Music Jonathon Penn’s Second Act is a Spiritual Masterpiece by Happy This is the sound of a man blowing up his life and finding grace in the rubble. There is an aching beauty in art born from professional and personal collapse….
Music Balu Brigada at Metro Theatre by Alex Cooper Sibling synergy, sold-out frenzy. A sold-out Metro Theatre welcomed Balu Brigada last Friday night for the Sydney leg of their Australian Portal tour. Local support act Cowboy Malfoy opened with…
Music Julienne Harvey crafts music for the beautifully bruised (and her voice is the bruise) by Happy The Tender Destruction of Sweet Heart. There is a specific kind of ache that lives in the space between wanting someone and knowing they are bad for you. Australian alt-pop…
Music “Who Wants It?”: The Gods They Made Demand Your Attention by Happy The indie underground’s best-kept secret surfaces with their strongest statement yet. Switzerland’s indie underground has a new standard-bearer. Formed in 2019 and writing from the claustrophobic intimacy of a Geneva…
Music Dame Haff’s Nostalgia proves that irony and sincerity can share a synth patch. by Alex Cooper Easy, breezy, and anything but simple. Dame Haff, the solo brainchild of London-born, transatlantic-shaped Dan Mehaffey, arrives with a debut EP that refuses to sit still. It’s a record that…
Music BOOF HEADS unleash their finest beatdown yet by Alex Cooper ‘ACAC’ is a violent, hilarious love letter to the cops that demands to be played at maximum volume. If chaos, charm, and absolute filth had a baby in a Brisbane…
Music Crispy Danger’s ‘Outta Control’ Just Raised the Bar for Unsigned Bands by Alex Cooper When a legendary mixer bets on a debut single, you pay attention. When Chris Lord-Alge, the man behind legendary mixes for Green Day, Muse, and My Chemical Romance, agrees to…
Music Stepping on the Gas: How SOFT NO Found Their Aggressive Edge by Happy The Philly quintet trades shoegaze reverb for razor-wire riffs, anthemic screams, and post-punk catharsis. Philadelphia’s SOFT NO arrived with a clear identity on their debut EP, a gauzy, shoegaze-inflected hum…
Music Smoke Ring Days Tell the Unique Story of a Million Bands by Happy An EP-length cautionary tale about gold records, empty vans, and the symphony inside us all. For over two decades, the New York-based duo Smoke Ring Days (multi-instrumentalist Rick Eppedio and…
Music The Reign of the Heart: Vian Izak’s Cinematic Confession for the Disconnected by Happy The 150-million-stream artist builds a sanctuary of piano and strings for anyone who’s ever felt they don’t matter. In an era obsessed with volume and velocity, Vian Izak builds cathedrals…
Music Nave & The Ghost Collectors turn a Mother’s final request into an indie-rock celebration of family, loss, and life by Alex Cooper The whistle that beat grief. Bergen’s Nave & The Ghost Collectors have built a reputation as a high-voltage indie-rock/blues act, and for good reason. Since winning the Union Blues Cup…
Music Why ‘Alone’ is Alyssa Mongiovi’s Thesis Statement by Alex Cooper A soft, steady rebellion against the noise of belonging. There is a common misconception that “alone” is the sadder sibling of “lonely.” Alyssa Mongiovi dismantles that idea in under four…
Music ‘Lavender’ finds an emerging folk voice learning to trust her own story by Alex Cooper Small town, big heart. There’s a particular kind of bravery required to write your first love song. Not the kind wrapped in grand gestures or pop gloss, but the quiet,…
