago, IL

Here’s the other band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. They don’t make many trips to the U.S., and the closest they’d come in recent years was Detroit (four hours from where I live). Seeing them in a relatively small venue half the distance away was an immediate priority, and then I learned they were playing two sets with no opening act. It was a stunning performance that had everyone jumping for hours with only a short intermission and left everyone floating by the end.

Who do you want to see this year? I’m already looking forward to catching The Hives, Dry Cleaning, LCD Soundsystem, Gary Numan, Failure, Shame, Alison Krauss, and (of course) Osees, not to mention a return to Levitation Austin. Levitation France is taking a hiatus this year, so perhaps Austin Psych Fest will take its place?

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 albums of 2025: #’s 5 – 1

This is always a tough decision, although my number one album of each year tends to arrive early and not leave. This trend continued in 2025.

#5: Sextile – yes, please.

Thrilling electro, sexy bass, erotic lyrics, club bangers, provocative cover, you name it, this album has all of it. It shot up into my top ten of the year as soon as I heard it and was one of the hottest records of 2025.

#4: Lonnie Holley – Tonky

Beautiful, soulful, and powerful, Tonky has soul legend Lonnie Holley encouraging us to all come together in turbulent times, “protest with love,” and embrace our neighbors. This is an album that rings true in any year, but we needed it in 2025.

#3: No Joy – Bugland

I hadn’t heard anything from No Joy in a while, so it was great to hear from them again and with such a good record. It mixes shoegaze with psych and pays tribute to the healing properties of nature and presence. I didn’t realize how much I missed No Joy until hearing this.

#2: DITZ – Never Exhale

These fiery post-punk Brits seemed to come out of nowhere (to this Yank, at least) and unleashed one of the loudest, wildest records of the year. The album is about anxiety and panic, but it never goes completely off the rails. It keeps you on the edge of your seat or helps you burn off aggression, depending on which track you blast.

#1: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Death Hilarious

As soon as I saw that album cover, I knew Death Hilarious was going to be a monster of a record. My gut was right. This is another heavy stunner from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs in a line of material that has yet to miss. The topics of loss (friends, creative energy, relationships) and satire are biting and empowering. You’ll growl, stomp, and roar along with this record. You’ll laugh at the absurdity of our times with it, and then dive into the mosh pit with glee.

There’s already a lot of good stuff lined up for 2026. Let me know what you’re looking forward to the most!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 concerts of 2025: #’s 10 – 6

So…many…concerts. They’re my favorite way to spend my paychecks, really. Which were among the top ten I saw last year? Read on, my friend.

#10: Frankie and The Witch Fingers – September 28, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

FATW never disappoint live. This set at Levitation Austin felt like they were playing in a hurry in the best possible way. They wasted no time on the stage and had the whole place going bonkers the entire time.

#9: Kadavar – June 27, 2025 – Levitation France – Angers, France

I hadn’t seen Kadavar since they played at the first Austin Psych Fest I attended back in 2013. They even mentioned how they hadn’t played a Levitation festival since then. They sounded great and played a great showcase of their evolving sounds from doom metal to psych-rock.

#8: The Limiñanas – June 28, 2025 – Levitation France – Angers, France

Speaking of great shows in France, seeing The Limiñanas on their home turf was the top priority for me at Levitation France last year. It was a great set that even included a cover of The Cramps’ “TV Set.” I still don’t know why they didn’t close the night and the festival. That honor went to Boy Harsher, who did a fine job, but The Limiñanas were a tough act to follow.

#7: Castle Rat – September 26, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

If you’re looking for a band to open your festival, you can’t do much better than Castle Rat because they set such a high bar on Day One of Levitation Austin that all the other bands that day were scrambling to catch up to them. The set included a swordfight with the Grim Reaper, a resurrection performed by a Plague Doctor (the bassist), and an eternal quest to keep a book of souls from an evil wizard. The line at their merch booth was at least twenty minutes long for several hours afterwards.

#6: Viagra Boys – September 17, 2025 – The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL

The last time I saw Viagra Boys at the Salt Shed, it was at a sold-out show inside the main building. This time it was a sold-out show on the exterior stage and it was just as bonkers. People in shrimp costumes, custom Shrimptech jackets, and wiener dog shirts were everywhere. They sounded wild and weird, which is exactly what you want from them.

Who’s in the top five? Two longtime favorites, a reunion tour I almost didn’t get to see, and two bands I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. Come back tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Lowsunday – Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP

Coming back with their first new music since 1999, Lowsunday bring you a lot of heavy shoegaze riffs, post-punk bass, and psychedelic reverb on their Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP.

“Nevver” (Or is it “Newer?”) has lead vocalist Shane Sahene musing over how apathy has overcome him (“I used to care too much. Now I can’t care less.”) while Bobby Spell‘s near-disco bass line rumbles around him. “Call Silence” is a slick track of gothic shoegaze about missing a loved one after a breakup or a death when you realize they’re no longer going to answer your call.

On “Soft Capture,” Sahene realizes he’s the problem with lyrics like “I wish I believed you and I weren’t sick of me.” The Joy Division influence on the track is evident with its thick bass, spacey guitars, and distant vocals. “You Lost Yourself” reminds me a bit of early stuff from A Place to Bury Strangers, and has sharp lyrics about games played in relationships like “Some pretend to love while others love to pretend.” The bass and drums work especially well together on this track, too.

The EP closes with the sharp yet heavy “Love Language.” It could be a new darkwave smash. The wall of sound it creates is impressive and a bit intimidating, and Sahene’s hope that learning to love someone will at least slow down the pain inside him resonates with anyone who’s been lonely (AKA all of us).

It’s a good return for these chaps, and an EP that will help you drift into a different headspace for a little while.

Keep your mind open.

[You’ll be speaking my love language if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotion PR.]