Singer-songwriter Wylie Jakobs released a new record this past Friday. Written while he was home sick with COVID one week in 2021, the album was conceived as an exercise where Jakobs would write a song a day and see where his instincts would go. The result is a collection of seven tunes that channel deeply emotional and vulnerable subject matter,
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Americana-folk band Pay the Devil have released their third album today. It’s thirteen tracks that encompass tales of getting older and being down on your luck, constantly being on the move, drinking all day long, getting through the harsh winter, dawn’s first light and finding your way back home among others. With vivid Wisconsin-bred imagery that traverses land and sea,
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Cactus Club hosted their annual 414 Day show on Friday night with a mixed-genre bill featuring Spider Creek, DarylAnne, Pulpa de Guayaba, Social Caterpillar and a secret opening set from Honey Creek. Pulpa de Guayaba comprises of vocalist Dominick Dear, guitarists Juan Alvarez and Luis Arellano, bassist Miguel Sanchez, drummer Marco Zavala and saxophonist/flutist Michael Ruth. Formed in late 2019,
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Vae is an emerging artist who doesn’t put herself in a box. Her latest EP is four tracks that each have their own stylistic flavor. “Giving YOU” is a passionate R&B tune, “NoEnd” takes an indie rock approach, “POP” is a bouncy dream pop song and then “DancingInTheDark” slows things back down with hip hop-tinged R&B. Vae isn’t defining herself
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Singer-songwriter Ben Titus released his sophomore album this week. Spanning six tunes, this record was written primarily on bass, inspired by a series of challenging personal events that occurred in Titus’ life between 2018 and 2020. There’s a lot of contemplation and processing embedded within these instrumental passages, beginning with meandering and atmospheric material (“Fading”, “The Big Gamble”) before getting
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Experimental artist Sarnal Key has a new composition out. Recorded in Portland during quarantine, this track shines with bright, twinkling soundscapes of digital ambient origin. It’s blissful and meditative, akin to walking through the first spring bloom, which is perfectly timely as we’ve had our first dose of warm and beautiful weather this week. Bask in voluptuous flora with Sarnal
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Hip hop artist YMN’s latest single finds him over the games. He was initially just looking for a friend in a woman and staying on the safe side but now he’s bound to her. YMN is out of his shell and vulnerable with “I Need You” – he’s feeling stagnant, empty and on his guard – and now it’s time
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Emissary have their second single of the year out now. With “Caldera,” the stoner-prog metal band go entirely instrumental, getting loud and clangorous just as the name of the track would suggest. Resonant guitars crash like a volcanic eruption, with midtempo riffage rolling like rivers of lava. We can imagine that this song and previous single “Line of Sight” are
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Cleopatra Hoze is a new artist to be aware of; she’s got two EPs out already plus a few singles, the most recent of which is “BUNNY BOY.” Shimmering with dream pop sensibility, the song is about being crazy for someone and wanting so bad to be theirs. Passionate love radiates from her voice, evocative of an ethereal and euphoric
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Hip hop artist Eli Cash dropped a new single where he enlists fellow rapper Yo Dot on a feature. The tune is about exactly what the title suggests – Cash needs everyone to get out of his way. He’s always been one to be in his own lane and that’s worked out for him in life; Cash assesses where he’s
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Cobblers With Heart are the experimental-improvisational duo of David B Collins and Paul Westfahl. Their latest record stems from a session at the Jazz Gallery in Riverwest back in 2021, right before Collins would move to Oregon. With Collins on modular synth and Westfahl on percussion and electronics, this album is shrouded in a mysterious atmosphere marked by suspenseful soundscapes
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*Aya is a new artist to look out for; they just released their debut EP in February and it’s seven tracks. With lush textures, smooth danceability and passionate vocal deliveries, *aya incorporates elements of electronic pop and R&B under a poised and exquisite atmosphere. Lyrically they touch on themes such as recollecting oneself, pushing through adversity, coming a long way
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Tidal are a new project on the block who just released their debut release. Incorporating elements of doom, noise, psychedelic and stoner rock, it’s one single track that spans fifteen minutes long. An other-worldly and kaleidoscopic atmosphere is conjured through layers of ambient textures, heavy guitars, patient rhythms and variable tempos. “The Bends” carries us through a landscape of air,
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Hard rockers Thick Needles released their debut EP last week. It’s four songs that get down with elements of punk, blues and psychedelic rock, bringing a quadruple helping of gritty riffage and angst-ridden lyrical themes. With mad respect to elements of the classics, Thick Needles bring a fiery and layered approach to modern rock and roll with “Ascent.”
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Antifascist metal band It Is Dead released a new single this week. With piercing shrieks and gargantuan riffage, the band demolish oppressive institutions and walls of bigotry, kicking up the tempo around the halfway mark into a full-on sludge onslaught. The track is part of a compilation benefiting animals suffering from the war in Ukraine by New York-based label Fiadh
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Experimental project The End, I Love You! released a new album out on FTAM Productions. Recorded over a period of two years, this album is inspired by memories and sunlight. Spanning twenty tracks, these compositions consist of guitar strumming twisted and altered with a tape recorder, weaving in and out of lucidity like nostalgia and warmth. The last quarter of
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Blues rockers Lost Orange Cat are out with their debut album. With ten tracks, the band demonstrates a knack for dynamic storytelling and inviting melodies through working-class grit and rugged conviction. Relatable tales of working all day long for not enough pay, the power of love, saving one’s soul, dreaming of warmer weather and living life up to the fullest
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Folk punks We All Shit have a new EP out. It’s five tracks that put relevant social matters to playful melodies, touching on stories such as going up against the patriarchy, men victim blaming, God coming after us and drag queens saving the day. The final track, as the title suggests, prepares to just burn all this shit down. Don’t
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Noise act TamperTamper is out with their debut full-length album on FTAM Productions. Featuring recordings of social interactions, spontaneous song making and rambling thoughts that get sonically manipulated from time to time, the album has the surrealness of a conscious daydream along with the innocent nature of daily routines and friendly engagements. There’s playfulness while being raw and honest, spontaneous
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Peppers and Pineapples are a new act to look out for; they’ve got their debut single out and they enlist indie pop rockers Tigera for the energy. Incorporating elements of ska and pop punk, the song is about being constantly distracted and having a bad memory, which makes it hard to connect to others around you. With piano and guitar
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Power pop rockers Man Random released a new EP, and as the title suggests, it’s themed around the famed Wisconsin cryptid. Ripping through three tracks, the EP entails the band entering the woods, gradually building up a bad feeling, only to be accosted by the Hodag and all hell breaks loose. It’s an explosive endeavor riddled with anxiety and a
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Illuminated Void released a new album. Whereas the project’s previous output ventured into dark ambient territory, this record finds them shifting direction into more of a progressive-psych stoner doom style – all while still retaining elements of the dense, fantastical soundscapes upon which they’ve built thus far. Bookended by two sixteen and a half minute tracks, “Veriditas” takes us deep
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Emo pop punks Clementine dropped a new single and video. The song is about touring and growing as both a band and as people, and the lyrics seem to touch on the acceptance of how you are perceived. The video features the band jamming out in crackling hues of red and black. “Cadaver” is a rumbling and eruptive tune that
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Experimental noise act Restraint Malfunction released a new composition recently. Spanning fifteen minutes, this piece consists of industrial noises that are simultaneously watery and metallic, just like the title suggests. Restraint Malfunction lets the sink run with “Total Drain.”
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Roots rockers The Incorruptibles have a new record out. Over twelve songs, the band brings a robust, eclectic flavor that blends blues, rockabilly and soul with sprightly demeanor. It feels like the soundtrack to a summer party we’re all invited to, complete with slower moments to even out the rock and roll bangers. There’s serious fun to be had here
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