Music

Mark Waldoch & The Hallelujah Ward contemplate “86,000” heart beats in a day

March 2, 2021

Any new song from Milwaukee treasure Mark Waldoch is a reason to celebrate. But what about a new Mark Waldoch song that gives you 86,000 reasons to celebrate? Enter the ethereal, enigmatic, and excellent "86,00...

This “No rap!” WKTI commercial from 1991 is, um, something

Matt Wild

March 2, 2021

Radio stations have formats. A rock station plays rock music, a country station plays country music. No big deal. But when was the last time a radio station went out of its way to single out a genre of music it...

Guerrilla Ghost address personal themes, nod to Wesley Snipes on ‘The Trumaine EP’

Tyler Maas

March 1, 2021

Now that March is here, we're nearing the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis making its way to Milwaukee and, in the process, throwing a wrench into the gears of a music scene that was truly in the mid...

WMSE will celebrate 40 years on the air by going back to 1981

Matt Wild

March 1, 2021

Lordy, lordy, WMSE is 40.Yes, Milwaukee's beloved community-powered radio station is celebrating the big 4-0 in 2021, and it's doing it in style. Beginning March 17, the Big Sound Downtown will turn the clo...

Milwaukee Music Roundup: February 2021

Milwaukee Record Staff

February 28, 2021

Looking for new music? Looking for new Milwaukee music? Then look no further than our monthly Milwaukee Music Roundup. (Want to hear us discuss a few selections on WUWM’s Lake Effect? Click HERE.) LPs AND EPs ...

MKE Music Rewind: The Benjamins, ‘The Art Of Disappointment’

Rachel Seis

February 26, 2021

In our MKE Music Rewind series, we revisit notable Milwaukee music that was released before Milwaukee Record became a thing in April 2014.The first out-of-town destination I drove to after receiving my driv...

Milwaukee meets Madrid in melancholy ‘Moon Songs’

Matt Wild

February 24, 2021

There are long-distance collaborations, and then there are really long-distance collaborations. Take Milwaukee musician Alec Grefe (a.k.a. Astronaut Husband) and Madrid, Spain musician Ana Regatero (a.k.a. Blue...

Reminder: Velocihamster’s second lap steel metal album, ‘Balls To The Wall,’ is available now

Matt Wild

February 23, 2021

It's been a while since we checked in with Velocihamster—a.k.a. the "world's first lap steel metal band" fronted by Milwaukee musician Sean Williamson. Back in 2018, Williamson released his debut record as Velo...

Every day can be International Clash Day with Paper Holland’s “Lost In The Supermarket” cover

Matt Wild

February 22, 2021

It's winter. Everything is miserable. The country is falling apart. There's a pandemic. Social media continues to exist. What we're trying to say is...look, we're sorry we missed International Clash Day on Febr...

Behold the cosmic curiosity of Dinner Set Gang’s “Lord Of All The Gods” music video

Tyler Maas

February 18, 2021

Back in December, we introduced you to Dinner Set Gang—a new project from Josh Evert and Derek De Vinney of The Fatty Acids—by debuting a so-called "Xmas horror video" for the band's first single. A couple mont...

Enjoy Milwaukee’s OTHER cover of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy,” this one by Trapper Schoepp

Matt Wild

February 17, 2021

Okay, we didn't make this up: Back in December, one of the ultra-specific categories in our Favorite Milwaukee Music Of 2020 piece was "Favorite Milwaukee Cover Of An Old Sheryl Crow Song." The winner of that p...

Watch Joe Wong face the end of the world in dual “Minor” and “Nuclear Rainbow” video

Matt Wild

February 16, 2021

Milwaukee native Joe Wong is great. When we last caught up with the musician (now based in Los Angeles), he discussed some of the collaborators who helped bring his latest (excellent) record, Nite Creatures, to...

Immortal Girlfriend goes industrial with “post-synthwave headbanger,” “Others”

Matt Wild

February 15, 2021

If Kevin and William Bush of Milwaukee synthwave duo Immortal Girlfriend had a big 2020, 2021 looks to be even bigger. The brothers released one of our favorite EPs of last year, RIDE, while William released on...

Listen to the latest Pleasure Thief and DASHCAM collab, “Dust (Melody Of Pain)”

Matt Wild

February 12, 2021

Way back in the gloriously sunny times of 2017, Milwaukee musician Cat Ries (NO/NO, Rio Turbo, Credentials) teamed up with Milwaukee producer DASHCAM (a.k.a. Donny Jankowski of NiceFM) for the gloriously sunny ...

Negative/Positive return with eco-minded “How To Kill A Rock”

Matt Wild

February 12, 2021

A lot has changed for Negative/Positive since we last checked in in 2019. The longtime three-piece has become a four-piece, old members have left and new ones have entered, and the group has shed any remaining ...

Local Love: Get ready for Valentine’s weekend with this romantic-as-hell Milwaukee playlist

Tyler Maas

February 11, 2021

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. We're sure some of you aren't planning to celebrate because of some combination of the still-very-real-and-very-deadly pandemic that our fractured country is still mis...

MKE Music Rewind: The Haskels, ‘Taking The City By Storm’

Matt Wild

February 11, 2021

In our MKE Music Rewind series, we revisit notable Milwaukee music that was released before Milwaukee Record became a thing in April 2014.The Haskels were way before my time. The legendary Milwaukee punk-ro...

Watch Trixie Mattel strut her stuff and cover Violent Femmes’ “Blister In The Sun”

Tyler Maas

February 5, 2021

It's been a big week for Trixie Mattel. A few days ago, the former RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars champion and current host of The Pit Stop officially became part-owner of This Is It. As if injecting new life and...

Shoegaze meets metal (and Cheap Trick) in Shamewave’s ‘Heaven’ EP

Matt Wild

February 5, 2021

Approximately halfway through "The Only Way To Get To Heaven," a.k.a. the leadoff track to Shamewave's new three-song Heaven EP, the fact that Shamewave's Cody Ratley spent the past decade recording and playing...

Meet Fight Dice, a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired music collective featuring members of The Promise Ring and Braid

Tyler Maas

February 3, 2021

They say to write what you know. Well, the members of Fight Dice know Dungeons & Dragons. Before the Milwaukee music and arts collective got its start, its members had spent a few years playing the game tog...