Look at that cover art. Really take it in. It’s beautiful. It looks like the cover of a ’90s underground comic about a heroic, super-powered rioter. It looks fucking awesome. I really shouldn’t need to write anything to get you to check out this new EP from the Manchester-based hardcore band T.S. Warspite. You should already be sold.
Madi Diaz has this incredible talent: She makes common modern language about romantic relationships sound poetic and emotionally charged. Even therapy-speak that would come off as cringe coming from most people, when harnessed and molded by Diaz, takes on a kind of raw-nerve intimacy that transcends cliché. On “Why’d You Have To Bring Me Flowers,” the final single from this week’s Fatal Optimist, she’s done it again. “My toxic trait is hanging on,” Diaz begins. “Your toxic trait is showing up.”
If you like to hear voices and acoustic guitars and sometimes strings cascading all over each other in a headlong rush, you should be advised that the singer and composer Hannah Frances will release Nestled In Tangles, her new album, later this week. Frances sounds absolutely nothing like, say, Ed Droste, but you can hear some echoes of Grizzly Bear in her ecstatic impressionism, and that’s not your imagination. Grizzly Bear member Daniel Rossen contributed a bit to the album, and he’s a featured guest on Frances’ new song “The Space Between.”
Back in the spring, Bill Orcutt teamed up with fellow experimental guitar virtuosos Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza, and Shane Parish as the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet for the revelatory album HausLive 4. This week the former Harry Pussy mastermind is back with news of a new solo album called Another Perfect Day. In a note to Bandcamp followers, he summed it up like so:
The first weekend of Austin City Limits 2025 is well underway at Austin’s Zilker Park, and on Saturday night Sabrina Carpenter, Man’s Best Friend herself, held court as headliner. She brought along some other famous people for the occasion.
Saturday Night Live kicked off its 51st season Saturday night with an episode heavy on pop stars. Newly announced Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Bad Bunny, a regular around Studio 8H lately, was back to host, but not to be musical guest. That honor went to Doja Cat, fresh off the release of new album Vie. Making her first SNL appearance, she gave a highly expressive performance of “AAAHH MEN!” that ended with her shaking on the floor, followed a more subdued run through “Gorgeous” spent seated in a giant rose.
New stacked compilation alert! Big Hug Records got Robber Robber, Asher White, Dirt Buyer, Scarlet Rae, Starcleaner Reunion, My Wonderful Boyfriend, Margaux, villagerrr, and more indie faves to contribute to an album whose proceeds go to New Alternatives, an NYC resource center that helps transgender homeless youth and young adults transition out of the shelter system.
Earlier this week, Lola Young announced she’s “going away for a while” after she collapsed onstage during her All Things Go festival performance. Now, she’s taking legal action against one of the producers of her mega-viral hit “Messy” due to a dispute over songwriting credits.
In the late ’80s, Via only played two shows before disbanding. The group is made up of Thalia Zedek (Come, Live Skull, Uzi), Jerry di Rienzo (Cell, Nuclear Theater), James Apt (Six Finger Satellite), Adam Gaynor (Nuclear Theater), and Phil Milstein (Uzi), and they’re releasing their long-lost eponymous EP this fall. The aptly titled “1,000 MPH” is out now.
The emo reunions continue: Marietta performed their first show since 2015 last night at the Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association in their hometown of Philly. It was as cathartic as you’d expect.