Archive for the Features Category

Pet Sounds #92: Left Arm Tan’s Best Friend Is Goose … the Dog

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 09/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Seasoned musician Daniel Hines launched his band Left Arm Tan (RIYL Calexico, the Jayhawks) in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2010 with relatively modest ambitions. The charming alt-rock crew also includes Brian Lee (lead vocals, piano, guitar); Mark Belding (horns, steel guitar, guitars, harmonies); Jeff Scroggins (bass, harmonies); Shawn Light (guitars, mandolin, keys, harmonies); and Tim Manders (drums, harmonies).

Hines underwent a series of surgeries last year but also wrote a gobsmacking 57 songs, breathing new life into his band, which had split for a short period. The resulting record, When Tigers Smoked (which means “once upon a time” in Korean, and was produced by Old 97’s and Damnwells collaborator Salim Nourallah), comes out October 9.

Arguably even trustier than Hines’ band, though, is his Australian Shepherd, Goose, who entered Hines’ life during COVID and just turned 6 years old. Enjoy our exchange with Hines and, of course, the pics of him and his pooch (yes, we know you well, dear readers).

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On Tyranny: Fascist Resurgence Spurred Austrian Anti-Capitalist Anarcho-Punks Desolat’s Fiery Return

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 09/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“The last five years … had an emotional impact, which motivated me … to do a more political album again,” Desolat vocalist/guitarist Alfred Satani told The Bad Penny earlier today as part of our ongoing On Tyranny series.

Satani further noted that he found making the noise/hardcore/sludge trio’s upcoming October 16 release, People as Idiots & Idiots as Leaders (Reptilian Records), to be “cathartic” as he grapples with the grim reality and prepares for even more dire days ahead.

“I fear the future for my children, because of … environmental topics … and current politics and right wing politics, which totally ignore this thing. I can be even worried for myself, because I hope I live for a few years longer. “It can become pretty rough quite soon,” Satani reveals.

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On Tyranny: Queer NYC Pop Musician Danny Blu on Art as a Vehicle for Empathizing With Trans Community

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 09/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

A day after the release of his new single “Faithless,” and with his album “Type Volume I” on the horizon for an October 13 release, dark pop and industrial noise aficionado Danny Blu joins The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series for a candid conversation about the inextricability of his work fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and his unique musical creations.

The theatrical, New York City-based artist – who also works in the nonprofit world to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from the nonstop assault by MAGA and other malevolent forces that have latched onto American society like Alien face-huggers – is quickly making a name for himself as a prominent defender of marginalized individuals.

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On Tyranny: Frontman of Canada’s Elephant Stone Says ‘Being an Artist Already Makes You Political’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , on 08/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“Canada feels more united than I’ve ever seen it.”

–Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir

When The Bad Penny caught wind that a band had released a song called “Fascists Killed Yer Rock ‘N’ Roll” as a single, we immediately invited them (Elephant Stone) to participate in our ongoing series On Tyranny, which focuses on how fascism affects artists artistically, emotionally and personally – and lets them set an example for other musicians that it is OK to criticize and protest the government.

Rishi Dhir, leader of the psych-pop squad from Montreal, graciously accepted our offer and answered some questions related to artists and the potential ways in which they interact with authoritarianism. We bring you the interview, which was conducted over email, on the eve of the 20-year-old group’s new album, ASHA, coming out tomorrow via Elephants on Parade in tandem with Little Cloud Records.

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The 10 Best Chilean Bands, According to Guitarist for Santiago-Based Noisy Punk-Rock Squad Niño Nuclear (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Interviews, Lists, The Visionaries, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Well, try this one on for size: Five days ago, we published the Venezuela installment of The Bad Penny‘s new series in which we touch base with a seasoned musician from a non-U.S. country to get real-life recommendations (as opposed to artificially generated ones from Spotify) about the best bands in that artist’s homeland. Diego Ramirez, frontman of heavy garage-rock band Joudy, cultivated the list for that edition of the series, and one of the artists he deemed exceptional is another heavy garage-rock band Niño Nuclear. (If you don’t know about Ramirez’s harrowing escape from Venezuela due to rampant violence, be sure to read the story and watch the accompanying video interview in this edition of The Bad Penny’s On Tyranny series.)

While Niño Nuclear relocated to Santiago, Chile, in 2019, the band left an indelible mark on the country where they were born – but are thriving even more so now. After hearing Ramirez talk glowingly about the members of the group – including guitarist/bassist Frank Pereira; Mechu and Julio, who both provide vocals and play guitar; bassist Fernando and drummer Leo – we thought what better musician to enlighten us about the top 10 best bands in Chile for the latest edition in our series.

Here are los seleciónes de Señor Frank:

1. Paracaidistas

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On Tyranny: Calculus Was ‘Scared’ to Cover Politics; Now He’s Liberated With New LP (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , on 08/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

After many periods of reflection and deliberation, The Calculus went through a transformation resulting in him wanting to focus more on the world around him – and political matters in particular, as they now infiltrate every aspect of our lives.

“I came to realize that anything is right or left,” he continued. “It’s all division and distraction from looking at people that are hoarding money while everyone’s suffering. We have a guillotine, it’s time to start chopping heads. Things need to be changed from up top in order for things to start getting better.”

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On Tyranny: Frontman for Hardcore Heroes Angel Du$t Says ‘Brown People Are Being Ripped From Their Families and Sent Off God Knows Where. It’s a Really Dark Time.’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Some bands – especially hypocritical ones that refer to themselves as “punk” or “hardcore” – have the audacity to blaspheme those traditions by lamely copping out with “we don’t do politics” as an excuse.

Baltimore’s Angel Du$t – who would burn retinas if they were any hotter right now – are not one of those cowardly bands.

In the latest edition of On Tyranny (published without that header on Post-Punk), we interviewed Justice Tripp – the band’s mainstay member and lead vocalist – who does not mince words. Ever.

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On Tyranny: Brandi Carlile’s ‘Concert for Minneapolis’ Is Now Free to Watch on YouTube

Posted in Features, News, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It seemed inevitable from the moment that Brandi Carlile walked onstage to perform a massive benefit concert in the wake of the ICE-provoked melees that occurred in Minneapolis six months ago that her performance would be historic. Now the soaring singer-songwriter is helping solidify the importance and magnitude of the show by making it available for free on YouTube for all to see.

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On Tyranny: Think Your Band Has It Rough? Meet Ukraine’s Season of Melancholy, Staying United Amid Russia’s Bombardment of Kiev

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Some bands break up after it’s discovered that the bassist slept with the guitarist’s girlfriend. Some bands break up because the drummer wants to go in more of a doom director, whereas the lead guitarist is intransigent over the group staying true to its thrash roots.

Season of Melancholy – who hail from Kyiv, Ukraine – aren’t breaking up anytime soon, even though when The Bad Penny caught up with them on Saturday, Russia had rained hellfire on their environs with bombs. The smoke was still clearing when three members of the group, which refers to themselves as “romantic metal,” caught up with us to talk about music, war, brotherhood, unity, strength, courage and survival. We’re not talking any of that Pete Hegseth bullshit about “real men” and “high-T”: The musicians who comprise Season of Melancholy are braver than everyone watching this video put together.

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Pet Sounds #91: A Member of Indie-Rock Squad Morning Line Has a Dog Who Is (Named After) a Drummer

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 08/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Veteran San Francisco Bay Area indie-rockers The Morning Line recently signed to Big Stir Records earlier this week, the label announced Thursday – and wouldn’t you know it, they already have a new studio record spick-and-span for release on September 18. Big Stir are good people, so The Bad Penny quickly jumped on the opportunity to interview frontman Stephen Smith hours after the signing was announced.

We’ll bring you our feature on The Morning Line’s new album, Stars, closer to its release date, but in the meantime, we’ll tide you over with the latest edition of our long-running series Pet Sounds, for which the band surely qualifies. Smith has Dot, a small, 4-year-old black mutt he refers to as a “Teacup Wolfhound” (more on that later). Drummer Peter Craft owns a 6-year-old half-boxer/half-pit called Levon. And guitarist Brian Mello has a 13-year-old cat whose breed is a Korat (a breed from Thailand) and whose name is Dr. Zira.

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