Die Spitz’s tour of global domination continues unchecked with the release of a new, unsettlingly surrealist video for “American Porn” from last year’s incendiary Something To Consume; a scathing diatribe that rails against the plastic hypocrisy of the fading promise of an American Dream™ with the frenetic intensity of a razorblade dervish spiked with gleeful mania in witness to the crumbling facade of performative decorum.

Brilliantly directed by Emily Sanchez who also helmed the video for the band’s blisteringly violent empowerment anthem “Throw Yourself To The Sword,” “American Porn” aligns neatly with its predecessor, juxtaposing the track’s confrontational composition with a sensation of untethered ennui and slowly creeping terror that lurks below a linoleum and wood-paneled surface.

There’s an undeniable connection in both visuals and themes with Soundgarden’s iconic 1994 video for “Black Hole Sun,” but Sanchez sidesteps the warped, hyper-saturated psychedelia of the MTV staple in favor of muted tones and a tangible sense of cinematic realism that feels more like an A24 slasher directed by Wes Andersen. A flurry of vignettes introduce coexisting facets of modern life in a concentrated suburban dystopia. Body builders and drag queens share fences with AR-wielding housewives and boomer trolls, all suppressing their impulses while simultaneously airing their bloody laundry for all to see; cries for help that fall on ears too distracted within their own echo chambers of cognitive dissonance to recognize that the entire house is burning down around them, keeping up appearances for the sake of tradition and a set of values preached rather than practiced.

As the mid-track breakdown unfurls the visuals become increasingly more unhinged, racing toward destruction as the wheels come flying off in a downhill death luge towards the complete obliteration of normalcy. The band remains wholly desensitized to the overwhelming absurdity and theater of the macabre playing out around them. The cast of caricatures lose their minds, unable to stand on pretense any longer as gender roles and societal norms implode in a cartoon apocalypse of collective insanity, commoditized and served up hot with the unfulfilling blandness of a processed TV dinner.

Something To Consume is available now via Third Man Records and Bandcamp. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Die Spitz on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

Apr 22 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre - SOLD OUT

May 15 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Block Party

Jul 17-19 - St. Paul, MN - Minnesota Yacht Club

Aug 1 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza

Aug 2 - St. Charles, IA - Hinterland Music Festival

Aug 5 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda

Aug 7 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands

Aug 9 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom

Aug 11 - Boise, ID - Shrine Ballroom

Aug 12 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell

Aug 15 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre

Aug 14-16 - Buena Vista, CO - King Gizzard’s Festival Field of Vision

Sep 5-6 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival

Sep 20 - Asbury Park, NJ - Sea.Hear.Now Festival

Nov 5 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre - SOLD OUT

Nov 9 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall

Nov 10 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

Nov 12 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club - SOLD OUT

Nov 13 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw - SOLD OUT

Nov 14 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw - SOLD OUT

Nov 16 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer

Nov 17 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Nov 19 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle - SOLD OUT

Nov 20 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel

Nov 21 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl

Feb 19 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel

On the final night of a co-headline Darker Spring Tour that brought together the legendary talents of 1980s post punk underground heavyweights Bolshoi Brothers (formerly The Bolshoi) and Theatre Of Hate, New York City post-goth trio Some Days Are Darker opened the evening with a showcase of prowess that joined gothic romanticism and neo-noir fatalism with a cinematic sense of scale.

Los Angeles was uncommonly still as the final moments of the golden hour receded into a bourgeoning twilight, towering buildings seemingly closing in over nearly vacant streets like the petals of a black rose in mourning for the passing of the sun beyond imposing pillars of a metropolitan mausoleum. The neon marquee of The Regent Theater crackled to life above the pavement, beckoning a flock of wayward souls to enter and congregate at the foot of a stage that would soon welcome a procession of drab majesties from the shadowy side of alternative music’s most heady eras.

Arrayed beneath searingly sanguine heraldry rendered in impossibly sharp script, Some Days Are Darker unfurled their set with powerful intention. Menacing basslines stalked amongst organic percussion, thrumming in harmony with the primal intensity of wild animals in predatory pursuit. Rising above the cataclysmic thunder, frontman Lear Mason’s chiming guitar and magnetic croon added nuance and refinement to the din, like the civilized brutality of an armored crusader in chivalrous devotion to the ephemeral mythology of a romantic ideal. Selections from Some Days Are Darker’s most recent EP TV-MA, new singles from their forthcoming full-length, and deep cuts from the genesis of the band played out with impeccable grandeur, as the immediacy of the sound drew in close new recruits and devoted disciples like so many dusty moths encircling a solitary flame.

By the time Theatre Of Hate took the stage the room was tangibly buzzing from the afterglow of Some Days Are Darker’s intoxicating spell. But that’s a story for another time.

Stream Some Days Are Darker on Spotify, and follow the band on Instagram.

Like their regal namesake, San Diego’s Louis XIV cultivated an air of mythic notoriety during their reign in the first decade of the millennium, fueled by boundary pushing imagery that defied the pearl-clutching sensibilities of the status quo and a complete lyrical immersion into the online underground alternative of the era, all wrapped up in a psychedelic gutter-glam sound so filthy it would have made Marc Bolan’s toes curl with glee. As the unquestionably sleaziest standard-bearers of an era that would come to be revered as “indie sleaze,” Louis XIV amassed a dedicated following, one that came out in droves to witness the band’s latest, limited series of reunion dates nearly 20 years after hanging up their crown.

Mystic Knights opened the evening with a raucous set of big, sweaty, 4-on-the-floor rock n roll that represented a uniquely aughts head-on collision of indie rakishness and disco-ready danceable grooves. The band’s JET-set pedigree was in full effect, as the Knights ably demonstrated their uncanny knack for delivering a non-stop cavalcade of irresistible, unambiguous crowd-pleasers about hard partying, New York nights, and return trips to rehab. From gassed-up original material to a pitch-perfect Kasabian cover, Mystic Knights proved they’ve got what it takes to get the crowd primed and the party started for a wild main event.

Stream Mystic Knights on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram.

“I know, I haven’t aged a bit. Neither have you!” winked Mr. Jason Hill as the opening notes of “New Murder At The Old Chateau” drifted from the PA, setting the mood for an evening of cheeky misbehavior the likes of which haven’t been performed in Los Angeles for far too long.

Louis XIV is something of a curiosity in the post-woke era, a sleazy survivor of another age when PBR-fueled promiscuous debauchery was de rigueur, and the consequences for unchecked shenanigans were a just a hungover walk of shame at worst. Notoriously roasted by critics including a legendarily bone-headed Pitchfork review and dubiously labeled by NME as “music to flunk rehab to,” Louis XIV’s breakthrough sophomore LP The Best Little Secrets Are Kept stirred up controversy all the way from the cover art to the lyrical content. But the album’s complete submersion into playful early internet naughtiness, Suicide Girls adjacent subculture, and unfettered commitment to a charmingly louche brand of foppish bravado ultimately earned endorsements from Rolling Stone, Josh Homme, and even Ziggy Stardust himself, with Bowie extolling the virtues of the band in numerous high-profile interviews, indicating that these modern musketeers were much more than just surface-level schtick.

The years quickly melted away as the band launched into their set, a career-spanning celebration packed with self-aware sass and technical proficiency that reinforced the band’s bonafides with aplomb. Hill and Brian Karscig’s chemistry remained impeccably potent through call-and-response verses and dueling guitar pyrotechnics, augmented by a pummeling rhythm section with percussion unleashed by O.G. Mark Maigaard and Jake Pinto’s monumental low end. Hits and deep cuts alike came alive with fleshed out solos and expanded instrumentation like a luxurious Bourbon Era tapestry by way of a MySpace digicam photo collage, a fine showcase of Louis XIV’s divine right to occupy the indie sleaze throne. The band’s brand new single, “Statues,” found it’s place neatly within the classic catalog, sidestepping the one-track carnal fixation of The Best Little Secrets Are Kept and the bleak party monster nihilism of Slick Dogs And Ponies to update the baroque early foundations of their sound with an apocalyptic thunderstorm of indie-comedown hedonism in the face of total obliteration.

In the space between the band’s original hiatus and their brief runs of occasional reunion shows both Hill and Karscig have independently contributed their talents to new bands and legacy acts including The Killers and New York Dolls, as well as accumulating accolades for production and scoring for the big and small screens. Louis XIV is a collection of truly skilled professional musicians, and their impressive chops are the driving force behind their enduring appeal, elevating the intentionally low-brow subject matter with high-brow compositions that the band allows to run free on stage like a pack of wild mustangs. Even the horned-up lyrics have aged surprisingly well in today’s more enlightened age, imbued with an element of escapism to a time before the darker fringes of the internet burned away our collective mischievous innocence, ultimately stemming from a celebration of consensual sexual liberation and artistic self-expression enabled by youthful experimentation and egalitarian access to an uncharted digital frontier.

As the lights came up after the encore it was obvious the band had as much fun with this brief dalliance on stage as the crowd did on the floor. Here’s to hoping the boys make their way back around real soon.

Stream Louis XIV on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

APR 4 - North Park Festival of Beers - San Diego, CA - TICKETS

Lindsey Troy’s latest era finds the incomparable firebrand expanding brilliantly beyond the iconic electric blues of her work with Deap Vally into deeply personal territory that lays bare her innermost psyche and continues to showcase the full spectrum of her engaging abilities as a songwriter. “Six Shades Of Grey” charts a different course than preceding tracks “I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” and “Love Is Deeper,” standing tall against the twilight of inner turmoil with steadfast resilience.

Dredging the depths of organic blues and chain-gang gospel, “Six Shades Of Grey” smolders with menacing intent, heady with the scent of distant flames and strong whiskey carried on the unsettling breeze of a moonless midnight, a funeral dirge for insomniacs relentlessly pursued by the tireless vampyre of ticking time and memory. The spartan composition conjures a haunted atmosphere, characterized by an otherworldly guitar tone and augmented by bone-chilling flashes of harrowing strings. Harmonized vocal tracks fracture reality into a gallery of distorted wraiths clawing from the void with unsettling multiplicity, whispering and wailing beyond the periphery like spectres at the feast, tugging in opposite directions with inescapable tenacity.

It is here within the six shades of grey that Troy finds herself a prisoner in her own mind and a slave to impulses beyond rational control, a solitary flame surrounded by the encroaching darkness. But for all the morose fatalism, Troy remains possessed of a spirit uniquely indomitable, a quality that has defined her artistic output across multiple projects. This enduring light of undimmable resiliency shines brightly on “Six Shades Of Grey,” transforming the track into a litany against fear that resists the little death of doubt and uncertainty in pursuit of the promise of a future unburdened.

Back-lit against the black, Troy exists merely as a glowing silhouette illustrating an all-encompassing sensation of hollowness and communion with the surrounding abyss. Static at the fringes crackles with nervous electricity as the backlight explodes with blinding intensity washing the entire frame in white-hot luminosity before being eclipsed once again behind the dark side of Troy’s orbiting presence. As “Six Shades Of Grey” builds on the back half, jagged forms of helter-skelter animation arise in chorus with the strings as Troy becomes fully illuminated for the briefest of moments, revealing a face upturned toward the light that refuses to succumb completely within the shadows.

Independent artists rely directly on fan support. Visit Lindsey Troy on Bandcamp for merch and music, and follow on Instagram for the latest on upcoming shows and releases.

Upcoming Shows

MAY 24 - Arroyo Secodelic Festival - Lodge Room - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

Lauren Lakis has a unique ability for rendering the tumultuousness and beauty of human emotion in song in a manner than defies easy categorization. The latest single from her upcoming LP Deadlights, “There,” is a showcase for these skills, tapping into the bittersweet saudade of memory with deft attentiveness and an immediately moving sense of empathy that does not compromise on weighty impact.

Building upon a foundation of heavy, churning guitar that Lakis has made an integral part of her signature sound, “There” quickly pivots in a brighter direction by introducing an element of childlike wonder that overflows from the undercurrent of densely composed gloom. Vocals rise and fall with a lullaby-like cadence, punctuated by brilliant beams of guitar that pierce their way through a canopy of sadness and solitude to allow glowing rays of hopeful sunlight to warm an upturned face swinging from the boughs below. Lakis is seeking recognition and solace, a yearning for the connection of warm intimacy and quiet comfort that exists uniquely between mother and child, left far behind on the road to adulthood. It is here that “There” exists, preserved in amber and given voice through Lakis’ remarkable songcraft. A refuge from the turbulence of existence and a desire to return, if only for a moment, to a time of innocence when the world was smaller and the shadows of fear and uncertainty would evaporate within the shelter of a parent's loving embrace.

Performing in the open surrounded by a springtime landscape lush with fresh growth and illuminated by the incandescent glow of the setting sun, “There” blooms as a visual representation of the coexistence of beginnings and endings captured behind the shimmering scanlines of analog memory. Interspersed with home movies of happy days and a recurring metaphor of rose blossoms as mile markers of joy and sadness along life’s winding road, “There” breathes with the calming sensation of catharsis that exists in the wake of overwhelming emotion and crackles with the electric sensation of fingertips run across the surface of a fading photograph, an enduring physical connection to people, places, and moments long past.

Deadlights releases May 8 via Riding Easy Records. Pre-order physical editions and pre-save on streaming here. Follow Lauren Lakis on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

MAR 26 - Mohawk Austin - Austin, TX - TICKETS

Born from the blackness of Los Angeles’ darkwave underworld, Scimitar channel the tenets of classically gothic post-punk through the modern lens of the City’s unique cultural landscape to craft a brooding perspective on life lived balanced on the edge of a blade. As the first single from their upcoming LP, Errare, “Razors” introduces the band in its purest form, extending an invitation for a thrilling plunge into the abyss.

A menacing atmosphere billows with thunderhead malevolence across the track’s moody apocalyptic soundscape, summoned from the void by Scimitar’s potent alchemical synthesis of blistering crystalline guitars that flash and chime over a driving rhythm section that combines sinuous basslines with crackling, bone-dry percussion. “Razors” fully embodies the danger and allure of the shadowy post-punk netherrealm, flexing cool muscularity beneath acres of studded leather and a sinister sensuality wrapped in the skin-tight gloss of inky-black latex. A danse macabre of doom and desire, seared with burning neon across the midnight alleyways and urban catacombs in pursuit of a love that hovers ephemeral in the rearview mirror.

Captured with remarkable visual clarity, “Razors” juxtaposes the living expanse of the high desert against the bleakness of graffiti-scrawled urban decay with Scimitar always at the center, a triple-nexus of monumental personas that dominate with icy immediacy. Visions of rear-projected cityscapes and lend a cinematic dimension to the band’s presence, enhancing “Razors” with dramatic theatricality that conjures the suggestion of celluloid spectres to haunt the voids between the bodies of the living, awash in cascades of multi-colored sparks blossoming amidst the gloom. As visions of everything begin to merge and blur, the band races toward oblivion amidst a soaring guitar solo, glittering facets reflecting in the dark before crashing abruptly into silence beneath a highway overpass, concrete buttresses of the modern gothic cathedral.

Errare releases April 25 via Cigarettes And Alcohol RPM. Follow Scimitar on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

MAR 25 - 1720 Warehouse - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

MAY 28 - Verboden Fest - The Coffin Club - Portland, OR - TICKETS

MAY 29 - Verboden Fest - Central Saloon - Portland, OR - TICKETS

MAY 30 - Verboden Fest - The Cobalt - Portland, OR - TICKETS

Surfbort stand as modern icons of unapologetic individualism, embodying a rebellious punk ethos forged at the riotous nexus of haute-culture and trash-couture. The band’s latest single from their upcoming LP, Reality Star, “Hot Dog” slaps with the satisfying sizzle of street sausages slathered in spicy squirts of special sauce.

Sliding a banging beat between the buns of an irresistibly greasy groove, “Hot Dog” struts with colossal confidence punctuated with perky guitar lines that give way to overpowering waves of densely deconstructed static feedback before breaking free once more to keep the pogoing proceedings nimbly bouncing along. Absurdist lyrics ooze with Dadaist sass, piling on sweet and savory references to East LA existence like so many disparate condiments squeezed and scooped with reckless abandon from oversized plastic vessels into a vividly lucid smorgasbord of flavors liberally spiced with audacious attitude. A junk food jam of the highest quality, “Hot Dog” feeds the need for instant gratification with a taste that lingers on the tongue and leaves you begging for a second helping.

The lunatic fringe of Silver Lake’s most creative denizens springs to hyperkinetic life in a Pooneh Ghana directed video that serves up a kaleidoscopic collision of skaters and queens and cowboys and nuns and anthropomorphic waterfowl in a tumbling parade of eclectic vignettes offering a glimpse into an idealized rendition of alternative LA street culture. Gleefully cartoonish and reverently irreverent, “Hot Dog” is a celebration of abject non-conformity and the tightly knit community of freaks and geeks that congregate on the Sunset shores of the City on the Edge of Forever, where the measure of authenticity is unabashedly marching together to the beat of your own drum.

Reality Star is available March 6 via TODO. Pre-order digital and vinyl here. Follow Surfbort on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

MAR 15 - Radio/East - Austin, TX - Tickets

MAR 27 - Zebulon - Los Angeles, CA - Tickets

APR 03 - Night Club 101 - New York, NY - Tickets

APR 04 - Market Hotel - Brooklyn, NY - Tickets

Brooklyn psychonauts EVOLFO fearlessly chart a course for the outer fringes of sinister infinity at the liminal intersection of perception and reality on “Restless Seed,” the first single off the band’s upcoming third LP, Of Love.

The single edit of “Restless Seed” is an immediate psychedelic confection that opens with metallic dissonance clanging atop a nebulous groove that billows along lightspeed pathways, decorating the expanding abyss with blooms of marmalade haze and shuffling corduroy percussion. Smoky, detached vocals translate morse-code guitar lines transmitted within esoteric analog ciphers from the unplumbed depths of time and space, preaching salvation from technological shackles and extending an open invitation to experience perpetual communal bliss among the kaleidoscopic foliage of an intergalactic Eden. At under three minutes, EVOLFO offer just a tantalizing tease at the wonders the band has in store for the full-length track, a glimpse behind the shimmering veil that spans the passing moments until the release of the full LP.

Marooned on a wayward world three orbits removed from a garden variety G-Type Main-Sequence star located in an otherwise unremarkable arm of the Milky Way, a lone explorer finds their way through a glowing portal revealing a live performance of the tribal rhythms of Earth’s underground inhabitants. Entranced by the undulating sounds and mesmerizing gyrations of the terrestrial troubadours, the intrepid alien joins the revelry, embraced by a community of like-minded souls gathered in the universal celebration of life’s infinite diversity and infinite combinations.

Of Love releases April 24. Pre-order the album at Bandcamp, and follow EVOLFO on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

APR 23 - Bottom Of The Hill - San Francisco, CA - TICKETS

APR 26 - Transplants Brewing Company - Palmdale, CA - TICKETS

APR 28 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA - TICKETS

APR 30 - The Crepe Place - Santa Cruz, CA - TICKETS

APR 30 - Sierragrass 2026 - Ahwahnee, CA - TICKETS

MAY 02 - Gold Diggers - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

MAY 07 - TV Eye - Ridgewood, NY - TICKETS

Lo-fi gothic duo Jaguar 777 craft a dangerously alluring rock ’n’ roll dreamstate on their cinematic self-titled debut LP; fifteen tales of velvet and vice that coalesce into a hypnogogic neo-noir phantasm balanced precipitously at the liminal intersection of love, lust, and eternal damnation.

Jaguar 777 is a cinematic album, beckoning through an opioid haze exuding from beyond the illicit threshold of a rundown grindhouse on the edge of town; saturated with languid sensuality and punctuated by needle-sharp moments of existential terror that strike with feline ferocity before fading once again beyond the fringes of a chemically induced catatonia. Romance and carnality collide headlong in a slow-motion eruption of analog organ and shuffling rhythms that move with the ominous cadence of wavering spectres lurking from behind heavy folds of umbral tapestry and illuminated by the chilling gauziness of silver moonlight streaming through the rafters of a collapsed ceiling onto the stage like otherworldly spotlights from beyond.

Drawing notable inspiration from the sparse beats and menacing rhythms of Suicide viewed through the flickering lens of cinema noir and B-movie camp, Jaguar 777 elevate traditional midcentury rock n roll with a more sinister and deeply amorous approach. Sidestepping the macho aggression of Misfits, the inherent silliness of rockabilly goths a-la Messer Chups, or the Satanic doo-wop of Twin Temple in favor of a more authentic alignment with the surreal beauty of David Lynch and a provocative Russ Meyer-esque perspective, Jaguar 777 have managed to occupy a unique category of the classic murder ballad few others have previously dared.

Opening with a spoken word intro that sets the mood for the album in dramatic fashion, Kacie Marie and Emmett O’Connor begin a delicate dance that crackles with tangible magnetism barely restrained against smoldering passions, threatening to engulf their enraptured souls in a damning conflagration of unquenchable lust and eternal ruin. Originally released in 2024, the striking slow-burner “Danger At My Heels” lays out the band’s thesis with aplomb, simmering with the sequined slink of an after-hours burlesque in a members-only underground speakeasy, teasing and threatening in equal measure behind undulating tendrils of fragrant smoke and glistening skin.

Even more so than the brooding moodiness of the album’s heady soundscapes, Jaguar 777’s sound is defined by Kacie Marie and O’Connor’s crooning duality, a pair of voices rising above the instrumental miasma entwined in the intimacy of an embrace that transcends the physical to conjure an atmosphere of slow fatalism at the altar of abject devotion. “Leave You Blue” embodies the sensation of a deep intoxication that lingers after midnight, pulling below the surface towards a dreamless sleep, as “Gates” welcomes doomed lovers to burn together as willing sacrifices to the flames. “Mirage” shimmers from the other side of the looking glass, and “Velvet On The Razor’s Edge” skitters on a spidery beat so dry and mechanical it would make Vega and Rev blush while diving deep within the abyss of a self-induced psychological crash out.

Jaguar 777 injects a celluloid levity to the album at key moments, lending a stylish element of wing-tipped edginess and gleefully composed reefer madness while balancing on a razor’s edge of confessional authenticity. “Upstairs In My Mind” twists with the howling mania of solitary paranoia, and “Death Ride” claws at the pavement like caged beast primed to pounce on unsuspecting prey. “Midwest Promo Man” creeps on a vintage rock n roll framework that smells of stale cigarettes and spilt whiskey lingering in a silent motel room after the hedonistic occupants have retreated into the daylight, and the mostly instrumental “The Flying Cowboy Rides Again” transmutes bold Giallo terror into a small-screen serial, the forgotten theme for a masked cathode ray vigilante from a bygone age. “Collinwood Yard” leans hard into gothic horror, replete with chiming bells and ominous wails that spiral towards an inevitable oblivion.

Settling into the album’s final moments, “Arrest Me” surrenders with tender vulnerability in the aftermath of tumultuous terrors. Vivid nightmares recede into the blissful sanctuary of a companion’s arms and promise of a love realized wholly and completely in its commitment and resilience before dovetailing, just as neatly, into the Badalamenti-ian soundscape of “End Credits,” a fitting conclusion to this silver-screen phantasmagoria of tragic romance.

Jaguar 777 is available now via Eleventh Hour Recording Company. Get the vinyl on Bandcamp on stream the album on Spotify. Follow Jaguar 777 on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

FEB 13 - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH - TICKETS

Regarded for a heady trifecta of doomy psychedelia reflective of their Pacific Northwest origins, Blackwater Holylight have conjured something of a reinvention on their latest LP, Not Here Not Gone, dressing the elemental pillars of the band’s established foundation with dramatic tapestries of remarkable sonic brilliance and a refined melodic emphasis to majestic effect.

Relocating from Portland’s misty forests to the sun-baked expanse of Los Angeles has made an conspicuous impact on Blackwater Holylight’s attitude, all but evaporating the obfuscating haze of perpetual gloom under the radiant warmth of an everlasting summer. The heavy, doom-adjacent perspective of the band’s earlier releases gives way to a more nuanced approach that turns towards the warmth of kalidescopic, light-dappled psychedelia like a field of wildflowers blossoming in heliolatry after the tumultuous inundation of a passing thunderstorm. But don’t mistake Not Here Not Gone as a trifling confection. Blackwater Holylight still firmly exist within primeval shadows, and from these umbral origins have begun to expand their presence like a fiery coronal halo burning beyond the void of a total solar eclipse. The effect is awe inspiring, a reminder of the celestial immensity in which mortals occupy the merest of moments, and the potential within which for individuals to shine brighter than supernova.

The A-side of Not Here Not Gone feels very much like an evolution, as Blackwater Holylight build upon the efforts of their established catalog with a newfound level of polish that draws from a well of influences and emotions plumbed from the depths of introspective reflection and the accumulation of life experience. Chiming, crystalline guitars glide above surges of downtuned riffs on album openers “How You Feel” and “Involuntary Haze,” while densely layered compositions define the weighty, rhythmic persistence of “Heavy, Why?” and the heaving, rolling cadence of “Bodies.” Persevering through it all, Blackwater Holylight refuse to surrender to the darkness, juxtaposing the terror of the abyss with an unquenchable fire that burns in furious resistance to the surrounding black like human souls crying out from the precipice of eternity. The effect is primal, and taps directly into the very core of one’s being to elicit emotions inherent to the human experience that stretch back with universal commonality from the earliest moments of our divergent evolution to the advanced realities of life in our modern age.

The experimental instrumental interlude “Giraffe” represents a turning point for the album, appearing midway through the tracklist with a thick, molasses groove over deconstructed industrial rhythms and a mesmerizing substrate of buzzing electronic distortion. From here Blackwater Holylight begin to reveal their hand in “Spades,” unleashing a massively devastating crunch of downtuned riffs and pummeling, thrashy percussion. Channeling the overpowering intensity of early grunge and desert rock into a head-on collision of Badmotorfinger and Blues For The Red Sun spiked with apocalyptic psychedelia, Blackwater Holylight incite a churning mosh of inescapable gravity, an event horizon of utter destruction that ends as abruptly as it began.

“Void To Be” burnishes sentimental prose to a brilliant glow as heroic guitar lines intertwine in the atmosphere, accented with subtle hints of delicate strings. “Fade” soars with unbridled freedom between the peaks of verdant mountains wreathed in mist, before settling comfortably back to earth in its final moments amidst the golden hour hue of the slowly setting sun and familiar sounds of the everyday.

“Mourning After” moves with the deliberate sorrow of a funerary dirge, swaying over a mildly unsettling undercurrent that tilts the axis of reality ever so slightly like coming to terms with life in the aftermath of an unexpected loss and finding the strength necessary to carry on. The album closes with a tremendous 7-minute dirge that accumulates like a thunderhead rising on the horizon, billowing with glacial immensity and heralding the impending onslaught of the entirety Mother Nature’s unbridled fury unleashed upon the earth with absolute impunity. Percussion gallops like the perilous arrival of Four Horseman astride mechanical steeds, unrelenting in their approach and staggering in the totality of terror brought before them. But out of the destruction ethereal vocals arise from the din, carried aloft on luminous guitars that pierce the gray canopy like gleaming swords of divine retribution, neatly vanquishing doom’s most notorious agents. In the wake of this cosmic conflict, Blackwater Holylight rests on a field of poppies as melancholy strings conjure memories of the past laid to rest with enduring reverence.

Not Here Not Gone is available now via Suicide Squeeze. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Blackwater Holylight on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

FEB 13 - Casbah - San Diego, CA - TICKETS

FEB 14 - Last Exit - Phoenix, AZ - TICKETS

FEB 15 - Sister - Albuquerque, NM - TICKETS

FEB 17 - Radio/East - Austin, TX - TICKETS

FEB 18 - White Oak - Houston, TX - TICKETS

FEB 19 - No Dice - New Orleans, LA - TICKETS

FEB 20 - Handlebar - Pensacola, FL - TICKETS

FEB 21 - Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA - TICKETS

FEB 22 - Eulogy - Asheville, NC - TICKETS

FEB 24 - Southern Cafe - Charlottesville, VA - TICKETS

FEB 25 - Metro - Baltimore, MD - TICKETS

FEB 26 - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA - TICKETS

FEB 27 - Meadows - Brooklyn, NY - TICKETS

FEB 28 - Widowmaker Brewing - Braintree, MA - TICKETS

MAR 02 - Westside Bowl - Youngstown, OH - TICKETS

MAR 03 - Black Circle - Indianapolis, IN - TICKETS

MAR 04 - Sleeping Village - Chicago, IL - TICKETS

MAR 06 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO - TICKETS

MAT 07 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO - TICKETS

MAR 08 - Aces High - Salt Lake City, UT - TICKETS

MAR 10 - Neumos - Seattle, WA - TICKETS

MAR 11 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR - TICKETS

MAR 12 - Starlet - Sacramento, CA - TICKETS

MAR 13 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA - TICKETS

MAR 14 - Moe’s Alley - Santa Cruz, CA - TICKETS

MAR 21 - Pacific Electric - Los Angeles, CA - TICKETS

APR 18 - Roadburn - Tilburg, NL - TICKETS

MAY 06 - Ancienne Belgique - Brussels, BE - SOLD OUT

MAY 07 - MS Stubnitz - Hamburg, DE - TICKETS

MAY 08 - A Colossal Weekend - Copenhagen, DK - TICKETS

MAY 09 - Desertfest - Oslo, NO - TICKETS

MAY 10 - Monument - Gothenburg, SE

MAY 12 - Pod Minoga - Poznan, PL - TICKETS

MAY 13 - UT Connewitz - Leipzig, DE - TICKETS

MAY 14 - Desertfest - Berlin, DE - TICKETS

MAY 15 - Stummsche Reithalle - Neunkirchen, BE - TICKETS

MAY 16 - Obsidian Dust - Brussels, BE - TICKETS

MAY 17 - Desertfest - London, UK - TICKETS

MAY 18 - The Cluny - Newcastle, UK - TICKETS

MAY 19 - Stereo - Glasgow, UK - TICKETS

MAY 20 - The Deaf Institute - Manchester, UK - TICKETS

MAY 22 - Sonic Rites - Helsinki, FIN - TICKETS

Death Lens start the year off swinging with “Monolith,” an imposing hardcore anthem that stands tall, representing an evolutionary leap in the band’s high voltage sonic presence for their upcoming third LP, What’s Left Now?, and a confident step forward in their uniquely diverse East LA perspective.

Emerging from within the shuffling static of an analog dial tracking across the airwaves in pursuit of elusive meaning, “Monolith” blends the melodic Latin heartbeat of East Los Angeles with monumental hardcore rhythms and metallic six-string pyrotechnics that coalesce into a towering testament to the tenacity and fortitude required to overcome challenges and arise victorious. The blistering composition explodes with layers of electric attitude unlike anything the band has unleashed before, glistening with the impressive depth and blinding finish of a ‘64 lowrider polished to perfection into an icon of labor and artistry. Pummeling percussion moves in menacing lockstep with colossal basslines as frontman Bryan Torres unleashes a muscular blitzkrieg of confident bravado and leather-tough prose earned from years of self-reliance on the front lines.

The high-contrast video directed by Joél Verges captures the gritty, streetwise nature of Death Lens’ origins with Tarantino-esque flair. Shadowy underpasses illuminated by halogen streetlights burning like embers in the inky blackness set the stage for “Monolith” to rise above the urban foundation, colliding headlong with tight closeups emphasizing the intimate, confessional nature of the track’s unvarnished approach to the unrelenting pressures of survival in the city and the hard work required to stand tall and achieve one’s dreams.

What’s Left Now? releases April 24 via Epitaph. Pre-order and pre-save here. Follow Death Lens on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

JAN 21 - The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA - Tickets

MAR 14 - Concord Music Hall - Chicago, IL - Tickets

MAR 15 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI - Tickets

MAR 16 - Fine Line - Minneapolis, MN - Tickets

MAR 18 - Delmar Hall - Saint Louis, MO - Tickets

MAR 19 - Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS - Tickets

MAR 20 - Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO - Tickets

MAR 23 - Neumos - Seattle, WA - Tickets

MAR 24 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR - Tickets

MAR 25 - Treefort Music Fest 2026 - Boise, ID - Tickets

MAR 27 - August Hall - San Francisco, CA - Tickets

MAR 28 - The Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA - Tickets

MAR 29 - The Observatory North Park - San Diego, CA - Tickets

MAR 31 - AREA15 - Las Vegas, NV - Tickets

APR 01 - Walter Studios - Phoenix, AZ - Tickets

APR 03 - Ferris Wheelers Backyard & BBQ - Dallas, TX - Tickets

APR 04 - Mohawk Austin - Austin, TX - Tickets

JUN 13 - Berlin Breakout 2026 - Berlin, Germany - Tickets

JUN 19 - JUN 21 - Farewell Youth Fest 2026 - Dresden, Germany - Tickets

JUN 26 - JUN 28 - Mighty Sounds Festival 2026 - Tábor, Czechia - Tickets

JUN 26 - JUN 27 - Vainstream 2026 - Münster, Germany - Tickets

2025 is wrapped up and what a year it was! The tidal surge of alt rock revivalists reached new heights, and sounds of the underground percolated with elements of new wave, 2nd wave ska, heavy metal, and raucous punk. Big name legacy acts including Deftones and The Hives released monumental slabs, and fiery newcomers Die Spitz, Rocket, Lambrini Girls, and Spiritual Cramp pressed their way to the front of the pack. N8NOFACE, Wet Leg, and Blackwater Holylight reaffirmed their positions as innovators with releases that challenged expectations and pushed boundaries in thrilling new directions. Here’s a rundown of some of THEEDADROCK.BLOG’s top albums of the year, and a playlist that collects this year’s best tracks.

Die Spitz - Something To Consume

Die Spitz is no fucks given maximum rock n roll personified, distilled to the highest proof and shotgunned in the back seat of Bandit Trans-Am on a full throttle hellride into oblivion. This year’s breakthrough on Third Man rips with an unabashedly female perspective and made a nuclear grade impact, leveling everything in their blast radius to reshape the very landscape of 21st century heavy music.

Read the show recap here. Follow Die Spitz on Instagram.

Flatwaves - Tell Me Secrets

Philly fourpiece Flatwaves unleashed their sophomore LP, Tell Me Secrets, a colossus of alt-shoegaze immensity that rolls and pitches with the elemental fury of primordial gods bending the forces of nature into beautifully rendered and endlessly expansive soundscapes.

Read the full review here. Follow Flatwaves on Instagram.

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Trash Classic

Trash Classic a zeitgeist record that confronts hot button topics from economic malaise to technological paranoia with the fervent insistence of sonic revolutionaries slicing at the soft underbelly of modern day culture with intent to disrupt, deflate, and depose institutionalized inequalities that repress the human spirit with soulless indifference. But despite all the heady proclamations, Frankie and the Witch Fingers keep the proceedings buoyant, imbuing the band’s colossally dense helter-skelter psychedelia with a macrodose of DEVO-esque new wave mania and a propulsive sensation of unstoppable forward momentum that blazes like an array of scattershot fireworks.

Read the release show recap here. Follow Frankie and the Witch Fingers on Instagram.

Home Front - Watch It Die

Releasing late in the year, Home Front dove deeper into shadowy new wave with a greater emphasis on cinematic compositions and dramatic flourishes with Watch It Die, echoing the stylistic of perspectives of alt-rock pioneers The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen with a distinctly hardcore accent that flexes with muscular confidence amidst the billowing gloom.

Follow Home Front on Instagram.

L.A. Witch - DOGGOD

DOGGOD represented a dynamic turn for L.A. Witch, as the band continues to move beyond the heady but nearly obfuscating reverb of their self-titled debut LP, embracing cleaner production that showcases their growing technical prowess and confessional songwriting. On DOGGOD the band has nearly completely shed all but the most fundamental elements of that original sound, realigning their approach with the architectural, high-contrast brutalism of post-punk and darkwave’s haunting angularity.

Read the full review here. Follow L.A. Witch on Instagram.

Lambrini Girls - Who Let The Dogs Out

On their debut LP, UK riot grrrls Lambrini Girls have crafted a full-bore modern punk record that tackles hot-button issues with the head-on intensity of a rogue heat-seeking missile covered in hastily scrawled Sharpie tags and splattered tip to tail in vitriol soaked rainbow glitter. Who Let The Dogs Out is unabashed 21st Century Brighton rock, blasted at maximum volume from the boardwalks to the back alleys, championing working-class struggles that radiate outward from a resolutely feminist origin into biting commentary on modern existence that addresses a broad spectrum of societal maladies.

Read the full review here. Follow Lambrini Girls on Instagram.

Native Sun - Concrete Language

New York’s Native Sun have been causing a ruckus for some time, building a notorious reputation for wild live sets and a dynamic sound that fuses uncompromising fury with textual nuance. With the long awaited release of their debut full-length LP, Concrete Language, Native Sun have proven themselves worthy of cementing their hard earned place at the forefront of modern alternative rock.

Read the full review here. Follow Native Sun on Instagram.

Rocket - R Is For Rocket

R Is For Rocket stands on a hopeful platform. Vividly composed tales of youth and young adulthood on the precipice of the unknown swirl and and burst with fiery insistence and optimistic intent, resolute in the face of turbulence on the path towards a future of one’s own design. It’s a timeless perspective, and one that neatly compliments Rocket’s approach to using distinct sounds to craft stories that rise above passing trends to tap into the wider communal experience of growing up that remains a common thread across the generations.

Read the full review here. Follow Rocket on Instagram.

Spiritual Cramp - RUDE

Rude sands off some of the harder edges and direct references to the band’s immediate influences, but in doing so makes room for Spiritual Cramp to find space for their own identity to flourish in between, like tenacious vegetation working itself into the cracks and cavities of the hard paved surface of the urban landscape. Building on the muscular blitzkrieg of their self-titled LP, Spiritual Cramp lean hard into big guitars and driving rhythms, embracing a more straightforward approach as the core pillar of Rude’s rock n roll circus.

Read the full review here. Follow Spiritual Cramp on Instagram.

Wet Leg - Moisturizer

Moisturizer doesn’t break the mold, largely because it doesn’t need to. Wet Leg’s breakout debut was a lightning rod of boundary pushing, zeitgeist shifting alt rock that crackled with a timeless immediacy resonating far beyond the frequencies of most buzzy young bands. Seemingly aware that lightning doesn’t often strike twice, Wet Leg bottled that initial spark and went to work harnessing the resulting electricity, honing their sarcastic edge to stadium-sized proportions while amplifying the furiously beating heart that drives their inexhaustible appeal.

Read the full review here. Follow Wet Leg on Instagram.

Honorable Mentions

• Deftones - Private Music

• The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever The Hives

• Pink Floyd - Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII

Like Ramones said, “New York City really has it all,” and for native NYers, transplants, and urban romantics alike The Big Apple stands tall as arguably the greatest city on Earth, a boundless wellspring of creativity, ingenuity, and promise. In the grand tradition of celebrating New York’s bonafides in story and song, Gymshorts unleash a pogoing blast of punky energy that revels in the magnetic allure of big city life with a streetwise perspective.

In true Gymshorts fashion jagged, warp speed riffs and maniac percussion bump and shuffle in a high octane mosh with rubberband basslines, rolling and tumbling their way towards a chugging breakdown that winds tighter and tighter before exploding outwards in all directions like a bundle of springs unleashed into a padded room, a burst of helter-skelter projectiles that effortlessly capture the perpetually unpredictable momentum of the City That Never Sleeps. Blasting off a laundry list authentic New York experiences, Gymshorts juxtaposes highbrow institutions like The Met with the ubiquitous presence of corner bodegas, standing up each as equally essential pillars of the New York experience, fueled by a buffet of quintessential cuisine from an exquisitely folded New York slice to the singularly satisfying bacon egg and cheese.

Gymshorts leads a whirlwind tour of New York’s most iconic destinations in the accompanying video, visiting Times Square, Zabar’s, Citi Field (let’s go, Mets go!) and beyond while making pit stops at every deli, diner, and graffiti scrawled bench in between, capturing a street-level view of the City’s multifaceted essence in a way that only a resident can, embracing the grit and grime in equal measure to the glitz and glamour. Joined by esteemed Brooklyn comedian Shane Torres and featuring a cameo with scruffy Sunshine Coast punks The Chats, “Heaps New York” perfectly encapsulates the extraordinary chaos of living in the City and highlights a deeply rooted affinity for the Five Burroughs that spans the globe and beckons countless souls to come and chase their dreams.

“Heaps New York” is on Gymshorts’ next LP, That’s A Lot Of Milk!, coming in 2026. Preorder the record at Bandcamp and follow Gymshorts on Instagram for the latest.

Originally released on Some Days Are Darker’s 2020 EP Love + Truth, “Take Me Anywhere” represented a foundational element in a developing post-gothic sound that joined textural arrangements and fatalistic prose with cinematic drama to craft a simmering neo-noir atmosphere lush with the melancholy of exquisitely doomed romance. Revisited with a full lineup and constructed under the druidic tutelage of legendary desert production wizard Dave Catching, every element of “Take Me Anywhere” has been dialed up for maximum impact on this brilliantly updated reimagining for their forthcoming LP, Black Box Warning.

Subtly accelerated with a percussive insistence that gently but forcefully presses into the red, Some Days Are Darker race towards inevitable oblivion with steel-eyed determination, one hand gripping the wheel and the other resting on the exposed thigh of a lover light years away in the passenger side bucket seat. As the world outside rushes by in a frenzied blur the interior remains still as a tomb, a glass-paneled sarcophagus built for two, threatening to shatter under the silent cacophony of unspoken words and thunderous emotions pounding from within with sledgehammer force.

Cavernous synths articulate a love language that embraces the unmitigated beauty of the moment in full recognition of tangible love’s brief mortality and the eternally enduring presence that lingers in the psyche like a spectral presence long after voluntarily turning one’s back on the fires of passion. Chiming guitars and perfectly rounded basslines coalesce into a siren’s song beckoning from the other side of the looking glass, an irresistible temptation to surrender to a chemical dalliance with the night that explodes in a sweeping finale, a bittersweet parting cast into the void on the tenderness of an impassioned lie.

Reflecting on the Numan-esque automotive isolation of the original video, “Take Me Anywhere” swaps the blindingly desolate expanse of the southwestern desert for the towering urban claustrophobia of a streetlight streaked Manhattan after midnight. Where the former video positions Some Days Are Darker frontman Lear Mason as a driver in total control of his journey, the latter places him alone in the back seat, a solitary passenger under glass ferried from station to station on the shadowy whims of unseen vices and pervasive restlessness veiled in the umbral shroud of a voluntary addiction to an insatiably self-destructive wanderlust.

Black Box Warning releases in 2026. Stream “Take Me Anywhere” on Spotify and follow Some Days Are Darker on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

DEC 05 - Hart Bar - Brooklyn, NY - Tickets

DEC 06 - Song and Dance - Syracuse, NY - Tickets

As one half of the incomparably muscular electric blues duo Deap Vally, Lindsey Troy earned a leather-tough reputation for her no-nonsense feminine perspective and a brassy, larger-than-life presence. Embarking on a new solo journey, Troy reveals a quieter side, one deeply in touch with motherhood and the natural world but still bursting with brilliant vivacity.

“I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” opens with a subdued guitar lead that blissfully wanders beneath a leafy canopy of shimmering synths hovering delicately in the background. Channeling the monumental gothic mysticism of Russian Circles’ “Memorial” with the bucolic spirituality of Joni Mitchell’s iconic “Woodstock” and a dash of Led Zeppelin III’s stripped down saudade, Troy emerges from shadow to tap into elemental essences with breathless sincerity, joyfully spinning in the daffodils and awash in the warmth of nature’s omnipotent embrace.

The track unfurls with the sincerity of a lullaby, passing on maternal wisdom earned through a lifetime’s experience translated into song and abundant with the aspirations carried within the radiant innocence of a child, the living vessel of hopes and dreams and fears made real with the purity of love incarnate. “I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” is a promise to love, guide, and protect communicated gently with playful prose and textural composition as universally understood as the common threads binding mother and child, woven together within the grand tapestry of Mother Nature’s eternal affection for all her children.

In a surprising turn, “I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” makes a tonal shift in the back half, incorporating crystalline keys over a driving beat that stomps with energetic vivacity, transforming the pastoral proceedings into a jubilant explosion of sonic color, like vibrant bougainvillea blooming against perfectly blue springtime skies, a celebration of life and rebirth after a chilly season of slumber.

Swapping the glare of artificial stage lights for golden beams of afternoon sun glittering with prismatic brilliance, husband John Stavas captures Troy with the reverent intimacy of a home movie, awash in the sepia tones and soft focus of a memory whirring across the flickering frames of an old Super 8. Visual layers add a compositional depth that accents the track’s thematic perspective with ghostly remnants of analog film effects and emotive living portraiture that hovers behind Troy’s confident performance, drawing “I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” as close to the artist as possible, deconstructing all barriers except the lens itself to reveal without facade or pretense the beauty and humanity of words and music and light combined into a complete expression of the soul.

Stream “I’ve Seen The Willow Trees” on Spotify and follow Lindsey Troy on Instagram.

Heavy psych mystics Blackwater Holylight cast the first spell in anticipation of their forthcoming LP, Not Here Not Gone. “Heavy, Why?” is an elemental expression of surreal somnambulism fearlessly pressing ahead into the unknown realms of the psyche on a quest for total rebirth.

“Heavy, Why?” simmers with noctilucent beauty, a densely layered descent into hypnagogic strata of churning guitars and colossally heavy rhythmic persistence that bundle tightly like folds of a woolen blanket against the bitterness of winter winds. Ethereal vocals mesmerize amidst the din, joined in otherworldly chorus by the advent of electronic flourishes that presage a steady increase in thrilling momentum as the track barrels towards totality. Exploding in slow catharsis, “Heavy, Why?” mirrors the kaleidoscopic wonder of the heavens, embracing the serenity of the infinite in the receding wake of crushing gravitational forces before settling once more into the stillness of the black.

Stunningly directed by Lorenzo Cisi with creative direction by Candice Lawler, “Heavy, Why?” unfolds as a series of impressionistic vignettes weighty with visual symbolism and hypnotic themes of a spiritual voyage beyond the veil. Like Fates baptized in the waters of the Styx, Blackwater Holylight make their way across the void, following the light of salvation through occult rituals and reflective trials amidst shifting backdrops conjured from the depths of dreams, emerging from the elemental turbulence on the shoreline of eternity.

Not Here Not Gone releases January 30 on Suicide Squeeze Records. Pre-order and pre-save the record here, and follow Blackwater Holylight on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

FEB 13 - Casbah - San Diego, CA

FEB 14 - Last Exit - Phoenix, AZ

FEB 15 - Sister - Albuquerque, NM

FEB 17 - Radio/East - Austin, TX

FEB 18 - White Oak - Houston, TX

FEB 19 - No Dice - New Orleans, LA

FEB 20 - Handlebar - Pensacola, FL

FEB 21 - Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA

FEB 22 - Eulogy - Asheville, NC

FEB 24 - Southern Cafe - Charlottesville, VA

FEB 25 - Metro - Baltimore, MD

FEB 26 - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA

FEB 27 - Meadows - Brooklyn, NY

FEB 28 - Widowmaker Brewing - Braintree, MA

MAR 02 - Westside Bowl - Youngstown, OH

MAR 03 - Black Circle - Indianapolis, IN

MAR 04 - Sleeping Village - Chicago, IL

MAR 06 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO

MAR 07 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO

MAR 08 - Aces High - Salt Lake City, UT

MAR 10 - Nuemos - Seattle, WA

MAR 11 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR

MAR 12 - Starlet - Sacremento, CA

MAR 13 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA

MAR 14 - Moe’s Alley - Santa Cruz, CA

MAR 21 - Pacific Electric - Los Angeles, CA

APR 18 - Roadburn Fest - Tilburg, NL

MAY 06 - Ancienne Belgique - Brussels, BE

MAY 07 - MS Stubnitz - Hamburdg, DE

MAY 08 - A Colossal Weekend Fest - Copenhagen, DK

MAY 09 - Desertfest - Oslo, NO

MAY 10 - Monument - Gothenburg, SE

MAY 12 - Pod Minoga - Poznań, PL

MAY 13 - UT Connewitz - Leipzig, DE

MAY 14 - Desterfest - Berlin, DE

MAY 15 - Stummsche Reithalle - Nuenkirchen, DE

MAY 16 - Obsidian Dust Fest - Brussel, BE

MAY 17 - Desertfest - London, UK

MAY 18 - The Cluny - Newcastle, UK

MAY 19 - Stereo - Glasgow, UK

MAY 20 - The Deaf Institute - Manchester, UK

MAY 22 - Sonic Rites Fest - Helsinki, FIN

Strange Lot show off their knack for substantial psychedelia on their latest single, “Rain and Fog,” a low pressure system of billowing sound and static blanketing the landscape in a dreamlike haze shot through with incredible vibrancy.

B-side to the brilliantly acerbic “Hatin’ You,” the appropriately titled “Rain and Fog” is enshrouded in a misty miasma that obfuscates shuffling rhythms and circadian riffs behind a wall of comfortingly anxious fuzz recalling early Jesus And Mary Chain fractured by a creeping sensation of menacing dread a-la The Black Angels, and tempered by the untouchable cool of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Prismatic flourishes of analog synth pierce the veil with the sweeping majesty of a distant lighthouse, beckoning wayward souls along a safe path toward salvation between jagged outcroppings of angular feedback.

The Stellina Stampouli directed video is a deceptively simple affair, at first blush a straight-up performance recording of the band against a seamless white background, adrift within a liminal space and dusted with a fine layer of static that imbues the subtle imagery with the otherworldly nature of an analog TV broadcast ricocheted off orbiting relays to the humming receptors of a lonely cathode ray tube glowing in the corner of a darkened room. Punctuated by explosions of Pollock pandemonium, the band plays it cool under a shower of technicolor toner that splatters the monochromatic presentation with a lively playfulness wonderfully at odds with the track’s atmospheric heft.

Hatin’ You b/w Rain and Fog is available now on limited 7” vinyl via Greenway Records. Stream the single on Spotify and follow Strange Lot on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

NOV 14 - Tulips FTW - Fort Worth, TX - TICKETS

NOV 15 - Cafe Chimera - Tulsa, OK

NOV 16 - The Sinkhole - St Louis, MO - TICKETS

NOV 18 - Locals Bar & Stage - Des Moines, IA

NOV 19 - Cloudland Theater - Minneapolis, MN - TICKETS

NOV 20 - Madworld Artist Collective - Green Bay, WI

NOV 21 - Liar’s Club - Chicago, IL - TICKETS

NOV 22 - Portal - Louisville, KY - TICKETS

Much like the migratory diaspora that brought the sounds and styles of Jamaica to the cobblestoned alleyways of midcentury UK, San Francisco has long been a melting pot for free radicals and creative refugees fleeing the confines of mainstream expectations to coalesce into a thriving counter-culture defined by pushing back against the status quo. Spiritual Cramp are emblematic of this ethos, and their latest LP, Rude, is a product of San Francisco’s modern street culture and a celebration of the unique diversity, inherent vices, and unmatched beauty the City by The Bay has to offer.

The band’s early releases found Spiritual Cramp adopting a stance that tracked like a head-on collision of Talking Heads’ obtuse arthouse cool and the revolutionary dub-punk rhythms of The Clash, scraped off the sidewalk out in front of Thee Parkside and doused with Fernet into a uniquely potent cocktail of pure attitude and dangerously magnetic cool reflective of their San Francisco origins. The band steadily expanded their sphere of influence on 2023’s self titled LP, embracing a kind of rubbery buoyancy and pogoing propulsiveness that quickly found them in close proximity to weirdo-punk maniacs Viagra Boys and power-pop co-conspirators White Reaper while maintaining a unique identity still largely informed by the fashion-conscious, rabble-rousing ideologies of 1970s UK rude boy culture.

Rude sands off some of the harder edges and direct references to the band’s immediate influences, but in doing so makes room for Spiritual Cramp to find space for their own identity to flourish in between, like tenacious vegetation working itself into the cracks and cavities of the hard paved surface of the urban landscape. Building on the muscular blitzkrieg of their self-titled LP, Spiritual Cramp lean hard into big guitars and driving rhythms, embracing a more straightforward approach as the core pillar of Rude’s rock n roll circus.

The undeniable energy of lead single “At My Funeral” rips hard with chunky, angular riffs like a Queens Of The Stone Age jam that trades macho overconfidence with self-aware cynicism. “Young Offenders” bops with youthful exuberance and the infinite possibilities of a sunny day, and the full-throttle cadence of “Go Back Home” burns rubber like a Honda CB tearing down the street in pursuit of endless adventure on the open road. “I Hate The Way I Look” barks with unhinged ferocity, clawing away at affected mannerisms and innate traits in pursuit of truth and authenticity buried beneath layers of passing fashions.

Despite the more rocking direction taken on Rude, 2nd wave ska is still a crucial part of Spiritual Cramp’s DNA, taking point on the dubby slow burner “Violence In The Supermarket” that blends round basslines and chiming riffs into a disorienting atmosphere of ultracool menace prowling the everyday environs of city life strapped with a switchblade, eyes alert and ever-ready behind polarized Wayfarers for an outburst of the unexpected. “Crazy” and “New Religion” adapt those classic sounds in a more modern direction, inflecting a 2 Tone accent on driving indie rock frameworks, triangulating coordinates to uncharted territory that the band comfortably makes their own and that fits as neatly as a favorite pair of cuffed 501s.

Navigating the off-ramp from young offenders to semi-stable adulthood is challenging, and “Automatic” continues the band’s recurring theme of willful self destruction and the inability to kick the habit of an all-consuming addiction to the chemical highs of a rock n roll lifestyle. It’s a heavy track, celebrating temporary pleasures and shrugging off looming repercussions in favor of another round of bad behavior. Spiritual Cramp enlists Sharon Van Etten on “You’ve Got My Number,” a brilliantly realized ballad of star-crossed lovers on the cusp of emotional maturity, living parallel lives on separate tracks ever so slightly out of alignment. The tragic romance is palpable, like gazes locked across Polk Street before disappearing independently into the passing crowds, only to be left with a lingering sensation of unexplored futures that fade under the buzzing neons and foamy pints of another warm San Francisco night.

Home, like true love, is hard to find. Across the high-voltage dynamism and thematic heft of Rude’s tracklist, San Francisco stands as the center of it all, an idealized representation of the city where so many poets have left their hearts amidst the narrow alleyways and radical inclines. It is a city that breeds creativity and progressive ideologies, forever beckoning restless souls to find, or lose, themselves in the fog.

Rude is available now on Blue Grape Music. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Spiritual Cramp on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

NOV 6 - New York City, NY - Rough Trade Below - tickets

NOV 19 - Bruxelles, Belgium - Forest National

NOV 20 - Paris, France - Zenith Paris - La Villette - tickets

NOV 22 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - AFAS Live - tickets

NOV 24 - Cardiff, United Kingdom - Utilita Arena Cardiff

NOV 26 - Glasgow, United Kingdom - OVO Hydro - tickets

NOV 28 - Manchester, United Kingdom - Aviva Studios

NOV 29 - London, United Kingdom - Alexandra Palace

DEC 1 - Köln, Germany - Palladium Köln - tickets

DEC 2 - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle - tickets

DEC 3 - Hamburg, Germany - Sporthalle Hamburg - tickets

DEC 6 - Stockholm, Sweden - Avicii Arena - tickets

FEB 17 - San Diego, CA - Soma Side Stage - tickets

FEB 18 - Phoenix, AZ - The Rebel Lounge - tickets

FEB 20 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada - tickets

FEB 21 - Austin, TX - 29th Street Ballroom - tickets

FEB 22 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall - tickets

FEB 24 - Atlanta, GA - The EARL - tickets

FEB 25 - Nashville, TN - The Blue Room - tickets

FEB 27 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis - tickets

FEB 28 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg - tickets

MAR 1 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA - tickets

MAR 3 - Boston, MA - Sinclair Lori H - tickets

MAR 5 - Montréal, QC - Foufs - tickets

MAR 6 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace

MAR 7 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop - tickets

MAR 8 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall - tickets

MAR 10 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club - tickets

MAR 11 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar - tickets

MAR 13 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater - tickets

MAR 14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court - tickets

MAR 16 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall - tickets

MAR 17 - Vancouver, BC - The Wise - tickets

MAR 18 - Seattle Hill, WA - Nuemos - tickets

MAR 20 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall - tickets

MAR 21 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom - tickets

Die Spitz is no fucks given maximum rock n roll personified, distilled to the highest proof and shotgunned in the back seat of Bandit Trans-Am on a full throttle hellride into oblivion. From the spiky Nirvana-worship of their underground debut Teeth to the Third Man breakthrough of this year’s Something To Consume, Die Spitz’s unabashedly female perspective has made a nuclear grade impact, leveling everything in their blast radius to reshape the very landscape of 21st century heavy music. Lodge Room played host to the band last Thursday night for a raucous set that irrefutably proved Die Spitz is the new leader of the pack.

D.C. three-piece Flowers For The Dead kicked things off with a lean set of cavernous alternative, generating a massive sound with plenty of space between the instruments for big swings with maximum impact. Ethereal melodies threaded the needle between earth shattering rhythms, incorporating elements of dreamy psychedelia, early emo, and infectious classic rock grooves that shook the air itself with a prehistoric stomp. Impressive arrangements showcased the band’s compositional skill, effortlessly drop-shifting from soaring sequences into runaway explosions of glorious sonic liberation.

Stream Flowers For The Dead on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram.

Die Spitz came alive on stage with canine ferocity, feral and frothing with wild unpredictability and cunning intelligence. A perilous pack of alphas, the band offered no quarter in their coordinated assault. Unleashing a devastating blitzkrieg of percussive sonic artillery that rained down metallic death with howitzer precision and relentless impunity, crackling with the jagged electricity of white-hot riffs and punctuated by Ava Schrobilgen’s primeval howl, a torrent of rage and emotion that’s a contender for perhaps one of the greatest in history.

Easing off the accelerator at key intervals, Die Spitz revealed additional facets to their iron studded exterior. Colossally doomy grooves and soaring melodic moments expanded the scope of the band’s arsenal without compromising on sheer muscularity and dominating presence, breaching lines of demarcation between subgenres with a devil may care attitude that keeps the band from getting in boxed in creatively and allows for a range of expression without the obligation to conform to expectations.

Rotating through instruments and lead vocals throughout the set, each player had their opportunity to take full command, an egalitarian cooperative that relied on the impeccable versatility of the whole band as a unit of equals and a fine demonstration of unique personalities coming together in the unbreakable spirit of female solidarity. There’s a gleeful mania with which the band bum-rushes the barricade, unapologetically claiming space for girls to rage and mosh in male dominated territory. From acrobatic feats of cartwheeling exuberance to the incorporation of a twee toy xylophone and a prom dress wardrobe change for the encore, Die Spitz’s flirtations with feminine Dadaist absurdity lend an air of self-awareness and brilliant levity to the overpowering weight of their sonic presence, and underscore the critical impact of their incendiary voice.

Die Spitz’s tour of world domination continues throughout the remainder of the year. Do not miss the opportunity to bear witness to the rise of a band that is writing the foundational chapters of their legacy in fiery script on the annals of rock n roll history.

Something To Consume is available now. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Die Spitz on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

OCT 24 - Stubb’s - Austin, TX - Tickets

NOV 7- Resonant Head - Oklahoma City, OK - Tickets

NOV 8 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS - Tickets

NOV 10 - Fine Line - Minneapolis, MN

NOV 11 - Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI

NOV 12 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL - Tickets

NOV 14 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, ON

NOV 15 - Bar Le Ritz PDB - Montreal, QC - Tickets

NOV 16 - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA - Tickets

NOV 18 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

NOV 19 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA - Tickets

NOV 20 - Black Cat - Washington, DC - Tickets

NOV 22 - The Blue Room at Third Man Records - Nashville, TN

NOV 23 - The Blue Room at Third Man Records - Nashville, TN

DEC 18 - Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX - Tickets

DEC 19 - Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. - Houston, TX - Tickets

DEC 20 - Trees - Dallas, TX - Tickets

FEB 8 - La Maroquinerie - Paris, France - Tickets

FEB 10 - Hansa 39 - Munich, DE - Tickets

FEB 11 - Gebäude 9 - Cologne, DE - Tickets

FEB 13 - Hole44 - Berlin, DE - Tickets

FEB 14 - Kaiserkeller - Hamburg, DE - Tickets

FEB 15 - Paradiso - Tolhuistuin - Amsterdam, NL - Tickets

FEB 17 - Underworld - London, UK - Tickets

FEB 18 - The Deaf Institute - Manchester, UK - Tickets

FEB 19 - King Tuts - Glasgow, UK - Tickets

APR 11 - Coachella Music and Arts Festival - Indio, CA - Tickets

APR 18 - Coachella Music and Arts Festival - Indio, CA - Tickets

JUN 24 - JUN 27 - Tons of Rock Festival - Oslo, Norway - Tickets

JUN 24 - JUN 27 - Copenhell - Copenhagen, København - Tickets

As the corpse-painted host of Brooklyn metal themed comedy show Two Minutes To Late Night, Jordan Olds reverently roasted heavy music and culture as only a true fan can, embracing melodrama, silliness, and nostalgia at a time when the community needed it most during the depths of pandemic lockdown malaise. Stepping out from behind the desk for his latest project, Olds takes center stage as Blood Vulture to unleash the colossally epic gothic metal LP, Die Close.

Die Close is far from parody. Narrated from the perspective of a reclusive immortal, the album is an exquisitely crafted exercise in translating the pains and uncertainties of a solitary existence in the unique way that only metal can convey, expressed from a deeply personal perspective and exorcized with cacophonous intent in the black language of apocalyptic riffs, explosive rhythms, and massive melodies as terrifying and ancient as pagan mythology.

Enlisting the talents of Brian Fair (Shadows Fall), stand out track “Burn For It” rolls and churns with deliberate intent, surging with the inescapable gravity and fatalistic beauty of a collapsed star folding in upon itself, an event horizon of sound and fury writ large on a galactic scale. But the expanse of eternity is not as encompassing as it would seem, as the vampyre is forced to forever endure the flames of judgement for past crimes, the absolution of the abyss drifting just beyond the grasp of outstretched talons yearning for a rest denied.

Hosted by a familiar that recalls the practical campiness of the Crypt Keeper, Blood Vulture is joined by Sleigh Bells’ pop metal empress Alexis Krauss for the latest installment in Die Close’s visual grimoire. Inspired by iconic 80s horror masterpiece Possession, “Burn For It” opens on a visibly distressed Krauss stumbling across a subway platform, fleeing an unknown terror before crossing the threshold on a one-way train ride to hell. The Blood Vulture himself lurks apathetically alongside beneath the unflinching glare of sterile fluorescents, an ominous reminder of death’s omnipotence. With the abruptness of an earthquake “Burn For It” explodes with demonic energy into a vivid illustration of a solitary descent into incomprehensible madness, Krauss whipping as spasming in an interpretive ballet of death, reality and perception fracturing into a living nightmare of gothic terror and psychological destruction.

Die Close is available now on limited vinyl via Pure Noise Records and digitally at Bandcamp. Stream the album on Spotify and follow Blood Vulture on Instagram.

Upcoming Shows

OCT 18 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT - Tickets

OCT 20 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ - Tickets

OCT 22 - Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV - Tickets

OCT 23 - House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim, CA - Tickets

OCT 24 - Virginia Street Brewhouse - Reno, NV - Tickets

OCT 25 - The UC Theatre - Berkeley, CA

OCT 26 - Midtown Ballroom/Domino Room/Annex - Bend, OR - Tickets

OCT 27 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA - Tickets

OCT 29 - Vogue Theatre - Vancouver, Canada

OCT 30 - Penticton Trade and Convention Centre - Penticton, Canada - Tickets

OCT 31 - MacEwan Hall Concerts - Calgary, Canada

NOV 1 - Fan Park @ ICE District - Edmonton, Canada - Tickets

NOV 3 - Knitting Factory - Spokane - Spokane, WA - Tickets

NOV 5 - Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO - Tickets

NOV 6 - Bourbon Theatre - Lincoln, NE - Tickets

NOV 8 - Vibes Event Center - San Antonio, TX - Tickets

NOV 9 - House of Blues Dallas - Dallas, TX - Tickets

NOV 11 - Marathon Music Works - Nashville, TN - Tickets

NOV 12 - Piedmont Hall - Greensboro, NC - Tickets

NOV 13 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA - Tickets

NOV 16 - The Ritz Ybor - Tampa, FL - Tickets

NOV 18 - Nevermore Hall - Baltimore, MD - Tickets

NOV 19 - Palladium - Worcester, MA - Tickets

NOV 20 - The Fillmore Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA - Tickets

NOV 21 - Palladium Times Square - New York, NY - Tickets

NOV 22 - The NorVa - Norfolk, VA - Tickets