We’ll admit it: When New Noise invited Melbourne’s Clamm to take part in our ongoing Pet Sounds series, we hoped that at least one member of the punk band would have a clam as a pet. Alas, that turned out not to be the case—but Clamm nonetheless made us laugh harder than any other artist involved in our furry franchise.
Archive for the Interviews Category
Aussie Punk Trio Clamm Open Up About Their Pets
Posted in Interviews with tags Clamm on 06/06/2025 by Kurt OrzeckBig Takeover #96: Michael Gira and Todd Trainer Interviews, Bernie/AOC Rally Coverage, More
Posted in Album Reviews, Essays, Features, Interviews, Reviews with tags Airport 77s, AOC, Bernie Sanders, Built to Spill, Dez Dare, Librarians With Hickeys, Mdou Moctar, Michael Gira, mssv, Onsetter, Pleasure Pill, Plight, Royal Chant, Shellac, Swans, The Big Takeover, Todd Trainer, Unstable Shapes on 06/05/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
The special 45th anniversary edition of The Big Takeover, one of the oldest and last-surviving punk-rock magazines, is now available here. The special issue features more contributions from yours truly than every before–and they’re exclusively featured in the magazine:
• a deep conversation with Michael Gira of Swans
• my second feature with drummer Todd Trainer, stemming from the first interview he gave after the passing of his beloved Shellac bandmate Steve Albini
• a dispatch from a “Fighting Oligarchy” event in Idaho that featured Built to Spill, Bernie Sanders and AOC (and drew national attention)
• my reviews of new releases by Airport 77s, Dez Dare, Librarians With Hickeys, Mdou Moctar, mssv, Onsetter, Pleasure Pill, Plight, Royal Chant and Unstable Shapes
Depth Beneath Us Rise to the Occasion on Epic New Single
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews with tags Depth Beneath Us on 06/04/2025 by Kurt OrzeckSaunter over to New Noise to hear a new song by Depth Beneath Us ahead of the band’s upcoming LP release on Aug. 1. Also, read insights on the song and LP, both called Descent, courtesy of Depth Beneath Us guitarist Matt Rockman.
Todd Trainer on Surviving Shellac: ‘There’s Still a Massive Void There’
Posted in Interviews with tags Shellac, Steve Albini, Todd Trainer on 06/02/2025 by Kurt OrzeckOne of the greatest noise-rock drummers of all time granted yours truly his first interview following the still-unbelievable death of long-time Shellac bandmate Steve Albini, roughly a year after the underground legend’s tragic departure. Read one of two feature stories stemming from a truly heartfelt conversation via Music Connection.
Drifter Tests the Boundaries of Sludge-Metal on Debut LP
Posted in Interviews with tags Drifter on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckDrifter bassist/vocalist Dean Edington says the band from Kansas “want to see how far we can push the envelope before it becomes ludicrous.” Learn more about Edington’s thoughtful approach to making heavy music in my New Noise story on the band.
‘New Noise’ Editor Addison Herron-Wheeler Has the Purr-Fect Punk-Rock Cat
Posted in Interviews with tags Addison Herron-Wheeler, Cronos Compulsion on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckAddison Herron-Wheeler has a huge mutt, a fluffy black cat, and a fat ex-alley cat to ensure there’s never a dull moment in the life of the New Noise Editor.
Bruit ≤ Force Fans to Challenge Their Musical Horizons With New Album
Posted in Interviews with tags Bruit ≤ on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckThe Age of Ephemerality, the sophomore effort from France’s Bruit ≤, is a transfixing tornado that sweeps into its spiral numerous musical styles, moods, tones, volumes, and melodies. Read my interview via New Noise.
Fuzz Evil ‘Smear’-ing Boise with Punk-Rock Doom Tonight
Posted in Interviews with tags Fuzz Evil on 05/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
To use the most groan-inducing rhyme that we can conjure at the moment, buzz is building around Fuzz Evil, a distortion-heavy desert-doom quartet set to perform tonight at Realms Arcade in Boise. The four dudes share a strong affinity for the Stooges, and it shows in the ensconcing Smear Merchants, a new full-length the band unveiled almost two months ago to the day.
Fuzz Evil hail from Sierra Vista, Arizona, and feature drummer Kenneth (Cajun) Adam, baritone guitarist Preston Jennings, guitarist/vocalist Wayne Rudell, and bassist/vocalist Joseph Rudell. (As you probably surmised, the Rudells are brothers.) In addition to Smear Merchants‘ 10 slow-but-somehow-still-catchy songs, Smear Merchants marks a watershed moment for Fuzz Evil, as they reconfigured themselves from a trio into a four-piece.
Joseph (affectionately called “Joey” by his mother) humored us with his answers to a slew of questions we tossed Fuzz Evil’s way just three days ago.
Continue readingExclusive Album Premiere: Wipes’ ‘Wipes’
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, News with tags Wipes on 05/21/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Wipes are declaring Don’t Tell My Parents with the new LP that the noise-punk band will issue through Hex Records on Friday. But The Bad Penny is telling everyone we know about the righteously rambunctious by exclusively presenting a stream of the entire album today.
Not to be confused with Wipers, the influential Portland post-punk band that both Nirvana and the Melvins covered, the rather similar-sounding Wipes are still in their toddler years and hail from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Wipes carry the heavily distorted torch previously held by Wipers but are even more committed to making exuberant, off-kilter noise.
The band released new cuts “Social Mask” and “Stone Eater” earlier this year. Now, check out Don’t Tell My Parents in its entirety:
Continue readingM(h)aol Meld Feminist Punk With Animal-Activism
Posted in Interviews with tags M(h)aol on 05/20/2025 by Kurt OrzeckDublin’s feminist-punk/animal-activists M(h)aol littered their new record with copious references to their precious pets. Get better acquainted with the band in my recent New Noise interview with the Merge Records musicians.
The Bad Penny (beta) 