Pew Pew Has Arrived at the Gates

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By Dillon Riley
Pew Pew by Cameron Garrison

Boston noise rock concern Pew Pew are “industrial”, though less in sound and more in practicality. Long screwdrivers run across strings, aluminum neck guitars, capos on bass, martial drum rolls: these are becoming the hallmarks for one of the city’s most hotly-tipped live acts. Fronter M and co. have built an ever-growing legend on just a double A-side single (which astute readers will recall we premiered last spring ahead of their set at our Zone 3 Concert Series) that offered a tantalizingly brief taste of their tightly-wound guitar mangling. Staffed by members of, like every other good band in town right now it comes as no surprise that their second act (a new EP entitled Purgatory) more than delivers on the promise of the first, revealing an inventive band that pools some well-worn influences into a vision that feels distinctly their own.

Choosing layered, at times agonizing bouts of attack and release over the explosive spray of their earlier material, the band is at their best (to these ears at least) on moments like the simmering-to-a-boil title track and the instrumental “Song for Peter” which recalls the controlled chaos of 90’s noise rock imps Polvo. However, it’s the breakdown partway through closer “Blackmail” in which they pull everything away only to bring back the nasty riff a few decibels higher that feels most like a defining indie rock moment in 2026. In any case, they are are in exceptional form throughout, proving to be one of the leading lights of this era’s class.

Purgatory is out now, you can grab it on tape, cd, or digital below.

The Only Humans Embrace Change on new EP

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By Andrew McNally
Cover for the EP by The Only Humans

People say that life often gets in the way of life, something that seems truer by the day as we navigate an increasingly confusing and hostile world. It Didn’t Hit Me Until Today, the new EP by Boston-based indie trio The Only Humans examines six instances of major, unexpected life changes ranging from unexpected passings to sudden losses of love. The trio, consisting of Tim Howd (vocals, guitar), Renée Gauthier (bass, backing vocals) and Neil Morrissey (violin), channel real incidents and fictional tales towards paths of acceptance. Didn’t Hit Me rides the wave of the band’s excellent 2024 full-length, It’s a Beautiful Night. I Think I’ll Disappear Forever. We’re excited to premiere the release here at Allston Pudding!

It’s only fitting that an EP about embracing the terror of unfamiliarity would see the band take a different approach to songwriting. Rather than scripting out every element of every song, the trio took the bones of these tunes into the studio and worked them out live alongside Elio DeLuca of The Soul Shop. The Only Humans are joined by Michelle Tucker and Mike Cashin here, adding some auxiliary percussion on certain songs. The end result is a collection of tunes that feel a little looser and more varied than those on their previous album. 

The biggest disparity in sound comes among the first two tracks on the EP, “Invisible Outposts” and “Waterfall Song.” The former is an atmospheric opener, centered mostly just on Howd’s vocals and guitar work. The latter is a dense, full-band song that sounds the closest to the sketched-out songs of Beautiful Night, and it’s by far the loudest and fullest song on the EP. “Narcissus” closes out the first half as one of the folksiest songs on the release. The back half of the release follows a similar format; “Upon Seeing A White Dove On A Balcony Rail” centers on Howd, with his best vocal work across the EP, while “Another Autumn Song” is another full-band affair, with excellent violin work from Morrissey. The closing tune “Running Out On The Check” is a solid, unassuming indie song. 

These songs of transition sound desperate at times, and defeated at others. “Some people are born broken, some break themselves just to feel alive,” Howd opines on “Waterfall.” It’s the mission statement of the EP: how some people react negatively to unexpected change. While the presence of violin separates The Only Humans from many other indie bands, there is a direct comparison to The Mountain Goats to be made. Howd resembles a Bostonian John Darnielle both vocally and lyrically, and he takes this poetic influence to heart. The songs here may range from fictional journeys (“Waterfall”) to the very literal (“White Dove”), but they all find their way to acceptance. Across these six songs we get a variety of ideas and characters, but the pleasant rhythms and low-key music constantly reassure that we will, in fact, be okay. 

It Didn’t Hit Me Until Today is available for purchase and streaming below: 

Youthful Exuberance as The Head and The Heart Turn 15

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Photos and Review by Greg Wong
The Head and the Heart on stage
The Head and the Heart, photo by Greg Wong

On May 14th, the veteran indie folk rockers of The Head and The Heart concluded the first leg of their 15-year anniversary tour at Boston’s Wang Theatre. The vivacious celebration of their debut album and continuation as a band had the audience up out of their seats for a real hootenanny of a show.

The Brudi Brothers opened the show with their jaunty Americana sound. The trio of brothers lightened the mood with charmingly awkward baseball banter, an arbitrary dedication to Wang Theatre benefactor Ernie Boch Jr. (“I’m not paid to say this, I just like the name”), and a string of catchy, old-school style country folk tunes that highlighted their effortless family harmony.

The Head and The Heart walked on stage to an excited welcome from the waiting crowd, and they matched the energy quickly. Diving headfirst into a front-to-back performance of their debut self-titled album, The Head and The Heart started on a high and stayed there. Vocalist Matty Gervais was climbing amplifiers and running through the aisles of the theatre within minutes of stepping into the spotlight. The surprisingly rambunctious crowd was not only singing along but also speaking directly to the band during their talk breaks between songs. A catcall of “nice blazer!” led to some slight confusion when Charity Rose Thielen misheard it as a request to “play Major Lazer!”

While the main draw of the night was certainly the complete performance of The Head And The Heart, fans were treated to more than just the classics. The headline set was broken up into two halves, with the latter half being a grab bag of eleven selections from the rest of The Head and The Heart catalog, including last year’s release, Aperture. The crowd was just as energized for the new as the old, and enthusiasm never waned. The evening was an excellent way to end the first segment of the 15-year anniversary tour on a high note.

Check out all of Greg’s photos from the show below:

The Head and the Heart & The Brudi Brothers at the Wang Theater 05/14/2026

The Mountain Goats Row Through this Fire into Boston

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Words and Photos by Wendy Schiller
The Mountain Goats at House of Blues Boston. Shot by Wendy Schiller
The Mountain Goats at House of Blues Boston

Despite one of the hottest weeks in May on record, John Darnielle brought his band of Mountain Goats to Boston’s House of Blues to turn the dial up even further. Longtime members Jon Wurster and Matt Douglas joined Darnielle on stage along with newcomer Cameron Ralston on bass, a recent addition to after Peter Hughes’ departure in 2024. 

The songs from their 2025 album Through this Fire Across From Peter Balkan added some additional quirk and depth to a setlist that consisted otherwise of the band’s well-worn classics. “Armies of the Lord” fed nicely into “Harlem Roulette”, and new single “Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds” felt right at home alongside “The Diaz Brothers”. A musical concept album about a shipwreck, one could call Through this Fire an attempt to push the literary allusions for which Mountain Goats have become known to its limit, but the heart of the project lies in its ability to create emotional safety for fans. Darnielle’s darkly humorous and viscerally earnest lyrics remain the star.

Check out Wendy’s photos from the show below

The Mountain Goats at House of Blues 05/19/2026

A Boston Evening With PinkPantheress

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By Kenneth Palacios
PinkPantheress performs “Stateside” at MGM Music Hall. May 12th, 2026. Photo by Corwin Wickersham.
PinkPantheress performs “Stateside” at MGM Music Hall. May 12th, 2026. Photo by Corwin Wickersham.

With a glossy blend of Alternative Pop, UK Garage, and R&B, PinkPantheress’ sound can be characterized by a nostalgic, Y2K-inspired mix. Pink recently came through Boston for her “An Evening With…” Tour with a stop at MGM Music Hall, selling out the show and leaving fans ready for more. Fancy That, as her most recent album is titled, and possibly Fancy Some More? as the subsequent release with remixes of “Fancy That” proved.

Pinkpantheress fans flocked to the venue “in uniform”, as themed outfits that resemble the album’s plaid-styled branding and match PinkPantheress’ on-stage clothing turned MGM into a sea of plaid. Every bending corner and twist of the line that turned twice was met with the sight of someone dressed for the occasion with accessories to match the accompanying crowd, to boot. Like any good pop show, doors opened and were immediately met with fans shifting and shuffling along, flooding into the venue with no time to waste.

Cece Natalie started off the night. She walked out to flickering lights room-shaking bass, leaving fans excited and screaming from the very first song. Across her opening set Natalie divided and conquered different sounds and vibes, some songs gearing for solid lights and slow movement while others went for flickering lights and more movement, blending in between both. The energy began to rise more and more as every song progressed and concluded, preparing for the main act to arrive.

Music filled the room on the speakers while fans waited for PinkPantheress to arrive on stage and deliver her set. After a momentary pause, the lights went out and the crowd was into it. Screams accompanied by jumping and shaking friends and family prepared as lights rose up. Screens flickered and depicted PinkPantheress in many different scenes, with each one glitching out and switching places. More lights began to flicker as band members came out to prepare for their first song, “Stateside”, one of Pink’s most recent hits that got a jolt of popularity off a Zara Larsson remix and later synced to a skating routine by skater Alyssa Liu.

PinkPantheress’ performance can be characterized by high-energy movements and lights that match vocals and beats, raising their brightness momentarily and flickering around. Elevating the feeling and vibe of the songs, the live drummer would begin to break it down and leave space for performers to dance and interact with the audience, quickly prompting the crowd to jump and put their phones up. Across the setlist, fans of all eras heard songs from both new releases and old releases alike. Older releases “Ophelia”, “The aisle”, “Pain”, and “Another life” showed off her more bedroom-pop and UK rave-style sound while newer ones like “Stateside”, “Tonight”, “Illegal”, and “Angel” brought a more club-oriented sound into focus. The set flowed flawlessly between these poles seamlessly, allowing fans of all levels to have the night of their lives, an experience they will take and remember for a long time to come.

Gollylagging Looks to Spar on New Single

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By Dillon Riley
Gollylagging by Renee Newman
Gollylagging by Renee Newman

Boston rockers Gollylagging are in many ways the Allston Pudding band of this current era. Debuting around the turn of the decade (much like many of the AP staff steering the ship now), the band has slowly drifted from the adenoidal burst of their compellingly youthful early material towards a more robust, and dare we say classicist indie rock slant. You’ll hear Gollylagging talk up the slacker-y end of bands like Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr. and their ilk outside shows these days, and while there’s definitely plenty of that big guitar feeling moving around, the now-quartet are closing in on their own thing. Something that feels both emotionally resonant and terrifically fuzzbombed.

All of this is to say their latest single “Jackknife” is yet another leap forward. All lurching stop and starts and red-hot distortion squeals that almost recall the gnarly tracks of a Green Line station stop (or maybe its just some carefully layered synths?), the band drapes themselves around Jake Regulbuto’s enigmatic and cyclical prose about a friendship that ended explosively.

“Jackknife” is out now, and there’s a music video too, watch that below.

Otis Shanty Lets a Little Light in

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By Dillon Riley
Otis Shanty in the sunroom by Liz McEleney
Otis Shanty in the sunroom by Liz McEleney

Somerville rockers Otis Shanty are no strangers to the hallowed halls of Allston Pudding, as their ragged yet shiningly tuneful sound speaks to pretty much everyone’s taste around here. As the band closes in on a decade together, their patient and entirely present music speaks to the strength of their bonds. That their ranks also include community organizers, journalists, and members of other beloved Boston area bands also speaks to the strength of their character, but let’s stay on the ball here.

Otis Shanty is readying their second LP, and we are pleased to be premiering their third single “For Once” today at AP. A twinkling dream-pop number about seeing yourself in a new light via the lens of someone who truly sees you shine, the tracks shows a (slightly) softer side of the band musically without muddying up some of their most visceral lyrical themes to date.

Otis Shanty fronter Sadye Bobbette had this to say:

“This song is a guttural reference to body image issues I’ve been dealing with my whole life. I’ve been told so much through my life to use my inner dialogue to change my beliefs about myself. But I have always struggled because words aren’t true until the actions behind them are. So I’m trying to strike a balance between faking it until I make it and actually experiencing authentic transformation — especially as it relates to my self-esteem.”

Stevie Jick Built New Album “Between It” From Scratch

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By Ben Bonadies

You might think you’re DIY, but did you build your own synthesizer out of locally sourced Massachusetts wood? Did you build your own off-grid log cabin to write and self-produce your new solo album? Stevie Jick did, and that album, Between It, is out today. 

Jick’s long been a player in the folk space, first with New York bands Via Intercom and the punk group Tetchy (listen for his delicate fingerpicking, it’s there). It was after leaving the big city that he sought the quiet and solitude of rural life, moved to a forested plot in Western Mass, and began construction on the Lincoln Log cabin of his dreams. 

Jick building his cabin. Photo courtest of Stevie Jick.

Jick standing in front of his completed cabin. Photo courtesy of Stevie Jick.

Now rooted in Somerville, Jick returned to the cabin to record Between It with only a few microphones for company. “In certain ways I was writing based on ideas and song snippets I’d thought of over the last many years, but at the same time the whole thing came together really fast, and I just kinda cranked it out, so it’s kind of a splash of just one singular time and place,” he said. “Much of the music is still rooted, musically or lyrically, in things that were being felt out there.” 

The instrumentation, too, has its roots in the environs of Western Mass. Jick designed and built a custom synthesizer he calls Black Cherry out of wood from the area around his cabin, and it’s responsible for the ghostly sound on Between It that’s part slide guitar and part theremin. 

Black Cherry. Photo courtesy of Stevie Jick.

You can hear Between It everywhere now.

Ravi Shavi Dance to the Indifference

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By Dillon Riley
 
 

Providence no-wave instigators Ravi Shavi have long made a party out of the sundowning of the American empire. Combining short and taut, groove-laden tunes with lyrical bars that take precise aim at the mind-numbing white supremacy, chauvinism, and bloodthirst so central to this country’s farcical place in the geopolitics of the east. Suffice to say they make music for shaking ass or uhhh throwing shoes if you catch my drift.

A longtime in-demand opener for some of indie rock’s leading lights when they hit Providence on that second-city leg, Ravi Shavi are ready for a curtain call of their own as they get set to release Wild Rock Dove their latest LP on Almost Ready Records. Having recently caught the four-piece open for psych rock heartthrobs Spirit Ghost we can attest that they are cooking with some serious gas on these new tunes. Speaking of which, we are pleased to be premiering the final single from the Dove today in “Fresh Hell”. A tantalizingly short number that nevertheless lays out most of themes of the whole thing in under 2 minutes, the track (which features an excellent, almost Scooby-Doo like chase sequenced music video) is among their finest, most succint moments yet. Ravi Shavi fronter Rafay Rashid had this to say:

“This one’s about American indifference and the illusion of blissful ignorance. The numbness of the Clinton-era morphing into something demonic and glib. About the dissonance between self-help culture, war and the commodification of every problem. Walking down the street, it’s a brand new hell each day, and to most, it feels alright.”

Watch the video below and grab the track right here.

Raye Brought the Drama to the Stage in Boston

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By Hannah Sender
Raye performing at MGM Music Hall
Raye performs with an orchestra at MGM Music Hall. Photo by Corwin Wickersham.

Mere hours after the Boston Marathon, a sold-out audience at MGM Music Hall awaited Raye’s newest live set: This Tour May Contain Hope, aptly named in celebration of her sophomore album This Music May Contain Hope. The album, which offers a cinematic listening experience, delivered this and more. The elaborate, ever-changing stage setup, multiple costume changes, ensemble, and full band made the entire show feel like an immersive Broadway musical.

Massive theater-esque red curtains hid the contents of the stage as Raye emerged from the aisles, acting out the lyrics to “Intro: Girl Under the Gray Cloud.” The story was just beginning, and Raye set the scene. This dramatic performance included thunder sound effects, a cardboard cloud hanging from the ceiling, and ensemble members throwing confetti on her. Afterward, the curtains opened, revealing a full band, with which Raye performed her hit “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” As the song ended, a fan threw a wedding ring-shaped balloon onto the stage, which Raye graciously accepted and hung around the mic stand. Of this performance, Raye told the crowd, “I’ve officially entered my dramatic era.” Sure enough, as she performed the next few songs, a fan blew behind her, rippling her red silk dress and tossing around her perfectly curled bob.

Toward the middle of the set, Raye entered the jazz portion of the show. The set transformed into a restaurant called “Raye’s Jazz Club,” in which she performed a cover of “Fly Me To The Moon.”

Eventually, it came time in the show for Raye to speak to the audience about her song “Ice Cream Man,” which she explained addresses experiences with sexual harassment in the music industry. The crowd supported her throughout the vocally and emotionally taxing performance with ferocious applause and cheering when she needed to take breaks to wipe away her tears. After going straight from “Ice Cream Man” into “I Know You’re Hurting” (two intensely raw performances), Raye had the audience chant “It’s gonna be alright” several times to reassure the crowd that, after great pain, there is clarity.

Later, Raye transitioned into the “Symphony” portion of the set, performing “Oscar Winning Tears” and “Click Clack Symphony.” Next came the final portion of the show, the “Rave” set, which included “Secrets,” “BED,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Black Mascara,” and “Prada,” allowing fans to get up out of their seats and dance. After revealing that there would, in fact, be an encore – she couldn’t not tell the crowd, she admitted – Raye brought her sisters (and opening acts) Amma and Absolutely back on stage to perform “Joy.” She told the crowd, “Fight for joy in every corner of your life,” and started a triumphant chant: “I declare there will be joy!” As she returned to the stage for her encore, the crowd exploded at the first note of her viral song “Escapism,” which closed out the showstopping set.