Because Transcending Obscurity founder Kunal Choksi’s moral values include humility along with nurturing strays back to health, few are aware of his superhuman efforts helping animals concurrent with running his Mumbai-based record label. Read my profile on one of the most standup dudes in underground music via New Noise.
Transcending Obscurity Chief Rises to the Occasion With Animal Shelter
Posted in Interviews with tags Kunal Choksi, Transcending Obscurity on 07/05/2025 by Kurt OrzeckTriathalon: ‘Pressure Can Create Magic’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Interviews with tags Triathalon on 07/05/2025 by Kurt OrzeckNew York bedroom pop trio Triathalon spent two years writing, demoing, recording and mixing the record in bedrooms, studios and houses, as if they were on a scavenger’s hunt. Read my New Noise profile on the band.
The Armed’s ‘Kingbreaker’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Reviews with tags The Armed on 07/04/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Celebrate July 4 by listening to a new song by The Armed that reminds us America is a country with No Kings. And go to Treble to read more of my commentary on the scorching song.
WPTR’s ‘Redness and Swelling at the Injection Site’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags WPTR on 07/04/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Peter Gill’s lovely debut record, which he’s issuing under the nom de plume WPTR, contains 18 short musical vignettes documenting his observations of nature, animals and human behavior. Read more of my take on the song courtesy of Treble.
Wytch Hazel Obey Black Sabbath’s ‘Mob Rules’ on Their Fifth LP
Posted in Interviews with tags Black Sabbath, Wytch Hazel on 07/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck“I wrestle with some things that have got worse in my life, or deeper (into my psyche,) and I wanted to get into the weeds of those ideas and express them.” Get deep with English hard rock squadron Wytch Hazel in my profile on the band for New Noise.
Activity’s ‘A Thousand Years in Another Way’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Activity on 07/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
The third LP from the pigeonhole-proof Brooklyn collective Activity proves just how far they can stretch the boundaries of indie rock with this radically diverse set of songs. Read my review of A Thousand Years in Another Way courtesy of FLOOD.
Matador’s Lifeguard Come to Save the Day–Without Even Knowing It
Posted in Interviews with tags Lifeguard on 07/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
As a fresh-cheeked posse with pedigree, musical talent, creativity and sensitivity in tow, anyone would be a fool not to bet on Lifeguard, Matador Records’ newest hope. They don’t seem to know it, but riveting success appears to be their destiny. Read my Treble feature on the band for confirmation that you should take this post-rock project to the bank.
Leafblower’s ‘Burn Cruise’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Leafblower on 07/02/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
On their latest album, Burn Cruise (Max Trax), Leafblower delivers its riffs with frequency and ferocity. But this time around, they have an objective in mind: to ensure that each song Leafblower presents (excluding the brief banjo outro reminiscent of Panopticon) rocks hard. Read my Music Connection review of Burn Cruise.
For Your Health Gives the Straight Diagnosis
Posted in Interviews with tags For Your Health on 07/01/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Boldly going where precious few artists—Brainiac, Racebannon, HORSE the Band—have dared go before, screamo brain-scramblers For Your Health prove that ingesting berserk art-noise does a body good. Except for the occasional bout of heartburn, that is. Vocalist Hayden Rodriguez gets candid about the trials and tribulations that preceded the screamo band’s newly released debut for 3DOT, This Bitter Garden. Read the whole shebang via FLOOD.
