A Very Special Episode, photo courtesy the artists
“Too Cool” by A Very Special Episode begins with a lightly distorted bass line and hushed vocals and a sense of menace but at the same time reminiscent of Wet Leg in its playfulness. Once the song gets off the ground with every element in direct motion it’s like a wall of sound of singular irresistible hook. All appropriate for a song that seems to be about fulfillment of desires, the heated anticipation of that next connection and the comedown and moments spent reflecting on the significance of it all. Fans of obvious touchstones like the aforementioned as well as fuzzed out psychedelic rock bands like Death Valley Girls will appreciate the band’s edge paired with uplifting melodies. Listen to “Too Cool” on Spotify and follow A Very Special Episode at the links below. The group’s EP AVSE released July 31, 2026.
A Very Special Episode, photo courtesy the artists
“Strobes” finds A Very Special Episode pulsing with a driven energy and an aggressive and noisy sound that sounds like the band is trying to push everything into the red and holding on for dear life. It’s a song that has moments of disorienting echoes and scorching melodies and a sense that it could all combust at any moment and with the chorus of “Freak me out” it’s almost a challenge to see if one can have that kind of experience in a way that flirts with the dangerous but not necessarily the negatively destructive. It’s a fine line and the song with its washes of sonic fire and spirited vocals embodies a yearning to have an experience that blows open previously known boundaries and habits that have hemmed one in without knowing it. Watch the psychedelic video for “Strobes” (yes, there are strobes so those sensitive to that effect be advised) on YouTube and follow A Very Special Episode at the links below. Fans of A Place to Bury Strangers and Ganser will appreciate this band’s particular flavor of post-punk.
A Very Special Episode, photo courtesy the artists
A Very Special Episode has a name like a humorous reference to one of the worst episodes of a TV series with a heavy-handed theme but that wry nod to televised melodrama suits its own music that is swirling with a deeply atmospheric urgency. Or so it seems from the single “Heaven’s Gate,” whose lyrics seem to take the concept of cults, and that specifically named cult lead by Marshall Applewhite, and how they appeal to the emptiness and atomization of modern life. And how cults provide the kind of social and emotional support system that feels more authentic than a mere job or many family situations especially for people who are at an unstable and vulnerable point in their lives. In the horror film-esque music video directed by Jen Meller we see imagery that looks like it could be from the 1980s or 1990s with the lead character played by Gillian Leigh Visco working in an office on an old CRT screen as happened when you worked for a company that was operating off an older database system or even merely Oracle. This little details takes the setting out of time a bit because certainly misguided cults and cult-like behavior and manipulations have become part of American life in a more overt way. When Visco enters into the cult compound and engages with the lurid and bombastic new community lead by A Very Special Episode singer Kasey Heisler the video enters into Kenneth Anger territory of the darkly dreamlike. This richness of imagery and presentation is certainly not necessary but it helps to make a song that is already engulfing and brimming with heightened emotion and densely dynamic sounds even more memorable. A Very Special Episode is tapping into that realm of where shoegaze and post-punk meet akin to what one might expect from Ganser or The Prids and “Heaven’s Gate” is just a hint of what else awaits on the group’s new album Freak Me Out which releases on June 23, 2023 on digital and “blue light vinyl.” But for now watch the video for “Heaven’s Gate” on YouTube and connect with A Very Special Episode at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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