Each year in late May, the 4-day party and noise-rock festival Caterwaul takes over multiple venues in Minneapolis. It’s a stacked lineup this year, to put it mildly, with each night’s headliners FACS, Young Widows, Naw, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform -- and that’s leaving a ton of other great bands off the list in the name of keeping our intro short. SPB teamed up with organizers Conan Neutron, Rainer Fronz, and Melanie Thomas to get a feel for the fest. In addition to the bands named already, hear from Deaf Club, Buildings, Kowloon Walled City, Violenteer, Unstable Shapes, Something Is Waiting, Upright Forms, and Tonguecutter. -- Must-see bands at Caterwaul 2025 Matt K. (Pissed Jeans) Wipes are fronted by Allentown legend Ray Gurz, gotta peep their set. Find a big enough piece of trash and he'll do a skateboard trick on it. Uniform feel like bruthers from different muthers even though I only see those guys in person like once every four years at this point... dying to see them play their last album, it's their best yet. Deaf Club seem like a real hoot, getting accidentally kicked in the face by Justin Pearson is the hardcore equivalent of the Pope dabbing ash on your forehead (RIP). Big'n would be great to catch, understated legends for sure. Justin Pearson (Deaf Club) Obviously, Pissed Jeans as they are one of the coolest modern bands around. I'm also looking forward to seeing the homies Young Widows, Fotocrime, Conan Neutron, and Uniform. However … Read more
There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not … Read more
Steven Fairweather is a Canadian musician, radio show host, and comic book writer. He is best known as the bassist … Read more
How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day … Read more
Few bands have as fitting a name as The Slow Death. They play forlorn, self-deprecating punk that’s heavily influenced by lonesome country. The music itself is more driving and punchy, but many of the lyrics would fit just well in a somber old-timey country ballad. It’s forceful music that punches inward instead of at The Man. The first song is … Read more
People in the indie punk scene in Canada can usually be linked by six degrees of separation. I’ve never met Golden Shitter guitarist Matt Ellis IRL but I became acquainted with him when he played in the short lived Plastic Heads with Jon Sharron. Having played with everyone from Chokehold to Brutal Knights, along with the criminally underrated Valley Boys, … Read more
The Raging Nathans are a unique band. They play '90s influenced punk that checks a ton of familiar boxes. It will appeal to fans of the old "EpiFat" sound, as it's been pejoratively called... but they seamlessly add a new element of emotion that's often carries blunt, harsh and personal emotional truths in their songs. Sometimes it's subtle, but usually … Read more
Rodeo Boys play in the punk circuit but there's so much going on in their music. I'll broadly summarize it as guitar music. This description, of course, might be biased from my first impression when I caught the last 5 minutes of a set at Fest which was basically just Tiff Hannay shredding on the floor in an impressive close … Read more
Li Jianhong's philosophy surpasses the direct relationship of a musician with their instrument of choice. Instead, Li has advocated for Environment Improvisation, where the urge to create and improvise is … Read more
Some reviews are written after years of listening to a band and knowing nearly everything about them. Sometimes I listen to a record on repeat for weeks before I even … Read more
Semi-feral punk outfit NightFreak are back with a self-titled LP filled with breakneck riffs and 70s metal bombast. The Chicago group haven’t slowed down since 2022’s Speed Trials but they … Read more
I’m pretty sure I became aware of Mike Krol when The Whiffs posted about playing some shows with him. Krol is a bit of an anomaly. Not only is he … Read more
TV Cult, the post-punk band from Cologne, Germany, has announced their sophomore album this fall, Industry, when the band will release via Flight 13 Records on Oct. 10. The lead single is "Communion," “The theme o[being] the idea of rejecting a belief system by calling it out for being vacuous … Read more
Sonor Dolorosa released a limited bonus EP, Aurora, in tandem with the release of Mond. Now, the band has returned to that EP, issuing a widespread, re-recorded format. Aurora is … Read more
Swedish death metal band Grand Cadaver is back, sharing the single and title track off their new EP, The Rot Beneath. The EP will release on August 15 on Majestic … Read more
Minus the Bear, already planning a 20th anniversary tour for their album Menos El Oso, has added an upcoming vinyl reissue on 2XLP with a 24-page photo journal, coming courtest … Read more
The ever-inventive Merzbow has a new album coming out in June, Sedonis, available June 27 via Signal Noise. The Tokyo-based artist has been releasing music until the Merzbow name since … Read more
Blood Incantation will hit the road in North America in support of their latest album, Absolute Elsewhere () on a tour that includes two unique stops: The Caverns in Pelham, … Read more
Les Lullies, of France, has a new live album: Une nuit à Leipzig, released on the same day as a new 7" with Split System from Australia. Both release on … Read more
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