Not featured: The tortured poet. by Dave Segal Record Store Day, one of the most contentious of retail traditions, returns on April 20. We've gone over this manufactured holiday's pros and cons many times before (here's one explication; here's another), so let's just say this: every year, RSD yields about 10%-15% crucial titles out of its hundreds. But which 10%-15%, you ask? Well, that varies, obviously, as musical taste is subjective. However, as I have spent too many decades crate-digging and record-collecting, I submit that I have a fair idea of what RSD releases you need, even if you don ..read more

somesurprises' album Perseids is out on Doom Trip Records Friday, April 19. by Dave Segal Of the thousands of bands I've talked to as a music journalist, somesurprises are the most soft-spoken. Their absolutely chill voices barely register on the playback of our interview, which took place in their Fremont rehearsal space, ExEx Audio. And this chillness seeps into the Seattle quartet's extraordinary music, which alchemizes a few of the finest rock strains—space, kraut, and shoegaze—into songs that massage your mind and tingle your body with subtle insistence. Led by guitarist/vocalist/songwrit ..read more

Like dropping acid—you didn’t know what the trip would bring, but you knew some crazy shit was about to happen. by Brittne Lunniss Oneohtrix Point Never, the moniker of Daniel Lopatin, may not be a household name, but you’ve likely heard his work. The Massachusetts-raised producer and composer is a longstanding pioneer of the electronic scene. Having created a variety of scores for heavy-hitting Hollywood scripts—including Good Times (2017), Uncut Gems (2019), and The Curse (2024)—Lopatin has climbed into the captain’s chair of his own genre.  Lopatin credits science fiction, philosophy ..read more

Last night Matmos inflated a balloon into a hot mic, which is sexier than you'd think. by Dave Segal Influenced more by beetles than the Beatles, the Baltimore-based duo Matmos have been underground electronic music's arch conceptualists for nearly 30 years. Every album they release revolves around a different framing idea and consequently, every tour they do presents different approaches and vocabularies of sounds. Their latest LP, 2023's Return to Archive, finds Matmos repurposing Smithsonian Folkways' vast catalog of nature, science, and field recordings, and what the group's Drew Daniel ca ..read more

Unleash the Kraken… Bar & Lounge! (Sorry, had to.) by Megan Seling Unleash the Kraken… Bar & Lounge! (Sorry, had to.) In March 2023 the beloved pirate-themed punk rock bar closed after more than a decade on the Ave. The building was sold to developers and, at the time, owners Kat Colley, Daniel Colley, and William Knupp were left scrambling to find a new space in a city with increasing rents. Kat told former Stranger reporter Jas Keimig at the time, “There’s so much development, but they aren’t building things that work for our type of business. Music is supposed to be a big part of Se ..read more

The best new music to hit Dave Segal's inbox this week. by Dave Segal Amy Aileen Wood, “Rolling Stops” (Colorfield) I'm not in the habit of writing about Grammy-winning drummers, but Amy Aileen Wood is a special case. She provided beats and co-production for Fiona Apple's wildly lauded Fetch the Bolt Cutters and has worked with St. Vincent, and now the LA-based musician's branching out as a solo artist with an auspicious debut album, The Heartening (out May 3). Wood's instrumental arsenal promises interesting results, and she delivers. Besides a drum kit and piano, she plays balafon, kali ..read more

Anderson Brings Her Let X = X Tour to Seattle, With New York Jazz Ensemble Sexmob Handling the Horns. by Audrey Vann Pioneering electronic musician Laurie Anderson has produced a treasure trove of work throughout her 55-year career. Last week, we took readers through "Five Laurie Anderson Songs That Aren’t “O Superman," but that barely scratched the surface of her seven major label albums, two full-length films, and the numerous experimental instruments she's invented—just to name a few of her projects. On Saturday, Anderson brings her Let X = X tour to the Benaroya Hall to revisit material fr ..read more

In Timony and company's hands, indie rock is in positively radiant health. by Dave Segal Mary Timony should not be sounding this good at this late date. Most rock artists who are over three decades into their career are on the decline, mired in a grim cycle of diminishing returns. But not this masterly guitarist/vocalist, who since 1991 has led excellent, idiosyncratic bands such as Autoclave, Helium, and Ex Hex, as well as being a part of the Wild Flag supergroup and maintaining a sterling, if sporadic, solo career. Timony and her current group—guitarist/backing vocalist Betsy Wright, bassist ..read more

The Best New Music to Hit My Inbox This Week by Dave Segal Omni, "Plastic Pyramid" (Sub Pop) Atlanta trio Omni are one of those neo-post-punk groups who seemingly found inspiration through Pavement and Wire. Meaning, they—guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker—love spiky guitar sounds, staccato rhythms, and unobviously infectious hooks in equal measure. I somehow missed Omni's 2019 debut for Sub Pop, Networker, but catching up with it now, I realize that was a grave error. Its 11 songs possess a casual tautness and almost Canterbury-prog-level tuneful ..read more

We as a species would be much better off if we converted all houses of worship into concert halls. Music is the ultimate religion. by Dave Segal "Reflections is an immersive curatorial platform for sound, light, and space." That basic description belies a very important mission in the 2020s: to provide sanctuary from the numerous fucking horrors of the fucking world and to figuratively turn down the temperature of an overheated planet. And so Reflections founders Brandon Shotwell and Bob Maynard continued their Nobel-worthy project by bringing Southwestern ambient-music maestro Steve Roach to ..read more