Lauren Mayberry on Singing Straws, Playing Webster Hall & Moving the Cheese

Posted on 02/11/2025 by Andrew Bourque

Throughout our lives we will always be presented with choices that can radically alter our trajectory. The frightening nature of which these choices exude is matched only by how exciting they can be to consider. Especially when you already have built a life in one universe, but find yourself being relentlessly pulled toward another. The same goes for Lauren Mayberry. Lead singer and front-woman of Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES, as she finally made her choice to release solo material.

However fans of the band need not worry, as the trio promises to reform and release new material in the future. For now, Mayberry will be exploring new worlds and depths inside herself as she tours her new album, Vicious Creature, swinging through Cambridge on February 11th at The Sinclair. In the days before hitting the road, we got to chat with Mayberry about future proofing creativity, being featured in Heartstopper and getting to play Webster Hall.

Allston Pudding: I have to start by saying it’s a privilege to talk to you. I’ve been a fan of yours for years.

Lauren Mayberry: Ah thank you, so you’re the one! [laughs]

AP: Yes! I have a lot of great memories of dancing at festivals to “Clearest Blue” with friends.

LM: That makes me very happy. Yeah, when people don’t dance to that one I’m like, I don’t know what else to give you. That’s the peak, that’s the peak of our creative output!

AP: There’s something really special about that song.

LM: “Clearest Blue”, the little one that could, and I feel like it being in Heartstopper a few years ago…

AP: You gave it a sort of second life.

LM: Yes! I was like, this scene is what I always wanted this song to be for!

AP: It’s the perfect soundtrack for a moment like that.

LM: I knew that it was in the show obviously because we had to sign off on it, but I hadn’t seen the scene. You get sent a one sentence description and that’s it. It’s like “oh, they’re at a party”, cool. But when I was watching it, I’m like *pretends to sob*. I’m not crying about me, I’m crying about the kids, man! [laughs] Yeah, we were very lucky to get on Heartstopper.

AP: In regard to your new album, you had said that you needed to make a record that was worth asking questions about, so I’m wondering in the two months since it’s been out, what has the reception been like?

LM: I feel like I was pleasantly surprised. Anything I make is going to be compared to what has come before, which is obviously a privilege, but I knew that. I think the fact that their response to the record has been pleasant, not that I think there’s a lot of people that wanted it to be shit, maybe there was some of that, but it’s really great. For me this whole time, this record is a proof of concept. Do I have the ability or the right to make any music outside of CHVRCHES and I feel like I was trying to prove that to myself. I don’t know if I’m a confident creator in anyway, but I do feel more assured, like if you’ve only ever done one thing one way there is a part of my brain that’s like, “oh what if that’s the only way I can do it.” It’s like I was trying to future proof my creativity. Everything‘s always up and down, nothings certain, but you can always just invest in yourself. I don’t know what my art will look like in five or 10 or 20 years, I hope it still exists but I’m like, “oh you need to figure out what are you like as a creative person within that project but also outside of that.” I was so young when CHVRCHES started so I feel like it’s exercising. If CHVRCHES is like a triathlon then maybe this is the next part of that. [laughs]

AP: Well, I do think you’ve proven what you set out to prove with this record. It’s very fun yet very emotional which must’ve been difficult but also freeing. You’ve said in a couple of interviews, with CHVRCHES you weren’t fully able to express yourself so having this avenue to go down solo is really cool to see.

LM: I think it’s shown me things that I am good at and things that I’m not really good at, and things that the guys [in CHVRCHES] are really good at and things that are incredibly hard to find. I understand why a lot of people get stressed when a singer goes solo because it, in theory, jeopardizes the existence of a band that means a lot to them. To me, I think the strength of what I do in CHVRCHES is the storytelling, and sometimes it’s challenging to figure out where that sits. So I took a two year journey to work on my ability to tell stories and figure those things out, and now I think taking that back to the unit will be a useful thing. At the end of the day, people just have different tastes. The things that those guys have made in the last two years which weren’t with CHVRCHES, that just wouldn’t fit in the band, and there’s certain parts of my music that wouldn’t fit in the band. So yes, I got to be a little more dramatic and emotional in my own time.

AP: Perfect, we all need those outlets.

LM: You know, a little bit of theatrical stuff on the side.

AP: I know it’s sometimes like choosing your favorite kid, but what’s your favorite song on the new album?

LM: I think “Something In The Air” is probably one of my favorite ones because when we wrote that one, we had 3/4 of the album done and I didn’t really know what I was looking for. I wanted that kind of ephemeral something and I think when we got the chorus to that one, it felt different and exciting. It was fun playing that one live for the first time. You don’t get those things very often where you feel people responding organically and when we got to the chorus, I was like, “oh, we’re good. This is gonna be fine.” But I’m most proud of “Oh, Mother”. That one kind of came out of nowhere. It was the last song we wrote for the record. I wasn’t planning on writing something as depressing as that, but it kind of just happened and I think those are the most exciting songs. You have to turn up every day and look for things, but you can’t force it and that must’ve just been buried in the back of our brains because the whole thing was written top-to-bottom in about two hours.

AP: You have also spoken about the sort of awkward uncertainty, or even guilt that surrounds embarking on a solo project after being a part of a band for so long. What kept those feelings at bay and kept you going?

LM: I guess it’s because I knew that I wanted to do it for long enough. At first, I didn’t wanna do it because I wasn’t sure and I was worried what it would do to the band’s dynamic. After literally years of thinking about that, it’s the only part of that that’s left: the worrying about other people part. I think that’s probably not a good enough reason to not do things. But also once you’ve signed on to do something and you have to do it that’s quite helpful in a way. [laughs] You’ve taken the money to make the record so now you have to make it. Otherwise, so many people are gonna be fucked-off at you. Hopefully I’ll do it again. First time is obviously gonna be the hardest, I think. My manager had a weird analogy where he compared it to moving people’s cheese. He was like, “nobody likes it when you move their cheese. They like to know where their cheese is. So for everyone who is involved in or aware of the band, you are moving the cheese a little bit. They don’t know when you’re gonna put the cheese back and they don’t know what the cheese is gonna look like when you put it back or where you’re gonna put it.” I’m like this is silly, but it works.

AP: Well, I hope you continue to move the cheese because I think it has been successful.

LM: And you know many kinds of different cheese are available… like there’s some cheese over there from before!

AP: As you get ready to set out on your solo tour, what’s been going through your mind and how have you been preparing for it?

LM: What am I doing? Um, I’ve been having a lot of phone calls. Everybody’s learning their parts. This week we’re gonna go in and block out some of the staging. I’m not skilled enough to do full choreography, but I do like to plan it a little bit. I’m not fucking Janet Jackson, I understand that. I wish. Over the course of CHVRCHES it became more important to me, and I think the shows got better for having done that. But I have to work on my face, because when I’m concentrating, I look really upset and I can’t sing some of these songs whilst looking like that.

AP: Because you have such a strong vocal, do you have any trusty remedies that you employ either before or after a performance?

LM: We just sent in the most boring tour rider known to man. It’s just different tea’s. But it’s all about the beer and the wine: not good for the voice. I used to think, “oh I can still go out and I just won’t drink”, but it’s being in loud environments too, so sometimes you just have to live like a little monk. But, I did get a new tool, I haven’t used it yet: a singing straw? I don’t know if you know about these, I guess you just do your warm-ups into the straw? For vocal tension or something, it’s my new little pal. Presumably I’ll be singing like Mariah Carey in two weeks.

AP: Lastly, what’s your favorite city to perform in or your favorite food to have on the road?

LM: Let me look at the list. I’m like, where are we going? I always go, if I have time, to this really old sushi place down a few steps in San Francisco. We always have good shows in DC and I’ve always found it interesting how well CHVRCHES does in Texas. I don’t know why I thought Texas wouldn’t like us. And it blows my mind that I get to play Webster Hall in New York, like that’s stupid. I lived there for a few years and I think about the shows that I saw there and I’m just very honored and lucky to be a part of it. Maybe I’ll grab a little spinach dumpling after the show from Xi’an Famous Foods.

Mayberry continues on her Vicious Creature Tour through the end of March, for more information check out her website here. Follow Mayberry on Instagram and TikTok for more!

Something in the Way Kicks Off Into High Gear

Posted on 02/09/2025 by Ben Bonadies

By Andrew Bourque and Dillon Riley
Photos by Emily Gardner and Wendy Schiller

Photo by Wendy Schiller

Festival season started early for New England in 2025 with the inaugural Something in the Way festival taking place this past weekend at Roadrunner in Boston. Waking up hardcore, punk & shoegaze fans from their hibernations, the two-day festival was a welcome distraction from the bone-chilling cold outside.

Hosted by Bowery Boston and Run For Cover, Something In The Way fest follows a recent growing trend of the genre festival taking place across the country. With the mainstream large scale music festival landscape becoming increasingly more volatile, promoters have shifted priorities from welcoming every type of music fan to catering to smaller, but more dedicated communities. We’ve seen this with emo-punk fest When We Were Young in Las Vegas and the indie-queer adjacent All Things Go near Baltimore, both of which have seen success in their endeavors.

Featuring both current and legacy hardcore & punk acts, the weekend proved to be a fantastic crash course in both genres. For the OG fans, legends American Football and Slowdive made highly anticipated appearances, with fresher faces like Mannequin Pussy and Women in Peril rounding out the bill.

For those looking to grab a souvenir, they did not leave empty handed. A booth from Wanna Hear It Records in Watertown sold vinyl all weekend and original SITW merch was available for purchase alongside artists’ offerings.

Taking place at Roadrunner, one of Boston’s newest and most exciting concert halls, the venue had to adapt to fit all of the acts within one weekend. The solution: a second, smaller stage set in the back of the GA floor. Creating a sort of “theatre in the round” vibe, this ended up favoring the hardcore bands on the lineup, allowing an intimate and raucous environment – perfect for a punk show. It was incredible watching a sea of concertgoers flood the stage before launching themselves back into the crowd, arguably the perfect way to watch a Fiddlehead set.

With all first year festivals, there will be issues here and there, but SITW managed to come out relatively unscathed. The B-stage definitely could’ve used a few more speakers pointed at the crowds to the side of and behind the stage, as sound quality varied greatly depending on where you stood. Additionally, many attendees were left with rumbling bellies as the only food option – a single empanada stall taking up residence in a coat-check closet, proved insufficient with long lines and limited choices. However re-entry was allowed until 6pm both nights, giving concertgoers a chance to escape and find food elsewhere on Guest Street.

Something in the Way Festival proved to have something for everyone, as long as you’re a hardcore, punk or shoegaze fan looking to shake off the cold and mosh.

– Andrew Borque

The festivities didn’t end at Roadrunner on Saturday night, as a short jaunt across the river to The Sinclair brought you to the fest’s official afterparty. Keeping with the vague theme of shoegaze and its many tendrils, the late show featured Indianapolis’ Wishy for their first of two Something In The Way sets alongside local heroes Horse Jumper of Love and the (somewhat) recently-reunited legends Drop Nineteens.

Wishy kicked things around quarter to ten with a heads-down no bullshit set pulled almost entirely from last year’s debut LP Triple Seven. Playing behind captured game footage of the 2001 classic video game SSX Tricky, the five-piece swervedrove (ha) between impossibly hooky jangle-pop and hard riffing rockers with confident cool, stopping only briefly to remind the crowd several times that they are indeed from Indianapolis, which they continued to do the following afternoon back at Roadrunner for Day 2. Seeing this band twice in a 16-hour span was a nice treat.

Horse Jumpies followed with a tightly-coiled and very moving set on their own on home turf, their first since a heavy bout of touring throughout 2024. A Horse Jumper set at this point (especially with the beantown crowd behind them, although I’m sure the boys are loved everywhere) is a beautifully composed act of tension and release in which they poke around under the hood of their songs, giving them new life. Some become quieter, slower, more devastating than their recorded counterparts, while others get taken for a brisker walk or a heavier downturn. Drummer Jamie Vadala-Doran sneaks lopsided and lightning-quick extra fills between the margins without ever distracting or disrupting the flow while John Margaris holds down the path with his less-is-more bass, the notes not played hitting harder. Seeing this band open for Drop Nineteens was a special sort of full-circle moment.

Drop Nineteens closed out the night with an elegiac yet blisteringly loud set in front of a tennis-ball yellow and green backdrop that, as we said on Bluesky, begged the question: is shoegaze…brat? The quintet’s surprise return in 2023 begat a short dual coasts run last year that had a sort of finality to it, at least that’s how they left it on stage at the Paradise Rock Club between stories of sneaking in from their BU dorms next door back in the day. However, co-founder Paula Kelley recently moved back east (at least partly) for the band, so we may very well be getting more music from this crew after all. Early tracks like “Winona” and “Delaware” and “My Aquarium” still hit like glittery gut punches, while the queasy “Nausea” remains something of a secret weapon. However, it was the spine-tingling extended drone of “Kick The Tragedy” to close that brought me nearly to tears, partly out of exhaustion, but mostly out of sheer beauty. I love to rock and roll.

– Dillon Riley

Check out our coverage of the fest below! It’s almost like you’re there.

Something In The Way Fest: Day 1 at Roadrunner 02/01/2025

Day one photos by Emily Gardner

Something In The Way Fest: Day 2 02/02/2025

Day two photos by Wendy Schiller

Paper Lady Till the Soil on New Single

Posted on 02/07/2025 by Dillon Riley

By Dillon Riley

Paper Lady shot by Renee Newman

It’s safe to say that Boston self-described “dream-rockers” Paper Lady is a band that values dynamics. A Paper Lady song can be achingly quiet and staid or turbulent like a jet engine (and often both), but never unbalanced in either direction. Well-read indie rock pupils of the more guitar-pedal-centric variety both contemporary and classic, the group also pulls detritus from folk traditions and the sonic world building of electronic music into their practice to create music that feels multi-dimensional and uncannily cinematic in scope. Their live is also terrifically loud, punishing and pleasurable in all the right ways.

Having kicked it around the Allston/Brighton underground for some time, Paper Lady has been road-testing the material that makes up Idle Fate, their debut full length LP, for some time now. We here at Allston Pudding are pleased to be premiering that album’s first single in “Silt”. A treatise of sorts on the restorative powers of dirt (or something artful like that), the Slint-like guitar harmonics and crushingly heavy chorus add some new flourishes to their excellent racket while providing a key entry point into the world of Idle Fate.

Watch the video for “Silt” (which premiered at exactly 3:33pm for those keeping score) below and read on for some more thoughts from all 3 members of Paper Lady.

Allston Pudding: This is a track you’ve been playing out for a bit, when did you originally write it and how much has the live show changed the song since then?

Alli Raina: Rowan really spearheaded this one! I pieced together the lyrics from fragments of journal entries of mine. Everything really came together for this song in the summer of 2023 when we went on a writing retreat in Catskill, New York. We were at a pretty remote cabin without any technology or phone service. I solidified the lyrics and melody for “Silt” while sitting at the bottom of a little waterfall on the property. When I finished writing the lyrics fully, I looked up and realized all of the rocks surrounding me were covered in slugs.

Alex Castile: Actually through the recording process we added all kinds of new elements that we then incorporated into our live sets.

Rowan Martin: I wrote the riff at the beginning of the song a couple years ago right after seeing Ovlov for the first time. It inspired me to write something really heavy which I don’t usually do. I hadn’t intended it to be an idea for Paper Lady, but I played it for Alli on an acoustic guitar and she really glued all the pieces together. Then we just drilled it over and over again in the cabin. It came to its current form pretty quickly.

AP: Why is this the first single from the album? Are there themes here that tie into the rest of it?

AR: It was one of the first songs that really came together for the album. The pre-chorus line, “Bury yourself in the dirt, to feel closer to God,” encapsulates the song’s core theme: the disconnection from oneself, from nature, and the desperate longing to reclaim that lost connection. It’s written as a scathing note to myself. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety at the time and it felt very debilitating. Throughout the song, I’m begging that part of me to see the pain it’s caused. I think that it’s a perfect initial step into the world of this album.

RM: I think sonically all the songs are very different, but “Silt” represents the primary emotional space of the album. A bit dark and intuitive.

AP: What is it about soil that you find inspiring?

AR: Soil is pure life force! Many a beautiful thing sprouts from it, and it is what we are returned to in the end. It’s so magnificent and so underrated.

AC: I feel soil represents a feeling of surrounding, that can be both comforting and claustrophobic at times.

AP: Walk us through the role that nature plays in making Paper Lady music in general.

AR: I’ve always enjoyed using parallels I find in nature to describe my emotions. I find a lot of comfort identifying with the trees, ocean, and wind. I think for this album I really identified that about myself and leaned into it.

RM: Nature is so inspiring. Being in a woodland setting just gets me in the perfect mood for writing music. When we were in the cabin it was super remote, which I think kind of allows you to be really in touch with yourself as well as everyone around you. We have taken audio samples of the wind and ocean before and put them into our songs. I don’t always throw nature samples into our tracks, but I like to try and build a sound biome for all the recordings.

AP: Your music can be very elegiac, but also at times visceral and almost confrontational, how did you arrive at this sound?

AR: I do often find myself writing about loss and the emotional effect it has on me. Same as so many other people, I use music as a way to process my emotions. I’m a pretty nostalgic person, and can lean angry from time to time, so it’s nice to create a space for myself where I can let that out.

RM: In terms of the instrumentals I think we all just bounce off each other and also try to take in the lyrical content that Alli is writing.

AP: Do you see yourselves in the sort of continuum of shoegaze and dreampop? Are there any contemporaries of yours that you feel like are chasing a similar muse?

AR: I can definitely see us sitting somewhere in there. We like to call ourselves a dream-rock band. Like dreampop, but at times a bit heavier. At the end of the day I just love a shimmer reverb. I think there’s also this sort of pleading element to our songs that I’m not really sure how to classify genre-wise. Some bands that come to mind would be Laveda, Wednesday, and Dirt Buyer.

RM: I definitely like to think that we take a lot of influence from those realms though I wouldn’t personally classify us as a shoegaze band or dream pop band, those styles of music definitely hold a huge spot in my heart and brain. Yes tons! A huge influence on writing “Silt” specifically were our friends in Her New Knife.

AP: How does living in Boston play into your band and how did it inform this song/the album?

AR: I’ve found so much inspiration from Boston bands over the years. I think there was a 3 month period when all I listened to was Krill. I used to run a house show venue and was super inspired by so many bands that I saw/booked there too. Boston is special because it’s this ever changing musical climate, that’s constantly having new life breathed into it. I think it’s made us feel very comfortable to try new things, and allow our music to grow and shift.

AC: Our band came up in the Allston DIY scene. I think we’ve found inspiration in a lot of other bands in the scene. Our friends in Clifford actually inspired us to experiment with time signatures a bit, specifically with the intro and verses of “Silt” being in 6/4.

AP: Where did you record the album? What is it about self-recording that you feel plays to your strengths as a band?

AC: We recorded the album at the studio our former keys player worked at called The Record Co. Self recording and self mixing, even though it was a lot of work, enabled us to get the album to sound exactly the way we wanted it to.

RM: I think we all had a very strong vision for what we wanted these songs to be like so recording it just us I think saved us from having to transfer that vision to someone else. I think you also get a ton of time to experiment and add things that if you were in a traditional studio you may be more inclined to just get everything done as fast as possible.

AP: Where and when you film the video for “Silt”? What was the experience like in making it?

AR: The video was shot, directed, and edited by Montréal based artist Maximum Blue. We had a couple of calls planning the video beforehand and discussed how we wanted it to be sort of an art house surrealist/fairytale. He came to Boston for a few days and we shot it! We all actually paper machéd our own masks. Throughout the video I’m running from this cult-like group of monsters that want me to join them. They each represent a different negative emotion (trickery, malaise, shame, apathy).

AC: We filmed the “Silt” video at the end of February last year. We filmed it in our house, Middlesex Fells and Ponyhenge. Maximum was a dream to work with.

AP: What does the rest of 2025 look like for Paper Lady?

AR: More singles, more candlelight, more longing, more laying in the dirt; releasing our album Idle Fate on May 9th, and touring this coming June.

AC: We are planning on moving to Brooklyn later in the year (ed note: tragic, there goes another one).

RM: We just want to play as much as humanly possible! We worked so hard on this album and I’m just so excited to be able to share it with everyone.

Paper Lady play a single release show for “Silt” on Saturday, February 8th at Deep Cuts. Tickets are available here.

Zola Simone Pirouettes Back Into the Boston Music Scene

Posted on 02/07/2025 by Photo Editor

Interview by Elizabeth Weiss

Note: Some questions and answers have been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Allston Pudding: This is one of my all-time favorite ways to start an interview. Who are you and what do you do?

Zola Simone: My name is Zola Simone. I am a self-proclaimed androgynous pop artist from Boston based in New York City. I make music for myself and anyone willing to listen.

AP: You describe your niche as androgynous pop. What does that mean to you and how did you discover it?

ZS: I would say that androgyny has been very important to my identity forever. That is apparent in my music as well, because it is hard to define [and] put in a box. It’s a little bit of everything, similar to my gender expression. It’s all about blurring the lines between what society wants you to be.

AP: Your sophomore album Kaleidoscope comes out on February 21st. What was your biggest inspiration for the album?

ZS: I would say usually all my music is mostly inspired by relationships and identity. But I guess identity is just a relationship with yourself, so just relationships in general. I think that life is all about connection, and that’s where I get my inspiration from.

AP: That’s such a good segway into my next question. Are there any specific themes that your upcoming album is centered around?

ZS: Yeah, I would say self-reflection, sex, relationships, and queerness

AP: “Pirouette” and “Old Soul” are very upbeat and jammy. Is this something we can expect from Kaleidoscope or are you going in a new direction?
ZS: It goes in pretty much every direction you can imagine. There are some slow songs on there. There’s certainly a lot of what I would call bops and everything in between. I think that’s the beauty of my music, even if you don’t love everything, I think there’s a song for everybody

AP: Speaking of “Pirouette” you had the chance to collaborate with artist Tomas. What was that experience like? Do you plan on doing more collaborations?

ZS: It was a great experience. I met him at school. I liked the music that he put out, and I thought we would make a good song together. It was very spontaneous and random, but collaboration is a big part of what I’m doing right now. I actually just had a session with an artist that I like, and it’s definitely a goal moving forward to collaborate with people and push myself to work outside of myself and alongside other people. Because two brains and two [sets of] ears are better than one.

AP: As a Boston native, how does the local music scene impact your work? How do you engage with the community?

ZS: I would honestly be nowhere close to where I am today without the Boston music scene, I think it’s such a special thing. And every time I go back, I feel that sense of community. And my producer always likes to say, a rising tide lifts all boats. I think a lot of people in Boston have that mentality that if one person in the community wins, it’s a win for everybody. In the industry, there’s the opposite of that, where people think someone’s success takes away from theirs. Boston is special in that way, where there’s just so much support and also just so many opportunities. It’s been a lot harder to break through the noise and find community in New York so far, but I’m working on it.

AP: Speaking of the community, your work at such a young age has already led to impressive accolades, including two Boston Music Awards. How has the recognition influenced your growth as an artist? Do you feel any added pressure moving forward, or does it push you to keep evolving?

ZS: Good question. I’ve never been the type of person to win a popularity contest and awards are like the ultimate popularity contest. To me, it’s recognition for hard work and it’s validating. It’s about being seen, heard, appreciated and uplifted. It really pushed me and validated me to what I was doing, and it pushed me to try to get more awards. You know, I think there’s a pressure that everything has to be of a certain caliber, but that’s just because I hold myself to a really high standard.

AP: Let’s talk about Tiny Desk. Your performance was described as a “breath of fresh air.” How did you prepare for that moment? Were there any nerves or specific thoughts you had before stepping on stage?

ZS: I was nervous, but I had my incredible band with me, and those guys are like family to me. Being with them just makes me feel very comfortable. It was a challenge because the song we did (“Nine Lives”) is not a very instrumentally dynamic song. So we had to do a different arrangement of that song, which was exciting. I was a little bit sick, which was mostly what I was nervous about.

AP: You almost scrapped “Nine Lives.” What made you bring it back?

ZS: Yeah, I did. My mom heard it. It was originally just a loop that I made on Logic, and it was probably 30 seconds. And she’s like, this is a song and you gotta do something with this. She’s not the most musically inclined person, but she knows what she’s talking about, and it turned into one of my favorite songs, and one of her favorite songs. I’m really happy that I had that input from her and that I listened to that.

AP: Going off of that, what does your creative process look like?

ZS: Usually I will write lyrics first because I think everything else in music is informed by the lyrics. The way you perform it, the timbre of your voice, and the instruments you choose are all dependent on what the song is about. So that’s where I usually start. I think that’s a great foundation to build upon. But sometimes I’ll start with the instruments because if I’m not inspired to write about something particular sometimes working backward and finding the meaning from the instruments can just inspire different lyrics I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

AP: Do you have a favorite song you’ve written?

ZS: Honestly, I do. It’s not out yet, and it’s not even on this album.

AP: Are you going to release it?

ZS: Yes, I am.

AP: You’re known for having a dynamic voice, with a lot of emotional depth. How do you approach using your voice in different ways to convey both the highs and lows of a song? Do you think about it during the writing process, or does it come naturally when you’re recording or performing?

ZS: That’s a cool question. I’ve never been asked that before. I think it comes naturally. I think if I think too much about it while I’m writing, I’ll just overthink and kind of shut down. I took voice lessons for a long time with my wonderful teacher, and there was a point where I became a lot more comfortable with using my falsetto.

AP: What’s your sales pitch for people who haven’t listened to your music before?

ZS: If you want a masc version of Chappell Roan that delves into a lot of other genres and has a little something for everyone, then you should listen to Zola Simone.

AP: Is there anything else you want us to know?

ZS: Yeah, I have an album release show coming up on February 28 at the Middle East Club. I’m trying to sell it out. Pack it. It’s going to be amazing. We’re going to have special guests. Axel and Lolo are opening. And if you like the music, you’re not gonna get the same thing in person. It’s a whole different thing entirely.

To purchase tickets to Zola Simone’s release show click here.

The Modern Ennui With Christian Lee Hutson

Posted on 02/03/2025 by Photo Editor

Photos & Review by Wendy Schiller

Christian Lee Hutson Brighton Music Hall

On a cold Thursday night, indie singer Christian Lee Hutson returned to Boston to play an acoustic show for his winsome fans at Brighton Music Hall. The Santa Monica native was joined by Odessa Jorgensen to play a set that spanned his discography, emphasizing his most recent album Paradise Pop 10. Hutson’s tracks take on a new kind of reverence when they are shared in a room full of people, outside of a solitary walk or soak in a tub. “Northsiders”, the single off his first record Quitters, still hits with its melancholic lyrics about growing up that hold humor and grace for an uncertain future. Newer tracks like “Water Ballet”, “After Hours” and “Carousel Horses” build well on this foundation, transmogrifying folk structures evocative of John Prine and Paul Simon into something that feels prescient, but also winkingly classic. Hutson expounded on some of the stories woven into his songwriting over tuning breaks (did you ever wonder if there would be capitalism in heaven?) as well as musings from his life and past New England sets while on tour. He was supported by Allegra Krieger.

Check out all of Wendy’s photos from the show below.

070 Shake Mesmerizes House of Blues

Posted on 01/31/2025 by Photo Editor

Photos & Review by Samantha Davidson

Multi-faceted and genre-bending artist 070 Shake stopped by Boston for a hypnotic performance on January 29th. She brought along composer and musician Johan Lenox to kick off the night. He blended his love of classical instrumentation like cello and violin with electric production to craft a memorable set. His reverbed and auto-tuned vocals blended seamlessly with the sharp strings. Towards the end of the set, he revealed that the two-person strings section was composed of local musicians who were sight-reading his compositions for the first time that very night. He shared that he likes to invite musicians from the city they are playing in to join him on stage, stunning the audience and leaving them further touched by his performance.

Bryant Barnes then emerged in studded crocs, sleek black pants, and a black button-up. He wowed the audience with cinematic songs, sharing that he hopes to have his music in a film like La La Land one day. Towards the end of his set, Barnes jumped off the stage and visited a few of the superfans at the barricade. He posed for selfies before playing an unreleased song for the crowd. He masterfully engaged with the audience, asking them questions and exciting them for the release of his new track. He ended his set with an emotional performance solely lit by the audience’s phone flashlights, before thanking 070 Shake for having him and escaping backstage.

Soon after, 070 Shake appeared silhouetted behind a white curtain, joined by her band, which included opener Johan Lenox on the keys. She opened with the emotionally raw first track “Sin” from her newest album Petrichor. She swayed back and forth, emphatically moving her arms to the beat. The crowd erupted with cheers when 070 Shake stepped out from behind the curtain, diving into the catchy track “Elephant.” She sported a matching beige corduroy suit set, white button-up, and floral tie, all complementing her curly locks. She swung the mic around and conquered the stage, fans hanging on to every lyric and screaming them back to her. 070 Shake held the energy high throughout the night, captivating the audience with piercing looks and strong vocals. If you haven’t already, make sure to catch 070 Shake live before The Petrichor Tour ends in June. Buy tickets here.

Check out all of Samantha’s photos from the show below.

Really Great Find The Light on New Album

Posted on 01/31/2025 by Andrew McNally

By Andrew McNally

December saw the release of the fiery new Really Great song “Skateboard Amp,” which we were lucky enough to premiere. Now, the Allston-based power-pop group is back with their full sophomore album, and we’re again delighted to host the premiere. Be The Light On is a ten-track tale of personal agency, told through a melding of indie, punk and power-pop.

The first track on Be The Light On really acts as a mission statement for the record that follows. “Story” is barely two minutes, dissected right at the halfway point. The first half of the song has an almost suspiciously quaint start, with the opening lyric “I want to tell a story.” The second half of the song is largely instrumental, with some genuine guitar shredding. These two elements are separate in “Story” but combined throughout the other nine tracks, as the album follows some richly human lessons in self-improvement and removing yourself from harmful situations. Although these songs are largely fast and loud, they’re optimistic tunes. And while they’re first-person tales, they’re very applicable to any of us who have found ourselves in tough, degrading spots.

Be The Light On is a well-balanced album, sonically. It’s got punk bruisers (“Streetlight”), indie tunes (“Ride”) and slow songs (“If We Talked”). The influence of indie-punk artists like the Menzingers and Jeff Rosenstock permeate this album at points, where a number of songs manage to be high-energy without necessarily having standard punk tempos. There’s group vocals and ska licks on “Way Out” that contrast with traditional power-pop. “If We Talked” feels kind of like a daydream, and the follow-up “Rescue From Without” is a jangly tune that gets very poppy. The whole is a lot more adventurous than the parts here, as most songs branch out of the power-pop/emo base in some unique way. It makes for a balanced listen where everything still feels comfortingly familiar. “Streetlight” is an early stand-out, because it brings high-octane energy to kick the album into full gear. The song is not quite 90 seconds, and sets the tone that Really Great aren’t afraid to mess around. When you contrast it with the breezy, six-minute “Rescue From Without,” with funky guitar and a relaxed tempo, you get the full spectrum of the Really Great canon.

This is also a guitar-focused album from start to finish. “Story” has pure shredding, “Skateboard Amp,” “Sex Thoughts” and the closer “The Champion of Things Becoming” all benefit greatly from upfront and creative guitar licks, and “Morning” has a fun guitar line that hints at americana. All ten songs have a focus on guitar rhythms, licks and riffs, which also set Really Great apart from a lot of vocal-heavy power-pop groups.

These aren’t just well-written songs, the band has some magicians working behind the glass, too. The album was recorded and mixed by Matt Schimelfenig, who has worked with acts like Gladie and Slaughter Beach, Dog, and this pedigree shows. The mastering was done by Heather Jones and Jared Taylor from So Big Auditory – who have worked with the likes of MJ Lenderman – and this powerful combination brings out a specific sound that is nostalgic for the surf-punk heyday of the mid-2010’s but updated for today. The production is largely very crisp and warm, highlighting the optimism present in the songwriting.

Be The Light On is out through Disposable America. The album can be streamed below, or wherever music is streamed. Really Great are playing an album release show at O’Briens Pub in Allston on February 6th, with Miss Bones and Harmony’s Cuddle Party. Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased here.

Wooll Get A Little Prickly on “Thistle”

Posted on 01/28/2025 by Andrew McNally

By Andrew McNally

In 2024, Providence-based indie group Wooll made a big splash in Allston Pudding. We were lucky enough to cover their debut album Unwind, and we included them in our best local releases of the year. Less than a year later, they’re back with the first single off of their forthcoming sophomore record, “Thistle,” and we’re delighted to host the premiere.

“Thistle” is both markedly similar to the songs on Unwind, and an advancement of the sound. The band’s first album was marked by patient songwriting and a warm, inviting atmosphere across every track. The album saw the band working as a unit, never putting one member too much in the focus. “Thistle” does away with this idea, slightly. The song opens with a melodic and tender guitar line that puts full focus on guitarist Tyler Rosenholm. The tune closes out with a double-guitar line that’s ever so slightly more ominous. But a majority of the song belongs to singer Corinne Roma, whose smooth voice and enticing rhythms seal the deal on this being another great Wooll track. Have no fear, the band is still locked in as a unit, but there’s individual opportunities to shine here. While everything is still digestible and contained, there’s a slight edge now, to couple with the song’s title.

The other highlight here is the band’s production, which marries it more to their previous tunes. A majority of the members are veterans of the scene, playing together in Kid Mountain prior to Wooll, so they’ve cut their teeth and know how to craft a unified sound. The band is tight, and the production has the same warm and engulfing feeling to it, where it stands on the precipice of shoegaze but still comes off much more like a warm blanket than, well, a thistle. It’s a perfect comforting sound for a cold, cold January like we’ve had here.

“Thistle” is the first taste of what promises to be a moodier sophomore album from Wooll, out spring 2025. The band is supplementing this single with a limited 7″ vinyl run, and a show with Winkler and Salty Greyhound on January 31st at Myrtle in East Providence, Rhode Island.

Stream the song below, or wherever you get your music. Watch for the band’s sophomore album or tour dates in your area!

The Backfires to Light Up Cambridge on Feb 4th

Posted on 01/28/2025 by Dan Moffat

By Dan Moffat

The Backfires’ debut album This is Not an Exit is pure, class A, 00’s indie sleaze. They dangle their Interpol influences with song titles like “Turn Off The Lights,” as well as “Matador,” and from The Cribs to The Killers, The Backfires show they are cut from the same cloth as the best of the “Meet Me in the Bathroom” bands. Produced at Diamond City in Brooklyn (The Happy Fits, Cold Fronts) by former Passion Pit keyboardist Ayad Al Adhamy, The Backfires bring along ‘00s bonafides to the conversation. This is Not an Exit is loaded with seismic guitar riffs, synthy escapades, and capital ‘S’ Songs.

The band are a formidable live act, having toured the US with the Silversun Pickups among others. See them light up Sonia in Cambridge on Tuesday, February 4th. Tickets are available here.

There’s A Lot To Love: PVRIS Comes Home To Lowell

Posted on 01/24/2025 by Photo Editor

Photos and review by Greg Wong

PVRIS kicked off the celebrations on 10 years of their first album White Noise with a true hometown show in their native Lowell on January 10th. Usually content to describe their close-enough Boston concerts as hometown shows, this time around they attracted local and international fans alike to a uniquely cozy one-off show at Taffeta Music Hall. The fan-friendly pricing of $10 per ticket was certainly an appealing draw as well, if the distinct aesthetic of repurposed historical mills wasn’t enough. Band lead Lynn Gunn remarked with amazement to see the familiar faces of hardcore PVRIS fans gathered in her hometown, and she took time throughout the evening to comment on how overlooked and underappreciated Lowell is. She even prodded at the city’s amusingly modest slogan “There’s a lot to like,” adding “I think there’s a lot to love!” as she reiterated her joy to have gathered so many new visitors.

The concert itself retained all the energy of a typically much larger PVRIS performance, condensed into Taffeta’s 400-cap space. In fact, the enthusiasm was significantly greater than normal, given that the crowd was overwhelmingly composed of the most intense fans who had managed to snag tickets in the 2 minutes they were on sale before the sell out. PVRIS offered a refined setlist similar to their most recent tour in summer of last year, featuring a balanced mix of both old and new songs, though fittingly there was a greater sampling of White Noise tracks seamlessly woven in. As with other PVRIS setlists of late, some songs appeared in half-length form, but if the crowd was bothered by the band’s economical approach to cramming more material into the show, it wasn’t apparent. Every single song elicited loud crowd accompaniment, proving that the room was indeed packed with diehard fans. In addition to the stellar performance, the lucky audience was given a “cryptic” announcement of a forthcoming tour and re-release of White Noise featuring collaborative remixes as the 10-year celebration continues.

For the beaming superfans who made the journey out to Lowell to catch PVRIS at such a special hometown show, there was a lot to love indeed.

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