Sunday, January 11, 2026
freight train coming down the track/and it almost gave me a heart attack
Unfortunately, we've emerged from the holiday season and we're in "I have to do that thing 8-hours a day every weekday to live again" part of the year. But! That means that the lull in new music is over and there were too many great songs that came out this week.
Song of the week
Joyce Manor - I Know Where Mark Chen Lives
I didn't think I liked this band--and I went back to their really early stuff and I turns out I was right--but I'm really glad that I've been keeping tabs on the singles for their upcoming LP, because I liked the first one and love "All My Friends Are So Depressed." This one might be my new favourite and goes hard enough that I bought tickets to see them in May (though Militarie Gun opening the show helped that decision too).
I Used to Go to This Bar is out January 30th on Epitaph.
Classic of the week
Songs: Ohia - Two Blue Lights
A PSA to let you know that this record is finally back in print on vinyl. This is very easily my second favourite Jason Molina release (after The Magnolia Electric Co. ofc)
More heat
Robyn - Talk to Me
So far from this record, we've got two Robyn dancefloor bangers and one Robyn weirdo pseudo-rap jam (the album's title track, Sexistential, also out this week), one of which is a Robyn heartbreak number and two of which are Robyn "damn, I'm horny as Hell" tracks. This thing's already tracking to be album of the year (this song is one of the horny as Hell ones).
Gladie - Future Spring
It feels like an affront against me, personally, that Gladie's upcoming tour skips Seattle completely. But maybe I'll go to Toronto at the beginning of May, even though I'm going back to Japan in the middle of May and spend all Summer living like a broke skid as a throwback to the last period of my life when I used to write this thing regularly.
Cave Dwellers - Bitter Branches
Nasty, brutish, and short (complimentary), which is appropriate for the lead off single from an album called Let's Give the Land Back to the Animals.
Angel Du$t - I'm the Outside
Thank you to Angel Du$t for letting me keep my "not-a-hardcore guy who loves hardcore bands that aren't hardcore enough for nerds" thing going into 2026.
Mirah - After the Rain
I liked the dance-y power pop of lead-off single "Catch My Breath," but this is what I think about when I think about Mirah. 25-years(!) after You Think It's Like This, but It's Really Like This, it's amazing to hear something that shows how much she's grown as a songwriter while still being instantaneously recognizable as Mirah.
upcoming shows
2/8 Twin Sister, Eleanor Friedberger, and Ava Luna @ the Media Club
2/9 David Choi @ the Rio
2/10 Secret Chiefs 3 and Dengue Fever @ the Rickshaw
2/13 White Buffalo @ the Media Club
2/14 The Ballyntines and Pleasure Cruise (TT) @ the Biltmore
2/18 Grimes w/Born Gold @ Fortune (early)
2/18 Cruel Young Heart, Young Liars, the Oh Wells, and Matiation @ the Dodson Rooms (AA)
2/18 Cursive w/UME @the Media Club
2/19 The Asteroids Galaxy Tour w/Vacationer @ Venue
2/20 Veronica Falls w/Bleached @ the Media Club
2/26 DJ Krush @ Fortune
2/29 Trevor Hall @ the Media Club
3/6 Slow Club w/Signals @ the Media Club
3/7 Cloud Nothings w/Mr. Dream @ the Media Clubr
3/8 Islands @ the Rio
3/10 Memoryhouse @ the Waldorf
3/17 William Fitzsimmons @ the Biltmore (early)
3/18 Magnetic Fields @ the Vogue (AA)
3/21 Plants & Animals>/b> @ the Rickshaw
3/22 Drive-by Truckers @ the Commodore
3/23 White Rabbits @ the Biltmore
3/23 Loney Dear @ the Media Club
3/24 Sharon Van Etten and the War on Drugs @ the Biltmore (early)
3/25 Nada Surf and An Horse @ the Rickshaw
3/27 The Ting Tings @ the Commodore
4/5 House de Racket @ the Electric Owl
4/6 Chairlift w/Nite Jewel @ the Electric Owl
4/7 Heartless Bastards @ the Media Club
4/8 Metronomy @ Venue
4/8 Gotye @ the Vogue (AA)
4/9 Cults @ Venue
4/10 First Aid Kit @ Venue
4/10 Andrew Bird w/Laura Marling @ the Vogue (AA)
4/13 The Odds and the Grapes of Wrath @ the Rickshaw
4/14 The Joel Plaskett Emergency @ the Vogue (AA)
4/24 School of Seven Bells w/Exitmusic @ the Electric Owl
4/26 Justice @ the PNE Forum (AA)
4/27 M83 @ the Vogue (AA)
4/27 Yukon Blonde @ the Commodore
4/28 Neon Indian @ Venue (early)
5/6 Delta Spirit w/Waters @ the Electric Owl
5/9 Yann Tiersen @ the Rickshaw
5/11 Great Lake Swimmers w/Cold Specks @ the Commodore
5/12 The Boxer Rebellion> @ the Biltmore
5/27 Coeur de Pirate @ Venue
legend:
AA = all ages
DG = @damaged goods
DFTK = @dirty for the kids
FJW = @fake jazz wed
EN = @easy now
GD = @glory days
HL = @higher learning
JH = @junior high
JY= @junkyard
RRPP = @rocknroll pizza party
SD = @shindig
TT = @toonie tuesday
NW = @no worries