Future Islands creates synth-pop that helps us to disconnect from reality — and sometimes become more connected to ourselves. Seeing them live is an experience unto itself, and we were lucky enough to check them out last week on their stop through Kansas City, Missouri. The Madrid is a beautiful, historic theater that was the perfect backdrop to this lineup.
If I’m being honest, any female artist wielding a song with the title “Causing Trouble Again” was going to pique my interest. If nothing else, I am an unashamed feminist and broad supporter of women who speak up and speak out. And while her sophomore album Trouble won’t be released until July, the indelible Gina Birch has unleashed a single with just that name — and just that energy.
Post punk is, perhaps, one of my favorite genres. Watching a group of women have so much fun causing mischief and standing in their power is, honestly, the best part and the point for me. But once you know the reasoning behind the visuals themselves – and the metaphorical connections that were discovered as the concept came together – you may find yourself falling in love with Gina.
After hearing Bob Dylan sing about a white ladder all covered with water, I became obsessed with white ladders. I decided to use five white ladders, three with seven rungs…I realized later that this references Jacob’s Ladder and a connection from Earth to heaven, but I think I was thinking of ladders as a symbol of getting on, getting up. I wanted to have a choreographed movement with four of us with these ladders. How do we move with ladders? Do we move together, do we fight, do we dance?
I also wanted to reference the wind scene from the film, The Colour of Pomegranates, and to include as many artist women from the Women in Revolt exhibition as I could. I wanted them to be troublesome, or just to shout ‘Causing trouble!’ I ended up inviting all the artist musician women I knew who could make the shoot, and it was a fantastic meeting of great women, many of whom had never met each other before.
Get your first peek at the video below.
Keep up with Gina Birch here, and catch her on one of her upcoming tour dates.
GINA BIRCH – NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2025 (All Dates w/ Miki Berenyi Trio) JULY 16 – London, UK – Rough Trade East In-Store OCTOBER 10 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse 11 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg 12 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair 13 – Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz PDB 15 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall 16 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag 17 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall 18 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club 20 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge 21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 23 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre 24 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre 25 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios 27 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall 28 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
Psych/punk rock is experiencing a renaissance, and Los Angeles-based Frankie and The Witch Fingers are riding the wave. Ahead of their album’s June 6th release date, they have dazzled us with a particular head-bobber, a track called “Dead Silence” that is anything but. The track actually feels a little more surf rock in places, with obvious 70s flare.
The track is relatable, addressing anxiety, existential dread, and reminds us of the unrelenting amount of information and pure insanity that envelopes us all. The anxious energy of the lyrics is reflected in the composition, something you can blast from your car on a sunny day.
The band’s anecdote about this particular song is enthralling:
This one’s got a nice little origin story. We played a festival in Boise with Spacemoth, Maryam Qudus’ brainchild, and met her for the first time there. Cut to a year later, and she’s deep in the guts of this record – producing, engineering, twisting knobs, and arranging sounds with us.
On the flight home from that Boise show, Josh threw on the Spacemoth album for the first time and got his brain microwaved. He also recorded the plane taking off, just on a whim. That roar ended up in the bridge of DEAD SILENCE. It’s a nice crusty texture, but it also weirdly bookmarks the start of it all.
Maryam’s all over this record. She sings, plays, distorts, haunts – leaving smudges on everything in the best way. She rules, and we were happy to accidentally mark the occasion sonically with a little jet-engine weirdness.
FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS ON TOUR 2025 5/16 – Nijmegen, NL – Sonic Whip Festival 5/17 – Diksmuide, BE – 4AD 5/20 – Lyon, FR – Épicerie Moderne 5/21 – Biarritz, FR – Atabal 5/22 – Rouen, FR – Le 106 5/23 – London, UK – Wide Awake Festival 5/25 – Berlin, DE – Desertfest 5/27 – Cherbourg, FR – Le Circuit 5/28 – Brighton, UK – Daltons 5/30 – London, UK – Shacklewell Arms ^ 5/31 – Bristol, UK – Strange Brew 6/01 – Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds 6/05 – Berlin – New York, NY ^ 6/07 – Permanent Records Roadhouse – Los Angeles, CA ^ 7/15 – Felton Music Hall – Felton, CA ° 7/16 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA ° 7/19 – The Den – Portland, OR ° 7/20 – The Pearl – Vancouver, BC ° 7/23 – Shrine Social Club – Boise, ID ° 7/24 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT ° 7/25 – Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO ° 7/26 – Underground Music Showcase – Denver, CO 7/27 – Sister Bar – Albuquerque, NM ° 7/29 – Hotel Congress – Tucson, AZ 7/30 – Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ ° 7/31 – Swan Diver – Las Vegas, NV ° 8/01 – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA ° 8/02 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA ° 8/31 – Bumbershoot Music Festival – Seattle, WA 9/19 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY * 9/20 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA * 9/21 – Songbyrd – Washington, DC * 9/23 – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC * 9/24 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA * 9/26 – Chelsea’s Live – Baton Rouge, LA * 9/27 – Dan Electros – Houston, TX * 9/28 – To Be Announced – Austin, TX 9/29 – Tulips – Fort Worth, TX * 10/1 – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL * 10/2 – Turf Club – Minneapolis, MN * 10/3 – X-Ray Arcade – Cudahy, WI * 10/4 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH * 10/5 – Third Man Records – Detroit, MI * 10/7 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON * 10/8 – Foufounes Électriques – Montréal, QC * 10/9 – Oxbow Brewing – Portland, ME * 10/10 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA * 10/11 – Lark Hall – Albany, NY * ^ – intimate album release show ° with Iguana Death Cult * with Population II
Bracing for the impact of their sophomore album “Couple(t)s,” independent North Carolina duo Couldn’t Be Happier – expertly comprised of soulmates Jordan Crosby Lee and Jodi Hildebran Lee – share supportive and audibly satisfying single “I Got You.” The lyrics are encouraging, something to send to a friend or family member that may be going through a hard time. Because life is hard enough as it is, and this duo has no problem acknowledging that.
The song itself is truly upbeat, so even lines like “screw your parents, you don’t need them to approve” feel light and supportive. Of the song, the band explains:
Life is hard enough. Let’s not let millionaire podcasters and right wing TV hosts turn us against our neighbors. The song emphasizes that this is not about politics – it’s about humanity. Let’s celebrate our differences and the beautiful, vibrant world we can create if we work together to make it so. Life is too damn short to waste hating people for who they love, where they come from, or how they identify.
We are obsessed with their message, entranced by “I Got You,” and fully excited to hear the rest of this dynamic album.
While I have listened to folk artist Jensen McRae’s sophomore album – which dropped in its entirety on Friday, April 25th – I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! in part a few times at this point, I have yet to sit down with the body of work from beginning to end. The album’s title itself is a Back to the Future quote, perhaps the standalone lighthearted aspect of this sonic adventure.
Here, my unapologetic thoughts as I experienced this heavy, beautiful 11-track masterpiece.
To note, the album was born from a period of time in McRae’s life and is semi-autobiographical. “More than anything, I am grateful to have made this album as a record of my transition into real womanhood,” she explains. “It’s me processing girlhood, with all its attendant naïveté and guilelessness and resistance to change, and emerging as an adult who is capable of forgiveness and transformation and measured optimism.”
The work begins with 2 minute, 48 second track “The Rearranger,” which effortlessly gives voice to the feeling of emptiness in a relationship (or, for some, situationship) that does not make plans. To me, this song is about a relationship that seems to have most everything you want, but feels slightly off.
“I Can Change Him” hit me the hardest on first listen. The song tells a story of a smitten relationship that can only get so far without forward momentum and change. We have all been in a relationship (or several) that presents its issues to work on together and through. The hope in McRae’s voice as the chorus comes in:
Maybe I, maybe I just love him Maybe I, maybe I just think All he needs is a little something Maybe that little something’s me Maybe I’ll be his exception And I’ll never be the same Maybe I, maybe I could change him Unless he doesn’t want to change
But you can’t expect yourself to be the change someone else needs in their life. They have to be willing to change, which is why the “Unless he doesn’t want to change” is so heartbreaking. It is almost as though, over the duration of the song, the narrator is coming to a slow realization that the only true thing she has change over is herself.
More heartbreak comes in third track “Savannah,” which was released alongside a Rena Johnson directed and produced video. The song – and its accompanying video – questions alternate life outcomes based on boundaries and how you make decisions in your life. You can acknowledge what once was and what could have been while also creating a life of your own design, and this song really drives that truth home.
Fourth track “Daffodils” examines a relationship plagued with substance abuse, the push and pull of the life that supports. From one line to the next, this dichotomy keeps the narrator in this cycle of bad to good on repeat, when everyone deserves better.
Anyone who has ever been a rule follower may identify with the lyrics of “Let Me Be Wrong,” which feels a bit revolutionary and positive when compared to its predecessors. The rasp in McRae’s vocals hits correctly at the end of the verses, as she encourages people to let her learn her own way. This song has Top 40 potential written all over it, something we can all get behind at the level of The Chicks or Shania Twain.
The cadence to this song is absolutely magnetic, as Jensen McRae sings “Novelty” with her velvety vocals. She tells it like it is in this track, fully aware that some people are into the novelty of a person, environment, or otherwise. And, worse off, she has been in this place before. Having any type of relationship with someone who isn’t invested in you as a human being can subdue the entire thrill of dating, and you can feel the ice and indifference as it comes to its conclusion.
“I Don’t Do Drugs” slows things down and simplifies them a bit. Singing of how healing isn’t linear, patterns permeate, and the familiar can be addictive, this is an eye-opening piece of art at just 2 minutes and 19 seconds in length.
After hearing “Tuesday,” I was wondering how Jensen could have possibly survived a one-sided relationship as severe is this — how anyone could. But this song also stirs up feelings in people who have felt unseen in their families, friendships, or romantic partnerships. With such conviction, this ballad is specific, intense, and relatable. Unkempt in some ways, it is tinged with fire from her emotions and the rasp in her vocals.
“Mother Wound” hits pivotal aspects of successful relationships — communication and expectation management (which, to its credit, comes from communication). For an artist who has referenced Biblical text and Jesus in other songs on this record, her ability to “read your cards right” and tap into intuition in other lines throughout this album encourages open-minded spirituality and trust, almost. This song is one of those times.
“Praying For Your Downfall” could be a take down track, as vindictive as I would be given the circumstances. However, the beauty in it is that she reads him for trash in the lyrics. Lines like “keep whistling, boy, I was never your dog” hit with an unrelenting attitude that she has more than earned. She repeats “I don’t need to see you fall down” as she releases her energy from the negativity. The bridge brings us out light as a feather, layered in a way you would almost expect from HAIM.
She ends the album with fan favorite “Massachusetts,” a track that gave her a little bit more momentum with listeners. The immediate reference to Batman hooked me when I saw her perform it on Kimmel (directly after Ben Affleck was a guest), but the idea of affiliating an entire place with a person is what kept my attention. As someone who has had the fortune of living in and traveling to many places, I associate these places with people and memories.
Every young relationship leaves stamps on your heart. Marks on your memory. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep it. You can keep the good, and release yourself from what belittled you and told you that you didn’t meet its expectations. This entire album is both a testament to the pain that so many people go through while they learn themselves and their partners, and a beacon for people who are nostalgic for sweet memories that didn’t necessarily pan out.
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! is a massive feat of strength… for McRae and all of her collaborators. Listen to it dancing around your room on a rainy day, in an air conditioned metro car on your way to a weekend spot, or with the windows down in the sunshine. It will deliver an exuberance to your nervous system that outweighs the empathic, heavy nature of it all — and validates anything you have been through or are currently experiencing.
You are in for a treat with this five minute and nine second track from Los Angeles native Marina Sakimoto’s rock project Shunkan. It begins at a bit of a trudge, but the composition becomes lighter, more encouraging as it progresses. It is equally hopeful, tragic, and contemplative, full of thoughts many of us have had. Audibly, it is both dark and light, playing with the emotional turbulence of her inner thoughts and, in turn, the listener’s inner thoughts and critiques.
Admits Sakimoto of the track:
Originally, “Prettier” didn’t have a chorus like it does now, and Alex [Newport] really encouraged me to find a melody that would complement the rest of the song. I naturally gravitate toward writing bubblegum hooks, and I was worried it might become limiting—but I’ve learned to lean into my strengths while still feeling free to explore. Prettier feels like an exposed nerve, but I hope it resonates with anyone else who feels like they don’t fit into conventions.
Being “prettier” is subjective, and comparison truly is the thief of joy.
