Music

Northless’ Nick Elert sets the score for Wisconsin horror

May 20, 2015

Film composition is a largely unsung art form. For every Marvin Hamlish crossing out the O on his or her ongoing EGOT campaign, thousands upon thousands of musicians work in relative silence, despite—quite iron...

Jenny Lewis fucking killed it last night at Turner Hall

Matt Wild

May 20, 2015

Jenny Lewis fucking killed it Tuesday night at Turner Hall.The former Rilo Kiley frontwoman and critically acclaimed solo artist put on a confident, defiant, and masterful show worthy of any arena-packing r...

Tame Impala makes good on Riverside Theater sellout

Cal Roach

May 15, 2015

Tame Impala’s last visit to Milwaukee was for a very-sold-out performance at Turner Hall just over two years ago. The band was riding high on widespread accolades for its second LP, Lonerism, and as a live unit...

Temple’s catalog grows as its lineup shrinks

Tyler Maas

May 15, 2015

Over a two-day stretch last June, criminally underrated Milwaukee post-punk quartet Temple stepped into the booth at Shane Hochstetler's since-relocated Howl Street studio—for the first time since recording its...

Some questions (and answers) for last night’s Bob Dylan show at Riverside Theater

Matt Wild

May 14, 2015

It’s telling that when it comes to Bob Dylan—hands-down the greatest singer-songwriter of all time—one needs to practically apologize for wanting to see him play live. Dylan, ever the confounding contrarian, do...

Milwaukee Psych Fest returns to Cactus Club, brings Feck out of retirement

Cal Roach

May 13, 2015

Like most pop culture terminology, the meaning of “psychedelic” has changed over the years. As a description of music, it entered the lexicon a half-century ago as a drug reference. Nowadays, it might have no c...

Exclusive: Listen to a track from Hello Death’s upcoming album, Remnants

Matt Wild

May 12, 2015

Band monikers can often be random and arbitrary, but Milwaukee’s Hello Death is nothing if not aptly named. The experimental folk quartet—made up of members of Group Of The Altos—is both welcoming and morose, f...

Death From Above 1979 will play Turner Hall July 29

Tyler Maas

May 11, 2015

It figures that mere hours after we put the finishing touches on a list of non-festival Milwaukee shows to check out this summer, perhaps the best show meeting that ultra-specific set of criteria is announced. ...

Tracklist: 12 non-festival Milwaukee shows worth checking out this summer

Milwaukee Record Staff

May 11, 2015

Summertime musical entertainment in Milwaukee typically finds a home at the city’s 8,000 street fests, or, you know, that whole Summerfest thing. But look beyond the temporary street stages and the sea of dance...

Chimp Eats Banana keeps the spirit of Chumbawamba alive

Tyler Maas

May 8, 2015

When you read the name "Chambawamba" in the headline of this article, you almost assuredly thought something along the lines of "Oh, God!" or "Why?" Who knows, maybe both. The vast majority of the world knows t...

Watch The Midwest Beat’s European tour sendoff, “High Up In The Alps”

Tyler Maas

May 7, 2015

For reason even the band itself can't fully grasp, The Midwest Beat is big in Italy. In fact, the decade-old Milwaukee/Madison folk-rock act says its material seems to go over better with European listeners tha...

Get to know Vincent VanGREAT with new “Ninja Sauce” video

Tyler Maas

May 5, 2015

Back in March, we formally introduced you to Vincent VanGREAT—the longtime producer of veteran rap collective, SAFS Crew—by way of "Blast Off," the first single from his forthcoming UnGREATful. Though the highl...

Stream the new Piles full-length, Planet Skin

Tyler Maas

May 5, 2015

"The same actions, expecting different outcomes"—the pre-chorus croon in "Mude," partway through Piles' Planet Skin—is a strangely apt lyric for a band that hasn't changed much since its great introductory salv...

Death Cab For Cutie plays it safe in Riverside Theater sellout

Tyler Maas

May 5, 2015

It's ironic, really, but with close to 20 years of existence to its credit—at least half of which was spent either near or at the top of the indie rock pecking order—and 100-some songs in circulation, Death Cab...

Here’s the lineup for the 8th annual Burnhearts/Pabst Street Party

Tyler Maas

May 4, 2015

Each summer of Burnhearts’ existence, the Bay View beer bastion has simultaneously celebrated summer and one of the most iconic (formerly) Milwaukee-made beers with the annual Burnhearts/Pabst Street Party. The...

Max Devereaux beats back the darkness with Wasteland

Tyler Maas

May 4, 2015

Milwaukee-based experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist Max Devereaux says he likes to see how far he can push himself. Sonically, his self-described "stream of consciousness" recorded encapsulations of...

Body Futures’ new video is a shot-for-shot homage to an ABBA video

Matt Wild

April 30, 2015

Body Futures’ 2014 album Brand New Silhouettes was the sound of a band making music simply for the sake of making music. Populated by scene stalwarts like Dixie Jacobs (former White, Wrench, Conservatory) and h...

Poking holes in “poptimism”

Milwaukee Record Staff

April 30, 2015

Every Wednesday at noon, Ryan Schleicher, Evan Rytlewski, and Matt Wild take to the WMSE airwaves to discuss all things Milwaukee. This half-hour fun-fest is called The Disclaimer, so named because none of the ...

Graham Hunt discusses new Midnight Reruns releases, opening for The Replacements

Tyler Maas

April 29, 2015

Though Midnight Reruns had an EP in circulation already, the release of the band's next-to-flawless self-titled 2013 album truly brought the rock outfit to local consciousness and saw them privy to nods from na...

Exclusive: Listen to Fudgy, featuring members of Crappy Dracula 2 and Scrimshaw

Matt Wild

April 28, 2015

Before we begin, let’s talk about that name: Fudgy. Yes, there is now a band in Milwaukee called Fudgy. As in, “These brownies are kind of fudgy,” or, “Put that fudge down, Steve, it’s getting too fudgy in here...