7th Level Music

Tokyo Tea Room’s new single feels and sounds like it’s “Always in the Sun.”

Margate, UK’s Tokyo Tea Room release “Always In The Sun,” the third single from their new album, Feel Forever, out September 18th via Nice Guys. Following the “slinky, funky” (Brooklyn Vegan) “All Night,” “Always In The Sun” has future live favorite written all over it, evoking Random Access Memories-era Daft Punk with its fluid funk guitar, swaggering bass and shimmering synths. Vocalist Beth Dunn sings about a love so intense and radiant that it completely transforms her life. Almost utopian in spirit, “Always In The Sun” captures all of love’s joys.

Listen to Tokyo Tea Room’s “Always In The Sun”

Tokyo Tea Room— Dunn, Daniel James Elliott, Ben Marshall, Sam Teather, and Sam Ewens—is a timeless project whose message transcends the music itself. The band arouses passions and emotions, taking listeners on a journey within a tender, comforting bubble. Their debut album, No Rush, established them as one of the most compelling emerging acts in alternative music, resonating with a growing global audience. With millions of monthly listeners and a sold-out debut North American tour, the band are rapidly building momentum, particularly in the US, where their audience continues to expand. With Feel Forever, Tokyo Tea Room are entering a defining new chapter, evolving their sound while staying rooted in the emotional depth that defines their work.

Feel Forever was written and produced by Elliott with co-production by Kristofer Harris, marking the first time Elliot worked with a producer. Of the recording process, Elliot says, “We took a yacht rock approach to the recording, taking our time to smooth all the edges and make something that felt more polished than the last record. Both of us spent hours obsessing over the smallest detail, which felt very apt for this album. The result is something that we are all very proud of, it’s a different kind of Tokyo Tea Room that has come out the other side of it, but it feels right and I hope people enjoy listening.”

Tokyo Tea Room will return to North America this fall touring in support of forthcoming new music. A full list of dates are below and tickets are on sale now here.

Pre-Order Feel Forever

Stream/Watch:
“Always In The Sun”
“All Night”
“Eyes Off You”

Tokyo Tea Room Tour Dates:
Thu. Sep 24 – Vancouver – Hollywood Theatre
Sat. Sep 26 – Seattle WA – Neumos
Mon. Sep 28 – San Francisco CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club
Wed. Sep 30 – Los Angeles CA – Teragram Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
Thu. Oct. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Oct 2 – San Diego CA – Quartyard
Sat. Oct 3 – Tucson AZ – Club Congress
Mon. Oct 5 – Austin TX – 29th St. Ballroom
Tue. Oct 6 – Houston TX – White Oak Music Hall
Wed. Oct 7 – Dallas TX – Club Dada (indoors)
Fri. Oct 9 – Atlanta GA – Terminal West
Sat. Oct 10 – Durham NC – Motorco Music Hall
Sun. Oct 11 – Washington DC – The Atlantis
Tue. Oct 13 – Brooklyn NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed. Oct 14 – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
Thu. Oct 15 – Boston MA – The Sinclair
Fri. Oct 16 – Montreal QB – Bar le Ritz
Sat. Oct 17 – Toronto ON – Mod Club
Mon. Oct 19 – Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall
Sat. Oct. 31 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
Sun. Nov. 1 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtwache
Mon. Nov. 2 – Berlin, DE @ Mikropol
Wed. Nov. 4 – Cologne, DE @ Yard Club
Thu. Nov. 5 – Paris, FR @ Bellevilloise
Thu. Nov. 19 – Brighton, UK @ Dust
Fri. Nov. 20 – Southampton, UK @ The Joiners
Sat. Nov. 21 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
Sun. Nov. 22 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Pink Room)
Tue. Nov. 24 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
Wed. Nov. 25 – Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
Thu. Nov. 26 – Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
Wed. Dec. 2 – London, UK @ The Garage

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Dummy achieve “Full Spectrum Dominance” with their new single.

Dummy—the Los Angeles-based band of Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, Joe Trainor, and Lance Umble—announce the new album, do you love the color of the sky?, out October 16th via Polyvinyl, with lead single/video “Full Spectrum Dominance” and a fall North American tour. With do you love the color of the sky? Dummy crafts the perfect anti-zeitgeist record, freezing you into their incorporeal moment of time, freed from the rat race and trendiness, embracing insularity to the point that it somehow becomes the future.

If 2024’s Free Energy (and its subsequent remix album, Bubbelibrium DLC) evoked the spirit of Madchester and the optimism of the rave, then do you love the color of the sky? couches itself in a lyrical skepticism that recalls the best of post-rock and drone—think Seefeel, Windy and Carl, Laika, or Disco Inferno—while playfully adorned in jubilant pop hues of early Björk, The Sundays, and Madonna’s Ray of Light.

do you love the color of the sky? is Dummy’s most politically trenchant record, and yet their most inviting. Breakbeats and the captivating voice of keyboardist Emma belie a sleight hand—as the listener becomes enveloped by Dummy’s unshakable grooves, they’ve subconsciously accrued a vision of a new radical politic. Lead single “Full Spectrum Dominance,” for example, comments on A.I. and the devaluation of art. Guitarist Joe comments, “ I was trying to make something just heavier, and we joked it was our nu metal song, during the recording we added the tambourine that gives it a more dancey vibe, Deee- Lite meets Deftones.”

Emma adds, “This is the Technofeudalism bop. Tech billionaires are treating AI like the new Alchemy, using it as a source of power and magic. This supposedly soon-to-be all-powerful technology could not exist without harvesting all of humanity’s intellectual property and collective work. ‘Prima Materia’ is the building block of all alchemical matter, so in the canon of the song, we humans are the Prima Materia.”

The accompanying video directed and animated by Matt Wells (POST MAN) is an experimental montage of 3D animation, found imagery, and motion graphics exploring AI as a modern form of alchemy. Wells drew on the fears and frustrations surrounding the rise of A.I. and its hostile attempt to erode the human experience. Aesthetically, the video is inspired by everything from late 90’s UK music videos and cyberpunk films to early CGI demonstration.

Watch the Video for “Full Spectrum Dominance”

Despite all the allusions to futurism, Dummy are a classic band. Not in the retrofetishist, nostalgia- trapping sense, but in their work ethic and commitment to the music. As Joe recalls of their time since the release of Free Energy, “We toured a lot, around 150 days, and played approximately 113 shows,” with numerous treks around the US and two trips to Europe, “…and on larger stages than ever before,” Alex adds. “Touring has had a huge impact on us and our music.” That is a staggering amount of touring and roadtripping, a feat that can only be achieved if you truly believe in your art and the power of music itself. It stands to reason, then, that their latest release has also completely shucked the idea of being recreated cleanly in the live setting.

“Making music shouldn’t be fun.” It’s a haughty claim, but when Dummy jokingly asserts this, it comes from a sentiment of earnestness and true love for the game. The blood, sweat, and tears of ‘putting in the work’ is what propels do you love the color of the sky? to a triumph—a byproduct of shedding skins through live performance. It’s not a vast departure from their discography, unmistakably them, and yet constitutes a creative leap forward which almost sounds effortless from the group. It’s a treat to witness a band this creatively in-tune with themselves, whose experiments and ideas always hit, who, when they describe a concept, actually stick the landing. Maybe the future of music comes with the type of deep self-actualization Dummy possesses.

Pre-order do you love the color of the sky?

do you love the color of the sky? Tracklist:
1. April Limousine
2. Alluvial Fan
3. Full Spectrum Dominance
4. Squeaky Wheel
5. Touch the Perfect Speed
6. Song of Mana
7. Omen Globe
8. C.B.B.S.I.M.M.P.W.M.
9. N of 1
10. Heaven’s What You Make of It

Dummy Tour Dates:
Tue. Oct. 13 – Fresno, CA @ Tower Lounge *
Wed. Oct. 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel *
Thu. Oct. 15 – Sacramento, CA @ Café Colonial *
Fri. Oct. 16 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project *
Sat. Oct. 17 – Arcata, CA @ Miniplex w/ Dilies
Tue. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios *
Thu. Oct. 22 – Vancouver, BC @ The Wise *
Fri. Oct. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern *
Sat. Oct. 24 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux *
Mon. Oct. 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ International Bar *
Tue. Oct. 27 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive *
Wed. Nov. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Sid The Cat Ballroom

* = w/ Golomb

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

“If You Don’t Know” the Wine Lips’ new single, you’re missing out.

Toronto’s Wine Lips return with “If You Don’t Know,” the second single from their upcoming album TV Dinner, out August 28 on Stomp Records. Pulling from the blown-out punch of ’90s alt rock and garage while keeping their signature psych chaos intact, the track lands somewhere between the hook-heavy crunch of The Hives, the fried-out swirl of Osees, and the ragged urgency of Frankie and the Witch Fingers, with flashes of Nevermind-era vocal weight cutting through the noise. Following the sharp, confrontational punch of lead single “Projector,” this one shifts inward, heavier, more reflective, but no less immediate. Built around blown-out vocals, chorus-drenched guitar lines, and a locked-in mid-tempo drive, “If You Don’t Know” leans into the band’s rawer instincts. It moves like a late summer rip down the 401 at sunset, bugs cracking against the windshield, half cut, windows down, volume too loud, head nodding at just the right tempo to make you feel like you’ve tapped into something. The guitars smear at the edges while Aurora Evans’ drums hit like a truck, her snare snapping dead center, physical, sharp, and impossible to ignore.

Lyrically, the track circles burnout, detachment, and the slow realization that time doesn’t move the way it used to. “Been a long long while since 16” lands less like nostalgia and more like a quiet gut check, the kind that creeps in somewhere between last call and the first train home. It’s not dramatic. It just settles in. Over the last decade, Wine Lips have quietly built one of the most formidable independent rock careers to come out of Canada, racking up more than 50 million streams, earning praise from Iggy Pop on BBC Radio, and touring relentlessly across North America, Europe, the UK, and Asia. Somewhere along the way, they became something harder to pin down, a fuzzed-out, road-worn force that thrives just outside the mainstream while pulling in a global audience.

As the album rollout continues, Wine Lips show no signs of slowing down. Following the release of TV Dinner, the band will head back onto international highways with a fall tour supporting Death From Above 1979 and another European run already on the horizon. With TV Dinner, that balance tightens. If earlier records felt like full-tilt psychedelic escape, this one keeps its feet planted on cracked pavement. The chaos is still there, but it’s more focused now, shaped by glowing phone screens, long nights that blur together, and the low hum of everything being just a bit too much. “If You Don’t Know” sits right in that pocket, heavy, restless, and locked in.

Keep your mind open.

[If you don’t know…subscribe. You’ll know plenty of music news then.]

[Thanks to Chad at No Rules PR.]

Review: MAQUINA. – Body Transmission

MAQUINA. (João Cavalhiero – guitars and effects, Halison Peres – drums and vocals, and José “Mendy” Rego – bass) took more time to craft their second album, Body Transmission, than their debut album (Prata, which more more focused on improvisation), but that only means they had plenty of opportunities to make sure it would be relentless.

The opening riffs and beats of “dança” (with Dame Area helping on vocals) are your passcode to the dance floor and also the lock on the door as it closes behind you, because you won’t be leaving for a while. “4-to-the-floor” has Cavalhiero chugging out near-metal riffs while Peres’ vocals take on gritty, distorted, growling menace.

Already feeling tired from the dancing? No worries, because “collapsing” will keep you from doing just that with its wild vocals, chainsaw guitars, and driving bass line. Rego’s bass on “agony” is designed to push you through the aches and dehydration of all the dance floor aerobics…because we’re not even halfway through the album. Cavalhiero’s guitar work on “bizarro” sounds like a sawmill full of hornets.

The short instrumental “valve” gives you just enough time to chug a small bottle of water before the great-for-grinding (either hunks of metal on a stone or bodies on bodies) “simulation.” Then, is it just me or do the opening drums of “step on me” reveal Peres’ love of ZZ Top‘s Billy Beard? Rego’s bass on it is perhaps his grooviest of the whole album.

Peres shouts / roars his vocals through “out of fear” to encourage us to shake off our fears through action (in this case, dancing). The album ends with “pressure / pleasure,” a sweaty, sizzling, throbbing dance-punk track to leave you exhausted and a bit euphoric.

Body Transmission is another winner from MAQUINA. The album’s title fits, as the songs feel like they’re being directly transmitted to and through your body from them. The way it makes you move transmits signals from your body to others, which repeats the process throughout the room, club, bus station, or wherever you are.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Pol declare their status as “Sex Machines” with their new single.

Following a single launch show at Paris Fashion Week last night, today Pol release their new single “Sex Machines”.

Pol is a band made up of Dutch brothers Ruben and Matthijs Pol. They bring a unique fusion of sound, image, and performance that reimagines New Wave not as nostalgia but as a living language of today.

The new track “Sex Machines” explores the bleeding of a lovers’ shared promise, where intimacy transforms into a cold, repetitive performance. A state where past-lovers operate as machines, using lust to shield themselves from an uninhabitable reality. Built on twitching beats, serrated guitars and clipped vocals, the track’s robotic chant of “we are sex machines” cuts through an atmosphere of mounting tension and nocturnal menace.

“Sex Machines” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/F9WFNE98mYU
Other streaming options: http://republicofmusic.lnk.to/polsexmachines

In 2023, Pol released their self-titled debut EP, which introduced their analogue-driven edge. This was followed by the singles ‘Masks’ and ‘The Chameleon’, which embraced a more theatrical, New Romantic tone.

The duo have since built an independent universe from the ground up, designing all visuals, videos, merch, and a fanzine themselves. Their first zine, a reflection on their West European tour, is sold at cult bookshop Librairie 1909 in Paris. Their multidisciplinary approach has also led to sound design collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu and more.

In early 2026, Pol performed sold-out shows in London, Lille and Paris opening for Lebanon Hanover. Now they prepare for the next chapter, opening with new single “Sex Machines”.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Cor de Lux release “The Cringe” ahead of their debut album and upcoming tour.

Cor de Lux, who recently announced their signing to Ipecac Recordings, release their label debut, Year Of The Horse, on Sept. 18.

A preview of the nine-song album arrives today with “The Cringe” and its accompanying video (https://youtu.be/GL1308BBhKI). The snarling single charges forward at full blast before veering into an atmospheric passage where the intertwined guitars of Dawn Moraga and Tim Lusk drift into haunting territory.

Moraga says of the track: “Living in a developing country really engraved in my heart about knowing what is important and what is not,” referencing her time abroad in Nicaragua. “Materialism fades like bad jeans. The exploitation of the poor to make the rich richer makes my blood boil.”

Bass player John Bliven adds: “’The Cringe’ explains our disdain of the billionaire ‘elite’ and the system that keeps them rapidly gaining. ‘I make a dollar a day’ refers to CEOs giving themselves a tiny salary while obtaining massive share value. Those shares aren’t taxed unless sold, and even then, that tax rate is less than the income tax everyone else pays.”

Produced by J. Robbins (War on Women, Mary Timony), Year Of The Horse captures Cor de Lux’s competing impulses: abrasion and melody. Atmosphere and momentum, chaos and control. Across nine songs, the Kill Devil Hills quartet balances post-hardcore urgency, shoegaze bliss, and guitar-driven catharsis. Recorded with Robbins, the album preserves the raw chemistry that defines the band while pushing their songwriting into sharper, more immediate territory.

Year Of The Horse is available for pre-order now with the album available on multiple limited vinyl variants (including a hyper-limited Bandcamp exclusive swirl vinyl and Ipecac/Cor de Lux orange effect vinyl), standard black vinyl, cassette, CD, and digitally: https://cordelux.lnk.to/horse.

The band ventures out on a brief tour this Fall, joining SLIFT for a handful of dates:

October 7 Philadelphia, PA Ortlieb’s

October 8 Brooklyn, NY The Broadway

October 10 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace *

October 11 Detroit, MI El Club *

October 13 Chicago, IL Outset *

October 14 St. Paul, MN Turf Club *

October 15 Davenport, IA Racoon Motel

*-w/SLIFT

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Protomartyr return when we need them most with tour dates, an upcoming album, and their new single – “Sounds We Cannot Hear.”

Preeminent prophets of societal decline Protomartyr announce their new album, Hotel Usona, out September 25th via Domino, and release the lead single/video, “Sounds We Cannot Hear.” Recorded with legendary producer Dave Fridmann (Sleater-Kinney, MGMT, The Flaming Lips) at his own Tarbox Road Studios in western New York, Hotel Usona is an effort that finds the Detroit post-punk outfit reckoning with the horrors of our current moment. It is not easy listening. It’s essential.

Over the last two decades, Protomartyr—vocalist Joe Casey, drummer Alex Leonard, bassist Scott Davidson, and multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Greg Ahee—have built one of the most rewarding and often exhilarating bodies of work in recent memory by veering in and out of darkness, grappling with what most frightens us, saddens us, disgusts us, embarrasses and enrages us, and with a gallows humor for the ages, gives a sense of the comedy inherent in so much that we encounter. Essentially, the stuff that makes us human.

Casey has imagined his country as an aging hotel here, each song a room haunted by its own troublesome guest, as on today’s “Sounds We Cannot Hear,” which arrives with a video starring Nate Varrone (Maddie’s Secret and “The Bear”). The song finds Casey examining the slow paralysis of modern life: “The scroll deforms the day // Poet screamed, “Goodbye everybody!” // Leaping from the liner Orizaba // As it traversed the Caribbean Sea // A new vulgar company is targeting me.”

Watch the Video for “Sounds We Cannot Hear”

Musically, Ahee has built worlds within a world, drawing new influence from the Middle East and ‘50s exotica, finding common ground between dread and joy, a speciality. All of it—Leonard’s drumming in particular—is rendered more tangible and terrifying by Fridmann, whose son, Jon, contributes horns. You can feel the stakes in every song, feel the band levitating to meet them. They’ve never sounded more powerful. Take it from someone who knows: Iggy Pop.

What is a Protomartyr? I don’t really know, but I imagine it may refer to an earthly being who wants a little more than the usual shit out of life. A person or persons who want to be part of something beautiful and interesting, with the understanding that you may pay a price for that, and that others who come after will have an easier time. Kind of like Jesus.

So then there is Protomartyr the band. Four guys who are very, very skilled musicians and creators who I suspect would be totally fucked without the intervention of their talents, which are considerable. They are, to put it crudely, a kind of rock band out of Detroit. That’s a subject I know something about. And they’ve made a new album. It is highly themed and symphonic in its reach. I could call it a kind of drive-through Sgt. Peppers, but that would miss the mark. This record is Wagnerian, it reminds me very much of the Opera Tristan and Isolde (by Richard Wagner). Musically, it sounds modal, and kind of chromatic, like I imagine Celtic war horns might sound in some forgotten battle. The singer, Joe Casey, is blessed with a beautiful voice that you want to listen to, but he stays perverse enough to keep things interesting when he wants to get petulant or a little bitchy.

One of my favorite moments on the record is when he simply announces, all alone, “We got a bad review.” Which presides a furious outpouring from the entire group. Wow! I wish I thought of that! And in today’s world, how relatable! Who hasn’t gotten a bad review? Plumbers, shoe salesmen, etc etc etc. right up to Influencers. All is reviewed… I’m trying hard not to let this attempt at biography turn into a review, but hey, I’ve been listening to these guys for quite a while now and I get the feeling that they are a slow growth item, something that is gaining followers, listeners, and respect little by little, over the long haul. There’s a lot of content here. The four of them can shift rhythms and harmonics very, very smoothly in a way that seems effortless. It’s the mark of fine arts in a popular group.
— Iggy Pop

Pre-Order Hotel Usona

This fall, Protomartyr will embark on a world tour, making stops in major cities throughout the United States, EU/UK, and Canada. Tickets are now available here. Protomartyr will also support The Jesus and Mary Chain in Austin. A full list of tour dates is below.

Hotel Usona Tracklist
1. The Old Hotel
2. Sounds We Cannot Hear
3. Converts
4. Exalted Eagles
5. The Knife Dream
6. Feed the Sewer
7. Lavender – Gospel
8. Third Country
9. Checking Out

Protomartyr Tour Dates:
Mon. Oct. 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
Tue. Oct. 20 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
Thu. Oct. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent *
Fri. Oct. 23 – San Jose, CA @ the Ritz *
Sat. Oct. 24 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall *
Tue. Oct. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
Wed. Oct. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl *
Thu. Oct. 29 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin *
Sat. Oct. 31 – Austin, TX @ Far Out Lounge ^
Sat. Nov. 7 – Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall #
Sun. Nov. 8 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques #
Tue. Nov. 10 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom #
Wed. Nov. 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Thu. Nov. 12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
Fri. Nov. 13 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
Sat. Nov. 14 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle #
Sun. Nov. 15 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy #
Tue. Nov. 17 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East #
Wed. Nov. 18 – St. Louis, MO @ Duck Room #
Thu. Nov. 19 – Chicago @ Metro #
Fri. Dec. 4 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic
Thu. Feb. 11 – Leeds, UK @ Irish Center
Fri. Feb. 12 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage
Sat. Feb. 13 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
Mon. Feb. 15 – Bristol, UK @ The Lantern
Tue. Feb. 16 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Thu. Feb. 18 – Lille, FR @ L’Aeronef
Fri. Feb. 19 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
Sat. Feb. 20 – Brussels, BE @ Le Botanique
Mon. Feb. 22 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Tue. Feb. 23 – Hamburg, DE @ Bahnhof Pauli
Wed. Feb. 24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
Fri. Feb. 26 – Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu Club
Sat. Feb. 27 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Sun. Feb. 28 – Prague, CZ @ Meet Factory

* w/ Accessory
^ w/ the Jesus and Mary Chain
# w/ J.R.C.G

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Deux Visages release “Always You” ahead of summer tour.

Just off the heels of their soaring single “Always You”, burgeoning trio Deux Visages has announced a direct support slot on Sweet Pill‘s upcoming Summer run in addition to joining The Linda Lindas as special guests on the East Coast in October. The dates cover Los Angeles, New York City, Texas, the Pacific Northwest and more. See below for a full list of dates, and find more info on tickets here.

Deux Visages is vocalist Daphney Hanono, guitarist Jack Chiu and bassist Tony Jouvin. Their emergence has been a whirlwind. Founded over a thread of DMs in high school, they were hastily signed to Atlantic Records after word of their rampant and immersive live shows hit. Fast-forward >> a series of singles, an EP, support tours with Mannequin P*ssy, julie and Wunderhorse, plus an uproot from Miami to Philadelphia >> the three have now perfected their chemistry and eclectic, earnest dream-pop rock that is singularly Deux Visages.

Last month they announced their signing to Pure Noise Records alongside their sentimental, infectious track “Always You”. Frontwoman Daphney Hanono enthuses “’Always You’ is the song that we always wanted to write. It’s about being a fly on the wall and watching over someone you love. It’s about longing, uncertainty, and fear. Essentially, a song that’s written to be a cry for someone that won’t hear.”

“Always You” taps into Deux Visages’ visceral experience of grieving your childhood – and the duality of trying to hold onto it while also tearing yourself away from it. It’s the first preview into their debut studio album which is due Fall 2026.

Watch / Share / Playlist “Always You”

Deux Visages Live Dates:

Aug 17: Dallas, TX – AM/FM *
Aug 19: Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall *
Aug 21: Austin, TX – Mohawk *
Aug 22: San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger *
Aug 25: Mesa, AZ – The Nile *
Aug 27: Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre *
Aug 28: San Francisco, CA – August Hall *
Aug 30: Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre *
Aug 31: Seattle, WA – Neumos *
Sep 03: Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater *
Sep 05: Omaha, NE – The Slowdown *
Oct 02: Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre ~
Oct 04: Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts ~
Oct 06: Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club ~
Oct 07: New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place ~
Oct 08: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel ~

* w/ Sweet Pill
~ w/ The Linda Lindas

Keep your mind open.

[I’m always hoping you’ll subscribe.]

[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side.]

Spike F*ck releases his first single in years – “All By Myself.”

For ten years Spike F*ck has existed more as a messy myth than an artist; sporadic works forever poised on the precipice of triumph, rumours of death or insanity and so on. His Smackwave EP (Partisan), now a decade old and certified cult classic was aptly censored by media outlets. The release addressed themes as literal as the title suggests; drug use, gender identity, Catholicism and existentialism.

Soon after, Spike was swept up in the whirlwind of unexpected success, going from underground warehouse parties and impromptu performances on Melbourne trams to catching the eye of Rick Owens, draped in high fashion and editorial photoshoots accompanied by interviews in which he gave unrelenting and uncensored details of his life. On the precipice of breakthrough, Spike disappeared. It had all happened in a flash, he was gone; and it seemed as if the artist witnessed by others was merely a relic of that time period, or possibly a figment of their imagination. Bootleg uploads and comments on old YouTube videos discussed possibilities that seemed wild but believable, given Spike’s nature, fueling rumours of monastic solitude, relapse, or reinvention. Only the most sincere kept the myth alive. Their recent return to performance showcased that Spike had been thoroughly consecrated in underground memory with three sold out LA shows and two sold out nights in NYC.

Luckily, the devotion to his music persevered, somewhat bolstered by his inconsistency and inaccessibility. This inexplicable goodwill towards his artistry is perhaps partly due to Spike’s timeless, pained and confessional lyricism, though more pointedly, the fragility of a life mired in addiction. His being or works does not question the virtue of life, but simply addresses the numb, pragmatic and far more immediate matter of surviving another day, an almost ineffable sentiment only justified by his distinct, poetic audaciousness.

Today Spike F*ck returns. He’s signed with Sacred Bones Records and has announced his long anticipated debut album evidence, due October 2. The album is a brazen proof of life statement. Convicted by the outlandish idea of evidencing a ‘you had to be there’ mentality, the record honors the presence in body, a record to be felt, never to be rationalized. evidence isn’t forthcoming in providing explanations of Spike’s absence. It isn’t a tell-all collection of songs about obsession, guilt, nor is it a document of the subsequent transformation, or enlightenment. Spike’s prior fixations on the questions of man or woman, drug addict or ascetic, trickster or rockstar, have driven an unmitigated pursuit of knowing a ‘true self’. This pursuit is no longer his chief concern, nor is he plagued by over conceptualization of who he is but simply, when he is. For this is Spike F*ck, and this is evidence.

Lead single “ALL BY MYSELF” is an expert fusion of new wave, glam and soul with a vocal performance that oscillates between being blasé, vulnerable and manic. With its feelgood, family-friendly punk doo-wop production, Spike is misleading on if his joy comes from the pride in solitude, or from loneliness and a ‘give me everything’ mentality in the act of shooting heroin. Of “ALL BY MYSELF” and its video, Spike tells –

“If someone asks: what does it mean? We’ve done the job.

As society has abandoned mythologies, we must create our own… that sounds trite and I’m not quite sure how to defend that statement really. We’re not existentialists. In any case, we also live in a completely schizophrenic society in this sense, so the idea to create a story of a war hero/criminal undergoing an absurdist spiritual transformation seemed almost obligatory. Purgatorial musings, heaven and hell, redemption, fantasy, a mushroom that talks so on and so forth.

People understand truth through analogy, moreover, parables. We sought to create something about redemption, forgiveness, faith, hope and charity that is available to whomever seeks it. I may not be the most reliable narrator, I admit that freely, yet the fantasy of it all is healthy. So is a dose of whimsy or even a small dash of grand delusion.

So this video, along with the entire record, is a series of clues, a collection of pieces of evidence… Hopefully this video raises more questions than it answers.”

Listen / Watch / Playlist “ALL BY MYSELF”

While plans had been in motion to release his now-shelved, ‘original’ debut record, Pure O, Spike was gripped by an insatiable urge to complete and present evidence. Written and recorded in 3 months alongside producer Adam Hyde (Keli Holiday), the record is informed by the realization he could not think his way into a state of emotion, only graduate into it; a process outside his control. There was a desire to evidence the mix of frustration, confusion and resentment; all too familiar feelings Spike had tried in vain to repress.

As Spike says, “this record is carnal and confident. I wanted to approach songwriting in the same way a director shooting a slasher film does. Get to the point and make people feel it all. I want this record to cut like a sharp knife”. Citing Pere Ubu, New York Dolls, The Temptations and Bettye Swan as key influences, and inspired by the banned 1971 manual, The Anarchist Cookbook, Spike sought to create something unsettling and perplexing, yet simple. It’s a rush to listen to, as if tagging along on a particularly wild night out. At once it is fun and memorable, but also truly life-altering as if you hit a pedestrian in your car and fled the scene, left to grapple with the thrill, guilt and fear of being caught.

evidence is an album that lives outside the limits of discourse; its purpose is eponymous and self-evident. It is what it is, and is subject to interpretation. There is no point in interrogating attachments, virtue or value. The only rightful way to live is to be.

Pre-Order / Pre-Save evidence

Spike F*ck Live Dates:

Oct 02: Sydney, AU – Oxford Art Factory
Oct 03: Brisbane, AU – Crowbar
Oct 04: Wollongong, AU – Yours & Owls Festival
Oct 09: Perth, AU – Wyola Club
Oct 10: Adelaide, AU – Jive
Oct 18: Melbourne, AU – Thornbury Theatre
Oct 23: Rotterdam, NL – Left of the DIal
Oct 24: Rotterdam, NL – Left of the DIal
Oct 27: Bruges, BE – Cactus Club
Oct 29: Bristol, UK – The Croft
Oct 30: Sheffield, UK – Hallamshire Hotel
Oct 31: Newcastle, UK – Zerox
Nov 01: Glasgow, UK – The Hug & Pint
Nov 03: Manchester, UK –   The Abbey
Nov 04: Leeds, UK – Oporto
Nov 06: London, UK – The Dome
Nov 07: Athens, GR – Illion Plus
Nov 08: Thessaloniki, GR – Eightball Club
Nov 10: Skopje, MK – Cafe Kotur
Nov 11: Zagreb, HR – Molotow Industrial Bar
Nov 12: Munich, DE – Mills
Nov 15: Berlin, DE – Urban Spree
Nov 16: Hamburg, DE – Molotow Top Ten Bar
Nov 17: Krakow, PL – Klub RE
Nov 18: Ostrava, CZ – Barrak Club
Nov 20: Bologna, IT – Freakout Club
Nov 24: Dublin, IL – Whelan’s
Nov 27: Paris, FR – Le Hasard Ludique
Nov 29: Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso (Upstairs)

Keep your mind open.

[You can subscribe by yourself. It’s okay. No one else needs to know.]

[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side.]

Fat Dog decry “Shit Love” with their new single.

Last month, Fat Dog announced second album Cancel Me (I’m Tired). The follow up to their breakout 2024 debut album WOOF., the album is due out October 2nd via Domino.

Announced with its title track last month, the album is an exhilarating, swaggering, panoramic, inventive, re-inventive, re-re-inventive electro-punk-art-pop-rock’n’roll-space-country triumph that deserves all the adjectives. Over ten mind-bending and melodic tracks, it blends electro-pop anthems, cascading rave bangers, bombastic strings, cowboy-tinged pitstops and swirling psychedelia.

Today, fresh off a run of stadium shows supporting Foo Fighters, Fat Dog are back to share another preview of the new album, a single called “Shit Love.” All stabbing synths, manic vocals and a beat that sounds like a rollercoaster trying to shake itself off the tracks, the track is, according to frontman Joe Love, about “two fucking insane people who argue constantly and they are world-enders every time.”

Keep your mind open.

[You can express better love by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]