Paula T’s second single “Sugar Tits” (following “Canary”) begins with a bit of a statement of intention in a spoken word intro. But then the song with its surreal and at times whimsical melodies is couched in a driving beat that lends it the quality of a more straightforward pop song. But the whole thing is more than a bit subversive as the singer’s lyrics explore the contradictions of wanting to be desired and adored but also not wanting to be defined by what someone else desires and what they want you to be rather than who and even what you really are as a human that is never always completely one thing or another in the grand scheme of a lifetime. And how if you’re just human with genuine feelings that you don’t’ always express in a way that fits into some kind of commodified identity you might face rejection. Nevermind how you can’t be all things to anyone and how often you’re not enough for other people in the ways they expect. It’s a short song at two minutes eleven but Paula T seems to bake a lot of commentary and personal insight into a song that is also an undeniably fun and boundary-pushing hyperpop dance song. Listen to “Sugar Tits” on Spotify and follow Paula T on Instagram.
Old Man of the Woods is the project of Miranda Elliott. The songwriter, producer and singer has an album called Cape Perpetua due out March 10, 2026. But for now you can get lost in the ambient vocal collage of “Edges of Pleasure.” For the music video we see scenes from a stained glass projected against images of branches at dusk. The layers of vocals are arranged to complement and build into an almost iterative field of sound and conveying a sense of the otherworldly. Accompanying the looped and lightly processed vocals is perhaps a touch of a harmonic background but the focus is certainly on the way a human voice can be its own instrument and utilized in a musical way that goes beyond what we’re used to in anything resembling mainstream music. Fans of Lucky Dragons and Married in Berdichev will feel an immediate connection to this music using unconventional methods to create something of undeniable beauty and evocative power. Watch the video for “Edges of Pleasure” on YouTube and follow Old Man of the Woods at the links provided.
Trio Pussit released its latest album NPC EXODUS LIVE via Ototomy Records on December 5, 2025. The album captures the improvisational elements of a live set recorded at Lepakkomies bar in Helsinki, Finland in summer 2025. The trio with bass, vocals, drums and guitar sounds like a mutant, noise rock-inflected and demented Primus at its most unhinged peak in the early days when that band sounded its most unpredictable. For the song “Vermo” the lyrics are essentially nonsensical having to do with a horse getting oats, laughing, running about and defecating with attendant words indicating the expected sounds. The song swerves, comes undone, goes back into direct motion, indulges in sonic side quests between all the musicians and kicks up an inspired clangor and in the end resembles not much else but fans of The Locust and Lightning Bolt as well as the aforementioned might appreciate its experiments and wild dynamics best. Listen to “Vermo on Spotify and follow Trio Pussit at the links below.
Taroug will releases his new album Chott on March 27, 2026 via Denovali. The album’s ten tracks explore personal history and identity through blending traditional instrumentation and aesthetics and current experimental electronic music and production for a layered effect illuminating and connecting past and present. The song “1995” is a reflection on childhood memories of Tunisia. It features vocals resonating in a large, open space as percussion and rhythmic elements pulse around the poetic words. The effect is meditative, even hypnotic, and as the music unfolds densely built atmospheres give way to minimal piano melodies that seem to embody an emotional opening and forward momentum. Distorted sweeps of synth are like sandy desert winds and a sense of isolation and reflection is conveyed that is conveyed so deeply it is reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” and Brian Eno’s 2016 album The Ship. Listen to “1995” on Spotify and follow Taroug at the links below.
Erik Hall released his new album Solo Three on January 23, 2026 via Western Vinyl. The record features the composer and multi-instrumentalist’s reimagining/reworking of contemporary classical pieces. Minimalist/maximalist composer Charlemagne Palestine will appear at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee in March and Hall’s version of Palestine’s 1974 solo work “Strumming Music” captures in short the energetic movement of the song and the way Palestine orchestrated the shifts in tone and counterpoint across over fifty minutes but in a mere fourteen minutes nineteen seconds. Hall includes a background harmonic drone but maintains the piano of the original and its spare but evolving arrangement like paradoxically analog iterative music so that the piece increases in brightness of pitch and density of rhythms and sonics without drifting into concessions to pop accessibility. As well, Hall preserves the tight but subtle movements within the composition and its performance while putting his own touches in the performance and production so that its essence is expressed while not merely doing a cover. Listen to “Strumming Music” on YouTube and follow Erik Hall at the links provided.
Forever Factory is set to release the EP Violence Is Everywhere But Not Here in March 2026. Ahead of that the project offers “Absence.” The subdued, melodic bass line running through the song is reminiscent of something Peter Hook was doing in the later period Joy Division and early New Order as an anchoring, yet driving presence. Alexander Zen’s dramatic vocals are the perfect vehicle for a song that seems to be expressing conflicted and complex feelings of devotion for a loved one and being willing to get through rough patches and even times when one feels hollowed out because the connection is more enduring than some temporary emotional turmoil. It also articulates an unspoken acknowledgment of one’s own passionate and sensitive nature maybe hitting some low points as well and yearning to not be discarded for feeling poignantly and deeply. Fans of the aforementioned as well as Madeleine Goldstein and Model/Actriz will appreciate what Forever Factory demonstrates with this single. Listen to “Abscence” on Spotify and follow Forever Factory on Instagram.
Monday | 02.02 What: Worst Night of the Year Fest II: Clementine Was Right, Caspar Milquetoast, Al Ameda and Small Houses When: 7/7:30 Where: Hi-Dive Why: At least this is in February and not January so the name of the event is by circumstance a bit of a joke this year. And given world and national events it seems unlikely as well. But music, yes, Clementine Was Right is the band that combines vivid and heartfelt poetry with emo-flavored country and atmospheric rock and live the band is truly exuberant. Caspar Milquetoast is a band that sounds like what a lot of bands were trying to do mixing psychedelia and folk rock but opting more for an indie pop sound than Laurel Canyon retro and that has meant more original songwriting.
Hobbyist, photo courtesy the artists
Tuesday | 02.03 What: Hobbyist, Pet Traits and Reposer When: 7:30 Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Room Why: Chicago-based Hobbyist like many bands from the Windy City is coming at music from a different angle. This one is noise rock adjacent in terms of sensibility and yes there is guitar and bass but electronic beats and a fusion of downtempo and punk attitude. At times the band dips into a mutant kind of blues rock but its 2024 album People, Like Used CD’s sounds like edgy art pop. Think post-punk made by former theater kids who are writing music to have an emotional resonance and appeal beyond narrow genre categories. Fans of Two Ton Boa and Mecca Normal will probably find something to like here.
Buñuel, photo from Bandcamp
Thursday | 02.05 What: Buñuel w/Squid Pisser, Spiritual Poison and Almanac Man When: 7/8 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Buñuel is the San Francisco-based avant-garde noise rock/No Wave band. Fronted by Eugene S. Robinson formerly of experimental rock legends Oxbow. This newer band has a similarly menacing and intense sound that is part experiments in arrangement and rhythm that sometimes hits the ear as some kind of industrial noise rock like a sister band to Swans, Live Skull or The Jesus Lizard whose Duane Denison contributes guitar to the group’s most recent album Mansuetude. Squid Pisser is glitchy, demented grindcore from Tommy Meehand (GWAR), Michael Armendariz (Duck Duck Goose) and Seth Carolina (Starcrawler). Spiritual Poison is the “ambient” project of Primitive Man’s Ethan McCarthy and some of the best music he is making. Almanac Man are an angular noise rock band whose style of post-hardcore is rooted in both DC and West Coast punk.
Weakened Friends, photo from Bandcamp
Friday | 02.06 What:Weakened Friends w/Team Nonexistent and Queen Frog When: 8/9 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Portland, Maine’s Weakened Friends released its third album Feels Like Hell in October 2025 through Don Giovanni. The trio tapped into that 90s grunge pop sound and the loud-quiet-loud sort of sound structure early on but by now has refined it into something with more nuanced emotional range. The new record seems to be informed by the existential exhaustion, exacerbated by the current social and economic climate, of feeling like maybe your closest relationship has run out of steam yet you’re not ready to let it go while taking an assessment of every aspect of it and realizing in the end that a lot of those feelings are projection and you’re really tired of yourself and how you are and the ways in which you self-sabotage. And how that reflection allows you to grow and be present for the people you care most about but maybe allowed yourself to forget along the way. Team Nonexistent is in a similar lane of music but from Denver and with a little more edge in the presentation.
Judge Roughneck, Hi-Def Photography
Friday | 02.06 What: Judge Roughneck’s 30th Anniversary Party w/Reptiles & Samurai When: 7 Where: The Oriental Theater Why: Judge Roughneck’s history reaches back to 1995 when ska was entering into its ascendance in American mainstream music but instead of being the kind that plagued the airwaves for a time with a watered down version of the music, Judge Roughneck seemed to have some authenticity and musical chops. The band’s fusion of reggae and ska with soul set it apart from many of its peers and thirty years later and with the recent tragic passing of former trombone player/back vocalist David Dinsmore, the group is still fronted by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Byron Shaw. This show celebrates its legacy of excellence that transcended genre.
Patrick Dethlefs, photo from Bandcamp
Friday | 02.06 What: Patrick Dethlefs and The Still Tide When: 7 Where: Swallow Hill Why: Patrick Dethlefs has been one of the more gifted songwriters out of Colorado for more than a decade and his style of folk Americana is poetic and emotionally vibrant. In 2025 he released his latest record Patty, a collection of songs that told stories of life and made sage observations about the human psyche and society that felt both like something from another, better, era and a commentary about the present times without some kind of didactic statement or grandstanding. All of which is easy and understandable to do but the lack of which lends Dethlef’s record an unspoken elegance of expression. The Still Tide might be described as a dream pop band but one that rocks a little more at times and singer/guitarist Anna Morsett is a bit of a prodigy player with songwriting that doesn’t make that obvious because it is all folded into how captivating the songs so often are.
babybaby4ever, photo by Tom Murphy
Saturday | 02.07 What:babybaby4ever album release for 4ever is a long time w/Pleasure Prince, Xenon Thief and WNGDU DJ When: 7/8 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Over the last handful of years discerning fans of synth pop in Denver that have been fortunate enough to witness a babybaby4ever show have an artist worthy of her influences. Lily Conrad grew up in Golden, Colorado and started playing music at a young age getting into playing guitar and then cello by her middle school and teen years. In 2016 in college Conrad started making music and performed her first show as babybaby but in the past couple of years she changed the project name so that it was more findable via internet search engines. Early on playing out in and around Denver Conrad was part of the local DIY scene playing house shows and underground venues like the now defunct Posh House. Around that time she started playing keyboards in the live version of psychedelic garage rock band Rose Variety with her friend Becc Perez. The pandemic era stretched time in weird directions but since the world opened up again Conrad started playing around more often in her solo project at venues that could better represent her developing sound and its highly developed, rich synth tone and production. The show now includes props and aspects of performance art from Conrad making a babybaby4ever show memorable both visually as well as for the finely crafted songs that have the spontaneity and vulnerability of classic indiepop and the robust and enveloping melodic tonality of 80s New Wave. In 2026 babybaby4ever releases the new album 4ever is a long time via Denver-based imprint Witchcat Records. The nine songs are loosely a kind of breakup album as breakthrough. The lyrics and moods honor the heartache and the will to move forward by embracing vital experiences and the roots of who were are and what makes our lives feel vibrant.
Midwife, photo by Alana Wool
Tuesday | 02.10 What: Midwife and Amulets w/Sunswept When: 7:30/8 Where: Chautauqua Community House 900 Baseline Why: Midwife brings her emotionally vibrant, ambient folk soundscapes to a rare appearance in Boulder. Opening is Amulets, the solo project of Randall Taylor who has collaborated with Midwife on both his records and her own and his compositions that combine pastoral drones and tape collage is definitely spiritual kin to Midwife’s own songwriting. Sunswept is a flute and synth-driven ambient project from Denver comprised of local improve and experimental music scene star Sarah Christensen.
Sudan Arhcives, photo by Obidi Nzeribe
Tuesday | 02.10 What: Sudan Archives w/Suhreetah When: 7 Where: Gothic Theatre Why: Sudan Archives came up playing violin and while studying ethnomusicoloy at Pasadena City College she attended the legendary club night Low End Theory and wrote her own music and did some deep diving into violin players across cultures and by 2017 released her self-titled debut EP. Since then, Sudan Archives has made a name for herself a talented composer, songwriter and performer blurring the lines between R&B, classical music, experimental electronic composition and dance music. Her latest album is the sprawling and entrancing The BPM (2025).
Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy, photo by Christy Bush
Wednesday | 02.11 What:Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy and Friends Play R.E.M. w/Bob Goldthwait When: 7 Where: Summit Music Hall Why: For the past dozen years acclaimed actor Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy (Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, Sunny Day Real Estate) have been working together to play albums live by mutually loved artists like The Modern Lovers, The Smiths ad Neil Young. But the past two years the focus has been performing classic albums by college rock/early alternative rock band R.E.M.. Last year the duo performed Fables of the Reconstruction with four original members of R.E.M. joining them on stage for their two shows in Athens, Georgia, the hometown of the group. For this tour Shannon and Narducy will by joined by Jon Wurster, John Stirrat, Dag Juhlin and Vijay Tellis-Nayak in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the album Life’s Rich Pageant and of course the show will include some choice cuts from across R.E.M.’s catalog.
Palehorse/Palerider in 2017, photo by Tom Murphy
Thursday | 02.12 What: Palehorse/Palerider w/Glass Human and BleakHeart When: 7/8 Where: Hi-Dive Why: This will be a front to back show of heavier Denver bands that don’t fit comfortably in the realm of metal though they might each be considered within that lane of music. Palehorse/Palerider combines desert rock, shoegaze and tribal/pastoral rhythms and soundscapes in its evocation of emotional weight. Glass Human is able to navigate being an art rock band and heavy shoegaze with pop songcraft with surprising mastery. BleakHeart is like if a doom band discarded those trappings in favor of more existential, dark and heavy post-punk.
Plastik Mystik, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 02.13 What:Plastik Mystik album release w/Cherry Spit, Pale Sun and Soneffs When: 7/8 Where: Hi-Dive Why: Plastik Mystik is refreshingly difficult to pigeonhole because its sound hits the ears as some kind of amalgam of punk fury, dark post-punk sophistication and mutant garage rock left of center fractured song structures. After a handful of singles the past couple of years the group is finally releasing its debut album. The rest of the bill is filled out with some of Denver’s finest. Cherry Spit is a ferocious noise rock/post-hardcore quintet whose sound fuses angular, caustic sounds and impassioned vocals with a mathematical precision that breaks enough with being more calculated to be interesting. Pale Sun is arguably Denver metro’s greatest shoegaze band with former members of Bright Channel, Pinkku and Space Team Electra. Soneffs make music at the intersection of indie rock songcraft, psychedelia and shoegaze.
Salads & Sunbeams, photo by Tom Murphy
Saturday | 02.14 What: The Cowboy Confessional: Sea of Heartbreak – Real Stories, Fake Cowboys w/Christie Buchule, Erin Christian, Susan Earley, Sarah Chase Fountain and musical guests Salads & Sunbeams When: 2 Where: Mutiny Information Cafe Why: This will be an afternoon of confessional storytelling in the spirit of the subversion of the Valentine’s Day holiday. With musical guests, masterful pop band Salads & Sunbeams and their layering of poetry, 60s psychedelia and 90s indiepop.
Gentleman Deluxe, Way High album cover
Saturday | 02.14 What:Heartbreak Holiday: Gentleman Deluxe, The Schofields, Scooter James, Micah and the Mirrors & Silver West When: 6 Where: The Federal Theatre Why: Gentleman Deluxe is the solo Americana project of Aaron Howell, the charismatic frontman of MF Ruckus, White Fudge and various other bands over the years. This effort showcases Howell’s ability to write stripped down songs without losing the emotional sensitivity he can bring to a song that perhaps isn’t as obvious from his more bombastic bands but the sensibilities of which can be heard in his other songwriting. Also on the bill is former Tin Horn Prayer and Pinhead Circus member Scooter James with his own solo work and cosmic country artist Silver West.
DeVotchKa, photo by Jen Rosenstein
Saturday | 02.14 What:DeVotchKa A Tribute to the Music of Little Miss Sunshine When: 7 Where: The Boulder Theater Why: DeVotchKa was already a bigger band in Denver metro around the turn of the century that worked hard to hone and refine its masterful songwriting and sound that got pigeonholed as “gypsy punk” and Americana. But the affecting lyrics and the sophistication of its songwriting with elements of jazz composition and classic pop songcraft and a little luck landed the group’s music on the soundtrack for the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine which adapted songs from the group’s albums How It Ends (2004) and Una Volta (2003). This is a rare chance to witness a great deal of that music live.
Goth Disco seems like an appropriate project name in the music heard in “Chemical Rush.” The song pairs dance beats with a distinctive and driving bass line as the prominent musical elements. A touch of guitar adds grit without overwhelming the song with the kind of ghostly atmospheric sounds that one expects out of a post-punk song and the synth harmonics in the backdrop fill out the mood more than become the focal point of the song. The song which seems to be about keeping one’s head in a milieu of club culture and its attendant extracurricular activities has a coherence and sonic focus and its unique production and composition in the realm of modern post-punk sets it apart from a lot of that music that can often feel imitative. Listen to “Chemical Rush” on Spotify and follow Goth Disco at the links provided.
Your Tired Friend seems to have delved into some deep and dark corners of musical inspirations and of the psyche in the writing and refining of “Angel.” The song was born as an improvisation and shaped by live performances to land upon a deeply moody downtempo track about yearning for something you lost that can be idealized in your heart because of distance from how whatever and whoever it was would cause you some distress as exemplified by the line “Pull me apart like you used to.” The languid jazz guitar, the pulsing percussion and ghostly synths tracing the soulful vocal line speak to the ache for the romanticized presence the way chaos and drama can seem exciting from a distance for many people, something better than what might be perceived as the tedium of “normal” life. The music video in black and white seems to parallel what might be called the lack of color in one’s life minus what one felt like to be the spark that gave life more of a thrill. Watch the video for “Angel” on YouTube and follow Your Tired Friend at the links below.
The title of Poor Bambi’s “Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We’re Drowning” is a statement in itself. The menacing tone of the song has an element of triumph in it as well. The caustic yet melodic guitar and commanding vocals give weight to the lyrics that seem to spell out the unsustainability of an egregiously unequal economic system and society. When most people are crushed under by the prevailing order what can support the elites? It is a systemic failure waiting to happen and the song almost seems to celebrate that inevitability. Stylistically the song seems to draw some sonic inspiration from symphonic metal but channeled through a more punk sensibility for a unique post-punk sound. Listen to “Skyscrapers Soaring, Yet We’re Drowing” on YouTube and follow Norwegian rock band Poor Bambi at the links provided below. Look for the band’s debut album out February 6, 2026.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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