Singer-songwriter act The Ben Gordon Show released a new album in November. It’s ten tracks, stylistically encompassing pop rock tinged with notes of psych and jangle. There’s plenty of sunshine to Gordon’s personality here with each track emanating warmth and playfulness that could illuminate a gray day. The Ben Gordon Show share a collection of affable ditties with “Fault Line
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Lurk has returned with his first new music in two years. The dungeon synth/horror ambient artist’s latest track is featured on Wrought Records’ “Reliquary of Terror” compilation released on Halloween. The eight-minute composition accompanies the scenario of undead hordes rising from Hell to walk the Earth, consisting of unnerving electronica, blaring sirens and stammering radio broadcasts. Brace yourself for Lurk’s
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Singer-songwriter Dandy L. Freling released a single recently, written in collaboration with cinematographer Emir Buccaroz for his short film of the same name. “Water Towers” is just over two minutes, featuring a rolling country folk guitar melody accompanying Freling’s stunning hollers of small-town comforts and unrelenting yearning.
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MIZZY released a two-piece a few weeks back. Building onto the dark, somber grunge-shoegaze style the duo has carved into, this pair of songs swells with boiling, oceanic dirge. “I’m Returning to the Mountains” mists with unsettling dread; “A Fire Burns” pours like an unrelenting rainstorm. MIZZY have been an exciting act to watch this year and we look forward
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Experimental electronic act Amphibient released an EP earlier this month, comprised of tracks all themed around motion pictures. As such, each composition is intricately layered with incidental tension and suspense, incorporating elements of ambient and industrial music. It’s a collection of thrilling film-ready miscellanea with Amphibient’s “Cinema”, powerfully invoking moods and tones that keep you at the edge of your
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Glitzy are a new indie pop act to look out for. Their latest single “Water Gun” released earlier this month and it’s a blast of effervescent, psych-tinged pop. The song seems to touch on your head getting filled with one worry after another and deluding yourself to feel better. Glitzy released a three-song EP earlier this year as well and
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*Aya dropped a new single earlier this month. With “Aura”, the pop/R&B hybrid artist is driven by a desire to heal their lover’s soul and shower them with all love. The stomping production, fluttering guitar licks and *Aya’s seraphic vocals build up an overall empyrean atmosphere that is comfortable and affirming. It’s been a substantial year for *Aya, both in
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Samuel Huston dropped a new single this week. The pop/hybrid R&B artist (formerly known as LOVEPeso) brings visceral feelings of heartbreak and betrayal over a thumping rhythm and meandering electronica. Huston affirms his ex-lover knows what she’s done and that he’s determined to not look back in spite of what they once had. Samuel Huston tearfully calls out treachery with
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JV Harris has returned with his first new music since 2020. The pop fusion artist is taking a Christian approach with his new single “More Than Anything,” where Harris professes his love and gratitude for the Lord with a bouncy alternative rock sensibility and jog-ready pace. He’s jubilant and radiant here, embracing his faith as his guiding light. We’ll be
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Indie rockers The Pulltops have had a busy year with new singles and a six-song EP. They are capping 2023 with a sixth and final single, “Make Me Smile.” It’s a heartfelt tune about always having your person at the end of the day to make things better, taking a grand pop rock approach that could easily summon a room
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Psych-metal rockers Shadows Taller Than Souls recently dropped a new single. The band returns from the void – only to bring us back into the void with them – with their signature doom crunch that touches on watchful eyes and love affairs with demons. With vocalist Nick Stadler’s unique vocal performances and their formidable stylistic fusion, Shadows Taller Than Souls
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Void Camp – a two-night celebration of sound and light consisting of various psychedelic and experimental music acts – took place at Cactus Club this weekend, curated by Al Kraemer of Astral Hand. Friday evening featured performances from Astral Hand, Slow Walker and Convert, complete with projected visuals from A. Bill Miller. Slow Walker consists of vocalist/guitarist Justin Harris, vocalist/bassist
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Bruce Humphries and the Rockabilly Rebels bring some holiday cheer this year with a new single and accompanying video. In classic Bruce Humphries fashion, the tune is a boatload of country rock fun, kicking off with a groove that demands shaking along with all sorts of fancy footwork. The visual features the band members’ heads on various dancing bodies. It’s
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Experimental black metal act Want of Sin have returned with their first new music since 2020. It’s the lead single off their forthcoming album, bringing their powerfully resonant presence out full swing. With growled lyrics of heresy and deceit, a down-tuned bass line that bellows relentlessly and a diabolical guitar riff that feverishly descends us into darkness, “Baptism” is one
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Singer-songwriter act Brain But My Friends Call Me Brian released their sophomore album. The spooky singer-songwriter shares seven songs of country and folk that invokes themes of long working days in the Midwest, recurring despair and loving your friends. Brain has intense conviction in their vocal performances, fully immersed in the imagery of each song; the textures and tones are
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Bremen Cafe hosted an exciting evening of rock and roll Wednesday featuring Milwaukee acts Gorilla Knifefight, Chinese Telephones and Iron Pizza alongside San Diego-based Decent Criminal. Chinese Telephones consists of vocalist/guitarist Justin Telephone, guitarist Daniel James, bassist/backing vocalist Andy Junk and drummer Logan Stang. Formed in 2004, the band’s kinetic style encompasses pop punk and power pop. “Justin started the
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Indie rockers Sleepy Gaucho have returned with a new single. Bringing the rustic-psychedelic edge you know and love from the band, this tune brings the funk to space with a playful bass groove and a dreamy vocal performance from Andy Goitia. Kaleidoscopic slide guitar and keyboards make the song rife with personality before a quick saxophone solo concludes things. Stay
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Experimental act Wandering Nerve, formerly known as Cairns, released a new album last month. It’s eight tracks consisting of electronic soundscapes that glitch and flutter, feeling like daydream ambiance and pensive moments. The record is entirely instrumental, fully submerging the listener in each composition’s density. Wandering Nerve delivers a meditative potpourri with “Deep Dark Water.”
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Meccah Maloh, YO DOT and JR Scalez all teamed up for a new single earlier this month. The three hip hop artists each trade off a verse in a truly ill collaboration where bars confront winter in Wisconsin, survival in the streets and winning against all odds. The veteran rappers effortlessly match one another’s energy, bringing fiercely superior presence with
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Duwayne and Micah Emrich teamed up with producer Keylime for a recent new single. With a sentimental acoustic melody and ethereal whistles carrying the artists along, this tune is about not giving up on yourself and always dreaming up new things in life. Duwayne and Emrich harmonize between gentle, compassionate verses that radiate vulnerability and sincerity, powerfully weaved together by
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Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends teamed up with Wendy Norton (Norton Video) for a visual with their song “We Were Wolves” off “Adult Prom”, their recent split with Cincinnati-based rockers Lung. The titular creature is brought to life by way of colorfully playful animation, singing the tune and howling with the chorus as the band rocks out donning wolf
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Restraint Malfunction shared a new release in November, continuing Michael Jurek’s series of abstract harsh noise cuts. “Stressing Room” is aptly named, containing textures of a sizzling consistency that overall make the fiery walls and flickering lights feel like they’re closing in on you. Enter the Hell chamber with Restraint Malfunction’s latest.
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Stoner rockers High Gallows released their sophomore album last month. Colossal riffage, smoky grooves, rumbling atmospheres and downtrodden lyrical themes span nine tracks. Once the band gets a song breathing fire, their dynamic becomes unstoppable, incorporating bluesy and psychedelic touches into the crunchy textures. High Gallows hit the heavy road with “Eulogies.”
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Cactus Club hosted a second Benefit for Palestine show on Thursday evening, partnering with local activist group Milwaukee 4 Palestine and raising money for Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)’s Gaza Emergency Fund. Destros, *Aya, Ellie Jackson and Browns Crew all performed for the benefit, which packed with folks showing solidarity for Palestine and collected over $2200 for MECA. Destros consists
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Experimental-psych act Unicorn Trap released their second new composition of the year. Entirely instrumental, this one takes on space-doom flavor and spans five and a half minutes, composed like a never-ending freefall into a celestial chasm. Unicorn Trap live up to their name with the “Infinite Abyss” cover art as well.
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