With “Upstate,” Eric Angelo Bessel eases us in with a slightly distant shimmer of sound that is somehow both elusive and intimate. From this shimmer we can glean impressions of images and feelings of wondering like floating in space above Earth looking down upon the planet revealed by moonlight. The controlled and sculpted feedback Bessel uses to great effect like the musical equivalent of distorted video feed and there is something hypnotic and soothing to the song even as its tones sound like they would normally be clipping and overloading he signal. Fans of Flying Saucer Attack and Windy and Carl will definitely key into Bessel’s aesthetic. The track is the second of two from the recent release Mirror at Night B-Sides available now as a 7” vinyl and/or download and for streaming. Listen to “Upstate” on YouTube and follow Bessel at the links provided.
The Huntress and Holder of Hands, photo courtesy the artists
“Promethean” finds The Huntress and Holder of Hands invoking the archetypal human struggle with akin to that of the mythological figure Prometheus and the burden of having the capacity to reason and what we do with the body of knowledge we believe we possess. The song begins with minimal strings and heavy orchestral moods paired with MorganEve Swain’s weighty vocals contemplating existential issues and our place in the world and how we see ourselves in our own lives. The song progresses into a more full sound that if the instrumentation were different might well be a doom song in a more dark folk mode. Violin, cello, bass all establish a textural and deeply atmospheric sound that fans of the likes of SubRosa and Faetooth may greatly appreciate for its sheer heaviness if not firmly in rhe realm of metal. Listen to “Promethean” on YouTube and follow The Huntress and Holder of Hands at the links provided. The band’s new album Babylon is out June 5, 2026.
Soft No on “Oxford Street” sounds so exuberant and emotionally vibrant. The melancholic intro and the sweetly orchestral outro, though, frame the song about friendship and tragedy, fond memories and the preciousness of life perfectly. We hear in the song often startling frank portraits of the kinds of complicated relationships with friends that hit with an instant poignancy because friends who are genuine accept each other on their own terms and it hurts deeply when they’re gone no matter the reason. The music and vocals embody the intensity of memories and what we savor with our connection with others and it is that aspect of a song that transcends narrow genre. Listen to “Oxford Street” on YouTube and follow Philadelphia’s Soft No at the links below. The band’s new EP Super Neutral releases on vinyl, digital download and streaming on May 29, 2026 via Abandon Everything Records.
Hissuae breathes a sense of the intimate and cinematic into “Guilty Pleasure” with her ethereal and vulnerable vocals. The song’s arrangements are orchestral and minimal in their intertwining of sweeping piano and percussion so that the song feels like an immersive, living entity in the listening. In the background the barest touch of synth lends an otherworldly quality that puts the more human elements in the foreground and catches one’s full attention. The singer-songwriter’s singing style is reminiscent of the ways Kate Bush and Loreena McKennitt could intermingle the personal with the mythical in fine nuances of vocal expression. For a song that seems to be about transcending mundane, everyday existence that is the perfect tonal mode for the song to take. Listen to “Guilty Pleasure” on Spotify and connect with Hissuae on Bandcamp.
On “Attractive People” Genre Is Death sound like they took a time machine back to 1980s New York (their hometown) and got to experience bands like Live Skull, early No Wave and Pussy Galore firsthand and shed obvious influences on their return to our era. What we hear is a caustic and noisy, haunting and thrilling song that weds mechanistic rhythms to discordant guitar and a hypnotically driving bass line to create a different kind of musical darkness with which the band shreds shallow aspirations and lifestyle over substantive living and creating. The lyrics are minimal, mostly “You don’t have a life/You just want to be attractive” and “It’s just a lifestyle” that can seem general but when combined with the music’s headiness and confrontational sound it speaks to anyone that recognizes certain social phenomena in the culture when there seem to be people who like the association of cool within a subculture or parasocial attachments without having to do anything to actually be so and live in a way that commits to something real which requires actual effort more than being attracted to the image of authenticity and accomplishment. Watch the video for “Attractive People” on YouTube and follow Genre Is Death at the links below. The band’s LP is out May 1, 2026 on In the Red Records.
Tory Silver mixes nostalgic wistfulness with hopefulness on “Microwave.” The crunchy yet melodic guitars have real grit and though reminiscent a bit of Pixies have a modern resonance particularly with Silver’s charmingly vulnerable vocal delivery. In the video we see what looks like VHS footage and in-camera-style effects interspersed with images of a microwave oven for an effect that enhances the song’s themes of holding onto daily rituals as a grounding for getting through the periods of self-doubt and mundane but necessary and repetitive experiences of life that help string the rest of it together and make it all possible even if it can be easy to forget and get swept up in periods of despair at the thought of possible future catastrophe and stagnation. It’s the kind of song that has a familiar mood and sound to it but mainly because we’ve all been there at some point and maybe even now and it’s comforting to hear someone articulate that state of mind so accurately. Watch the video for “Microwave” on YouTube and follow Tory Silver at the links provided. Silver’s new album In Through the Front with Lasers releases through Michi Tapes on May 29, 2026.
Wednesday | 04.01 What: Cass McCombs and Band w/Chris Cohen When: 7 Where: The Bluebird Theater Why: Acclaimed and prolific singer and songwriter Cass McCombs released perhaps his most intimate personal album in 2025 titled Interior Live Oak. The record sounds like it was recorded live with a minimal band with McComb’s expressive voice centered in songs that sound like their words were earned from going through a challenging experience and coming out of the other side with some glimmer of truth or at least a perspective and anecdote worth sharing. The songs are rooted in the emotionally vibrant folk rock with a psychedelic edge that is the songwriter’s hallmark and feel like moments of solace in these particularly chaotic times.
Mint Field, photo from Bandcamp
Wednesday | 04.01 What: Mint Field and Wave Decay When: 7 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Mint Field is a dream pop/shoegaze band from Mexico City that has established itself as one of the more original voices in that broad realm of music. Its elegant compositions with an ability to veer off expected atmospheric and rhythmic lines from the chill to the urgently distorted and from a kid of downtempo pace to one more hectic has yielded a body of work that can equally be compared favorably with lush and disorienting sweeps heard in My Bloody Valentine and the otherworldly transcendent moments of a Blonde Redhead song. Wave Decay is one of Denver’s finest shoegaze/krautrock bands worthy of anyone in the world operating in those sonic realms as well.
Heavy Halo, photo by Tori McGraw
Friday | 04.03 What:My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult w/Light Asylum, Die Sexual, Devora and Heavy Halo When: 6 Where: The Oriental Theater Why: An entire evening of dark electronic music beginning with New York City-based industrial duo Heavy Halo whose style of Gothic industrial metal bridges the gap between hard EBM and Gravity Kills. Devora is more like an electropop thing but with production that sounds like it has some influence from or roots in the moodier end of synthpop. Die Sexual is an EBM/Goth disco duo from Los Angeles whose songs sound like a darkwave version of an electroclash band like early Ladytron had they been inspired by Front Line Assembly. Of course the headliner My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult is the legendary and influential industrial EBM band with a flare for the bombastic live show and gloriously sleaze of some of its lyrics but all with a great sense of fun and a respectable body of recorded work from which the set will likely draw. Light Asylum made a name for itself in New York clubs and beyond with its riveting electronic dance music including iconic single “Dark Allies” with singer Shannon Funchess’ commanding and soulful vocal performance centering a song with multiple memorable hooks within the same piece. Live Funchess is even more magnetic and charismatic.
Marissa Nadler, photo by Ebru Yildiz
Sunday | 04.05 What:Marissa Nadler w/Anand Wilder (of Yeasayer) When: 7 Where: Lost Lake Why: Marissa Nadler is an acclaimed songwriter whose work has been described as dark folk mainly because of its deep atmospheric quality and Nadler’s willingness to dive deep into sometimes challenging subject matter with a disarming sensitivity and honesty. There is a poetic quality to Nadler’s songwriting generally augmented by her mezzo-soprano voice that lends even the most melancholic moments in the songs a kind of transcendent beauty. Her most recent album New Radiations might be her most fully realized work to date with songs that will resonate with those of Julee Cruise in their soulful, cinematic otherworldliness and incredibly effective use of minimal instrumental elements to put the listener into a contemplative mindset open to feeling fully without reservations.
QUAL, photo from Bandcamp
Wednesday | 04.08 What:QUAL w/Cursing, eHpH and DJ Katastrophy and guests When: 7 Where: HQ Why: QUAL is the solo project of William Maybelline from Lebanon Hanover. Unlike the soundscape-y, noisy post-punk of the latter, QUAL is more in the vein of EBM rooted coldwave and industrial. The project’s 2025 album Love Zone is an extended meditation on the deleterious effects of digital culture on our lives and social relations. ehpH is Denver’s premier EBM and industrial duo with rich tonal production and a confrontational performance style more in line with classic industrial music.
Thursday | 04.09 What: Past Self, Medio Mutante, Porcelain Horses and KYC DJs When: 7 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Past Self is a Las Vegas-based band whose visual and musical aesthetic is true fusion of K-pop production and darkwave/Goth moodiness and haunted melodies. Its music videos look like a band that spends some time in urban exploration and filming spots that brimming with urban occult atmosphere. Porcelain Horses is a Denver-based darkwave band that includes Amanda Gostomski formerly of synth punk band Princess Dewclaw and death rock adjacent act Grave Moss.
Weird Al Qaida, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 04.10 What: An evening with Weird Al Qaida w/Mermalair When: 7 Where: Mutiny Information Cafe Why: Weird Al Qaida bridges gaps between psychedelic folk, performance art, noise and ambient music and the show will probably combine that with poetry and theatrical weirdness. Think like a cross between a lo-fi folk Pink Floyd and Barnes & Barnes.
The Picture Tour, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 04.10 What: The Picture Tour, Owosso and Part Weapon When: 5/5:30 Where: Larimer Lounge Why: The Picture Tour has evolved out of a more garage grit infused shoegaze of its earlier incarnation into something more cinematic with songwriting seemingly inspired by late night drives in a Denver that existed until the early 2010s when there was urban decay within the city and on the edges and most spaces were not slathered over with bad modern architecture concepts and cookie cutter aesthetics. A time when you had to find your fun rather than have it marketed to you. So the songs are dark, have an edge and imbued with imagination that has been inspired in part by David Lynch films and the dream of the 90s before it died in Denver before the 2010s were over. Owosso is an amalgamation of shoegaze atmospherics and post-hardcore emotional and sonic edge.
ULTRA SUNN, photo by Kris Parenti
Saturday | 04.11 What: Ultra Sunn w/The System Dreams of You and DJ Katastrophy When: 7 Where: HQ Why: Belgian EBM-post-punk duo Ultra Sunn return to North America in support of their latest album The Beast In You. The record builds on the robust synth tones and dance rhythms that feels darker and heavier than music in a similar vein often does. The new album seems to delve into themes of mental health and the struggle of processing feelings and experiences that linger with you in ways that can be challenging to shake. But the band casts that journey in almost mythological terms and pairs it with the kind of melodies and expansive, cathartic production that fans of Depeche Mode and Front 242 will likely find rewarding.
MISSIO, photo by Ima Leupp
Sunday | 04.12 What: Hollow Crown Tour: ThxSoMch, MISSIO, WesGhost, Guardian, The Haunt, Oxymorons and rosecoloredworld When: 4 Where: The Summit Music Hall Why: Hollow Crown Tour is sort of a touring mini-music festival with eclectic lineups. On this bill there is emo rap/indie rock artist ThxSoMch whose creative music videos demonstrate an awareness of popular and internet culture and Gen Z cinema aesthetics. MISSIO is an Austin, Texas-based duo whose electronic pop borders on dark, industrial hip-hop at times and haunted indie pop in other moments in its discography. The band’s sprawling 2024 album I Am Cinco was comprised of its 2023 EPs and various singles to reflect intense peaks and valleys and emotions and musical styles best suited to express those moods whether sad, exuberant, angry and unhinged—hyper-pop, glitch, trap, dream pop and more sometimes all at once. Also on the bill is sibling duo The Haunt who are set to release their sophomore album in the fall. But the band has released the lead single “Ghost” which showcases the songwriting growth though maintaining the hard rock edge of the songs we heard from 2025 debut album New Addiction. Lead singer Anastasia Grace Haunt and guitarist/vocalist Maxamillion Haunt look like they’re going to be a Goth band (part of the appeal as a live act) but come off more ferocious like The Velveteers.
The Haunt, photo by Ima LeuppRatboys, photo by Miles Kalchik
Monday | 04.13 What: Ratboys w/Vilagerrr When: 7 Where: The Bluebird Theater Why: Chicago’s Ratboys recently released its sixth album Singin’ to an Empty Chair. Reuniting with Chris Walla who had produced the 2023 album The Window, the band employed a left field approach in recording and performance including, according to a piece in Pitchfork, creating a Doppler shift by putting a radio on a spinning turntable. That and experimenting with altering the speed of recorded sections and recording in a cabin with high ceilings to capture the specific audio quality of such a space and its natural reverb. The resulting album is indeed one of the band’s more sonically inventive but the warmth of the songwriting remained and it is the band’s most emotionally open and creatively confessional to date. For the uninitiated Ratboys is sort of an Americana-inflected indie rock band that fans of Rilo Kiley will greatly appreciate for the similarly clever and literary lyrics and infectious energy.
Pink Turns Blue, photo from Bandcamp
Tuesday | 04.14 What:Pink Turns Blue w/Some Days Are Darker and Plague Garden When: 7 Where: HQ Why: Pink Turns Blue was founded in 1985 in Cologne, Germany and became one of the most noteworthy of the German New Wave bands of the era though its sound would now be considered post-punk with a well-developed keyboard/synth component in its core songwriting palette. The group split in 1995 but reunited in 2003 and has been releasing new material since including the 2025 album Black Swan and its melancholic and politically infused lyrics seemingly fitting for prospects of human life in the conflicted and imperiled world right now. On tour with Pink Turns Blue is NYC post-punk/darkwave trio Some Days Are Darker whose own synth infused compositions are brimming with the kind of gloomy melodies that reflect songs about heartbreak and perseverance. Opening is Denver’s great New Wave inflected post-punk band Plague Garden. Steeped in the edginess of death rock the group’s impassioned vocals, deeply atmospheric synths and beats and deep bass lines transcend expectations of genre.
ghostbells, photo courtesy the artists
Tuesday | 04.14 What:Die Krupps w/ghostbells When: 7 Where: The Bluebird Theater Why: Die Krupps is one of the pioneering acts of German industrial music. Formed in 1980 in Düsseldorf the group’s initial sound was more rooted in factory sounds, metallic percussion and live instruments but shifted into a more synthesizer sound with the analog percussion. The band split in 1985 but re-formed in 1989 and evolved in further incorporating metallic guitar sounds and one has to assume that Rammstein drew some inspiration from what Die Krupps was getting up to and that Die Krupps itself was getting some influence from Front 242’s songwriting and production style. After another breakup in 1997 the outfit got back together in 2005 and has been operating since. Opening the show is ghostbells from New York City. The duo released its debut EP Catacouture in February 2026 revealing its gift for blending dark synthpop-flavored darkwave, EBM and trap-beat-infused, glitch pop club music. With distinctively processed vocals think Alice Glass solo and some resonance with Boy Harsher.
The Empty Page sketches in vivid sonic images and lyrics the toxicity of anti-aging rhetoric in culture and media with “A Feminine Ending.” With almost agonized yet cathartic guitar work and vocals that begin reflective and ramp up to furious the song is like an even darker, noisier early Concrete Blonde song. Shredding how our own self-hatred is marketed to us as inadequacy and insecurity cured by some technocratic capitalist method for addressing specific “flaws” and failing that to encourage us to withdraw from being publicly active and not seeing ourselves as having relevance and power even in our own lives. Especially if you’re a woman. The song feels like urgent resistance against a false and destructive narrative that is somehow still rampant in our civilization and just a thrilling song that gives voice to the instinct to reject being discarded as the worn out parts of the machinery of a deeply dysfunctional society. Fans of Latter and Kaput will deeply appreciate the way The Empty Page combines unfettered emotional expression, sharp social critique and creative expansion of out of obvious subgenres of music. Listen to “A Feminine Ending” on Spotify and follow The Empty Page at the links provided.
Florence Dore’s rousing “Twelve Great Minds (Department Meeting)” sounds like a gritty honky tonk rock song that might be about some hard living and the foibles of life on the road. But it is a different kind of hard road about which Dore is giving pointed words about and that is the dysfunctional world of academia and how normally intelligent people in the rungs of academic bureaucracy and set aside the great ideas and thinkers they studied to get where they are only to set aside high-minded conceits for petty power struggles and the like that happens in higher education. Dore sums it all up succinctly with the spirited refrain of, “Twelve great minds and twelve ways to fuck it up.” If you’ve ever been in academia change the parameters and you can hear in Dore’s song your own struggle. Listen to “Twelve Great Minds (Department Meeting)” on YouTube and follow Florence Dore at the links provided. Dore’s new album Hold the Spark releases May 1, 2026 via Propeller Sound Recordings.
A sense of constant expansion flows through the psychedelic harmonies of Lukka’s “Fabric of the Cosmos.” The song seems to be an extended reflection on the concept of impermanence in an ever changing universe as reflected in our own natures and how every moment is different from the next in ways that we may not notice without taking out a moment to take in that realization and how acceptance of this eternal state of flux and contingent realities can be found in considering essence of the natural world around us like the ocean and the metaphor attributed to ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus about not being able to step into the same river twice. Our culture places a premium on confidence in absolutes but Lukka here seems to suggest the greater wisdom is in being able to live with a more fluid and dynamic existence that is closer to the actual nature of the world in which we find ourselves. Philosophical/metaphysical considerations aside the song is a soothing and bit of synth-infused space rock/dream pop that fans of Stargazer Lilies and Public Memory will appreciate best.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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