It’s BLINK week, people! Art, music and performance are flooding the city in a big way, in one of the biggest events of the whole year. 

This week’s local band highlight reminds me a little of all the LEDs and fiber optics draping through our streets. Through the smoke and the glow of the laser light this weekend, I could almost imagine the duo playing a set. You know them, you love them – it’s Moonbeau. 

Moonbeau is certainly not new to the scene. Their first single, 2017’s “Are We In Love Yet?” introduced the world (Cincinnati, particularly) to a fresh and danceable new-wave-inspired electronic act. Almost a decade later, Christian Gough’s creation hasn’t lost a step. 

2018’s self-titled and 2020’s “Up All Night” are the only studio albums Moonbeau has ever released. While their catalog might not be massive, both records are full of love for nostalgic, indulgent electronic music (“Get to Know You” and “Complicated” off their self-titled are prime examples of songs straight from, say, The Human League’s “Dare”).

Their newest single, “Only the Lovers”, released in December of last year, takes the band’s sound in a particularly atmospheric direction. Not only does the production sound a lot “wider” than it used to, there is a lot more going on in that newfound space. The music builds under the verses, creating organic tension that explodes out on the chorus with what sounds like a twinkly nebula of sound stars. Did I mention this was best listened to with headphones? 

That doesn’t mean you should overlook “Up All Night” — much of the band’s modern glossiness is still there. The album really shines on tracks like “I Wanna Dance With You” or “One More Time”, even if they feel a tad less “floaty”  comparatively. For fans of bands like Bleachers, Djo, or that old-school new wave stuff (the synths are undeniable), this is a solid entry in the genre. 

One can only hope that a new single late last year means a third album won’t follow too far behind. Moonbeau represents the best of the dreamy, twinkly sounds of a time gone by, coming back for a modern audience. Because let me tell you: this band is no pastiche. It’s vintage. 

You can find last week’s feature on Green Fuzz here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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Green Fuzz’s first album, “Kicking and Screaming,” feels like a trip back to the old-school basement days of punk music. Lo-fi rippers abound in a promising freshman effort. 

Well … maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that. 

Punk rock is one of my personal favorite music genres. From DC to SoCal and everywhere in between, wherever there’s cheap beer in sweaty venues, I’ve likely heard it. It’s my wheelhouse.

The thing about punk-influenced music is that it’s not really suited for critical listening. For the uninitiated, this might be a bit jarring, but let’s talk about this record. 

What stuck about “Kicking and Screaming” on first listen was the opener, “Real Friends.” When I said that rippers abound, I meant it – the record opens to a soaring Blondie-coded number with enough fuzz and distortion to keep it DIY. 

That may be too polite a way to put it. I mean this with love – this album sounds rough in a good way. Sasi Scott’s vocals sound crystal clear over the compressed riff-factory going on in the mix most of the time. This ends up giving the record a live-act quality that, coupled with the punk sensibilities, is what I would call an “acquired taste.” 

But here are two facts. One: DIY music isn’t supposed to sound technical; you’ve gotta FEEL it! Two: that’s just track one. For the initiated, there’s plenty left to discover under the hood. 

Track two, “Fake Friends,”  lands a hard shift into something more akin to Riot Grrrl than New Wave. The band broods and broods until the room seems to explode. This might come as an initial shock, but Green Fuzz sheds musical skins on this record with ease. 

The record is actually littered with sounds reminiscent of punk stylings over the last 40 years or so. In songs like “Path through the Tall Grass” or “In My Dreams,” I hear more of the band’s emo influences, while tracks like “Out of Season” evoke the alt-rock 90s in a big way. Even the album cover is delightfully old-school, reminiscent of hand-drawn classics like “Milo Goes to College” or “Kerplunk.”

Point is, if you appreciate the history of alternative music scenes, or if you’re already tapped into the local basement circuit, you will get something out of this album. I, for one, am very excited to see where this band goes in their future projects. 

You can find last week’s feature on Trauma Illinois here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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Trauma Illinois was destined to be a rock band from the moment of their conception. 

Lead singer Jack Johnson, following a “horrific car accident” and laid up in the ICU, received a get well card from none other than Fall Out Boy, who just happened to be at the same hospital, according to the band’s Cincy Music profile.

At the end, it read “P.S. – Trauma Illinois – sweet band name.” And so, christened by legends like Fall Out Boy, they ran with it.

Trauma Illinois is a Cincy band, born and bred. Don’t let the name fool you — they’ve been proud of their roots the whole time. “Queen City” is one of their early standout singles, joyously grooving through a sing-a-longable and vintage rock-and-roll track. Last year, “PROST!” celebrated Cincy’s German beer culture, and “Pink Motel” is about falling in love… at Riverbend. 

2024’s “White House” compilation contains many of the band’s singles, characterizing Trauma Illinois as a tried-and-true blues rock act at home alongside the likes of Wolfmother, albeit with a cheeky edge. 

Thumbing through their discography, the energy only seems to grow with time. Their newest single from this May, “2007 Toyota RAV4” loses none of the latent cheeriness the band fosters throughout their songs while significantly picking up the pace. It ends up in a place that’s less Led Zeppelin and more Origami Angel, which might seem like a jarring switch, but it works. 

But by no means is the slower stuff less worthwhile. “Blue Bus”, for example, takes its sweet time to build from a single guitar into a soaring melodic affair complete with pipe organ – I’d be surprised if the band left that sound behind, because they so clearly love to make it. 

That being said, I like the direction the band is heading into with their new singles. Come for a rocker like “On Your Lips”, stay for the fun glossiness of “Pink Motel.” 

You can find last week’s feature on Beloved Youth here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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This is just about all the information there is online on this week’s band highlight, Beloved Youth: 

“Beloved Youth are a 4 piece alt rock band from the Cincinnati area. Formed in 2012, the group of childhood friends have released 4 ep’s to date. Combining strong pop melodies, acerbic lyrical prowess and focus on compelling guitar arrangements.”

They should really update their Bandcamp page, because their debut album was released just this March. “Derivative” took its sweet time (14 years!), but came out fully-formed and, frankly, beautifully rendered.

The band’s affinity for riffs is one of the first qualities that jumped out at me – the opening track, “Losing Daylight” is a slow burner that really revs up near the end into the forceful second song “Are You Happy?” By just track two, I could feel this album’s alt rock chops showing. 

And the melodies don’t stop coming. Songs like “Automatic” and “Teeth” pull back a bit, but don’t sacrifice their overall catchiness. The band’s songwriting holds up across these tonal shifts, as well as Sean Mac’s particularly impressive vocals, making the disparate singles and such that make up a good bit of this album still feel cohesive.

I also have to shout out Alexandre Hirlinger of Coastal Club for mixing Derivative, because the production is clear as a bell. Every instrument feels right in its place and the vocals are crisp and prominent — lo-fi this is not. 

My personal favorite track has to be “Methuselah” — the band hits a real sweet spot of fun and intensity. Mac builds and builds in a whirlwind on the verses, echoed by frantic guitars that do a really cool switch-up in the final minute. 

To sum up: check this album out. If you’re into anything remotely in the rock sphere, this would slot into your playlist or your CD case quite nicely. 

You can find last week’s feature on Jess Lamb here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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Picture it: a laser-lit, smoky room, floor-to-ceiling screens pulsing with light and color, reinforcing the trance-like rhythm so you forget it’s long past your bedtime – you’re dancin’, baby!

Here in the Queen City, the dance scene is vibrant and alive. Throw a stone, and you’ll likely hit a funky bar with a fun DJ – but this week’s band highlight isn’t spinning traditional club tracks. A dark edge pervades “I am.”, the third studio album from UC and Xavier songwriting professor and singer Jess Lamb, but the grooves win out to produce atmospheric and moody – as well as undeniably catchy – club tunes. 

Released this summer via Queen City Sounds, Lamb seems downright boisterous from the tracklist; “I am.” starts every title, seeming to point to her directly. However, Lamb’s first lyrics are asking if someone else is okay and directing the energy outward. Those first question-and-answer, call-and-response lines immediately tossed my assumptions of the record out the window, revealing an inner anxiety that sticks around. 

Track two, “I am the answer.” picks up the pace, feeling like a 90s dance throwback as it jams the refrain “we’re born to fly” deep into your brain. For people who’d rather shut up and dance, there’s plenty to be had on this record. 

“I am free.” feels like a real high point, thoughtfully toeing the line between poignant vocals and danceable beats. The mood then shifts toward a more manic and sinister energy for track four, which the record dips in and out of through the rest of the runtime (namely “I am abundant.” that drones along for over ten minutes). 

Echoes of artists from Chappell Roan to Grimes show up across the music – in fact, “I am love.” could almost feel like a direct collaboration between the two, if it weren’t for Lamb’s distinct and powerful backing vocals.

That self-assuredness comes through on “I am beautiful.” but at track ten, it feels more like self-affirmation after a long string of anxious doubts. God’s presence in the lyrics and themes can’t be ignored when searching for meaning in this record, but for as many references as there are, the real source of power throughout the piece seems to come from within. 

Track 12, “God’s Imagination” ends the record on a quietly hopeful note. Featuring harp from Viktoria Lekson that reinforces the heavenly vibes, the lyrics read “now sing it / metamorphosis/transformative/manifest/destiny/with your own voice now”. Being a figment of God’s imagination could make some people feel small and insignificant, but Lamb seems almost relieved. She makes her own power, and tells you to do the same in the closing seconds with her call to action: “now shine!”

You can find last week’s feature on Oh! The Manatee here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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First things first: no, I don’t know if you’re supposed to pronounce the “!” with a little pause. 

Oh! The Manatee, according to the band, crystallized (or should I say, catalyzed) in a little cabin in Kentucky late last year. The Clifton quartet ran to the woods to write what would become “Catalyze,” their debut EP they claim represents many “sleepless nights crammed into a room full of instruments.” 

The band’s first single, “Tailgate,” dropped in September of last year, setting a precedent for an indie aesthetic akin to the soft parts of Hop Along or Wednesday, albeit with a distinctly DIY edge. That notion falls away with the EP’s opener, “Halfway,” a lively rocker that crashes into the slower, doom-y distortion of “Crown.” 

For five tracks and just seventeen minutes, “Catalyze” packs a surprising amount of variance. 

Annabel Taylor’s vocals flitter between ethereal runs and barely-contained yells, and the aforementioned guitar work from Stephen Nagamalla makes every track feel fresh. Dylan Lopes’ percussion feels perfectly suited for each track, and coupled with chunky front-and-center bass riffs from Isaiah Poe interplaying with the melodies, the band comes together like a well-oiled machine for their debut project. 

The standout track, undoubtedly, is “Ladybug Lady”, but not for the reason you think. Forest sounds accent thoughtful acoustic guitar and naked vocals in a sugary-sweet, Cavetown kinda way on this song – It will stick with you for its novelty even if it’s not explicitly *your* thing. For a collection of music featuring something resembling doom metal just two tracks ago, I’m surprised too. 

In short, Oh! The Manatee has a lot of promise in this scene. “Catalyze” shows more than raw strength, but versatility, restraint, and a solidified artistic direction carrying them toward a full-length project. I’m excited for the first big release from this band, and I hope you are too. 

…Also, manatees are mammals, right?

You can listen to their music wherever you stream, and catch them around town at your favorite indie haunt. 

You can find last week’s feature on Mall Witch here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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Have a Nice Life’s “Deathconsciousness” (2008) is a distinctly internet age album.

It’s devastating and vast and empty; the mood and texture of the music matter as much, if not more than, the words that are being said on the songs. The blown-out, droning drums on “Bloodhail” completely contradict the calm opener “A Quick One Before the…” and swallow up the ephemeral guitars and vocals. It’s more than post-punk; it’s shoegaze and doom metal and tone poetry and drone wrapped in a particular perspective your parents could just never understand. 

It’s now almost 20 years later. Enter the subject of today’s local band highlight: Mall Witch. 

The comparisons to bands like Have a Nice Life aren’t hard to make. “Sunk Cost Fallacy,” Mall Witch’s newest single, might share an anxious, growling guitar tone or a DIY production style, but two decades of internet brainrot has done a number on things. 

“Not Gone Yet,” another single from this year, switches gears a bit to a decayed and deliberately-paced sound more akin to Wednesday or Ethel Cain — and vocalist Levi Antoine really soars. The band’s demo tape features stripped production with much more room for vocals (tracks like “Collateral Damage” are super accessible), so for the chiller Mall Witch experience, I’d recommend staying on that side of things. 

But the band, the production, and the scrap bits of audio laid into their other tracks tell an interesting story. Echoes of echoes ring throughout the Mall Witch discography, from commercials (“Count Chocula is Buying Real…”) to the screech of a dial-up modem that brings me back to places in my own childhood. The anxiety of a severe weather alert, the comforting synth of the early internet, the pitched-down voice of the devil. These pieces of ephemera, at least to me, evoke a kind of memory that seems to reach through the music at me. 

In short, I can’t recommend it enough. I, for one, will be watching this band closely for a full-length release. It is exactly my kind of jam, and if you’re anything like me, it’s probably yours too.

You can find last week’s feature on Lost Henry here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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“Midwest emo” is a label that has often been the subject of hot debate – mention a band like Mineral or The Hotelier (or God forbid, Modern Baseball) in the wrong room, and you’re in for it for at least the next half hour. 

Not today. Not here. Lost Henry is an emo band from the Midwest. Simple. 

…

 Well, maybe there are a few more relevant details. 

Lost Henry is an emo band from right here in the greatest city in the Midwest. Nobody in the band is named Henry, but there are evidently two Bens (Eglian on guitar, mandolin and vocals, and Rosenstiel also on guitar). They have a handful of singles, a few EPs and their lone studio album, “Doom Party,” over their eight-year tenure. 

Their most recent single, “Overgrown” from just last month, highlights frontman Landis Helwig’s screamo chops as well as the technical guitar work going on from the Bens – maybe sharing a first name helps with intuition.

The band has always been versatile, producing sounds closer to pop punk (“Another Memory”), a more theatrical direction (“The Blackwater Rag”) and of course, good ol’ skramz. Even echoes of old-school emotional hardcore show up on tracks like “Love Scene, Take 2,” but these shifts between moods feel natural and legitimate because so much obvious care is put into the thrashing, crashing intensity of every track. 

The band went on tour for the first time in March 2025 to four cities: Dayton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and a final show in Brooklyn at UNRULY Collective. Locally, you can catch them around familiar venues like the MOTR Pub, Southgate House Revival or The Comet. 

So the next time you’re at a party talking about Algernon Cadwallader or Cap’n Jazz’s Analphabetapolothology (both real) and someone cred checks your emo knowledge, ask them to name three songs from your new favorite local Midwest emo band, Lost Henry. 

Okay, don’t actually do that. Use your local band knowledge for good, please. Spread the word kindly.

And remember that Midwest emo isn’t a debate; it’s right here in your backyard. 

You can find last week’s feature on Dead Humor here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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Local psych-garage band The Silkies are headlining a show at Radio Artifact Friday to celebrate the release of their new album, “There You Have It. Lasting Peace” by Nashville’s Like You Mean It Records.

The band will be supported by Rodeo Boys, a Lansing, Michigan quartet that sounds like “what happens when the Miller High Life gets legs and starts walking around on its own” and Rachel’s Papers, a snappy and vintage-twinged local post-punk act.

The show will start at 8 p.m., and their new album will be available on both CD and vinyl at the merch table.

The Silkies are running a promotion for early ticket buyers:

• Buy one presale ticket and receive a limited edition 11×17 silkscreened art print by acclaimed Cincinnati artist Joe Walsh.

• Buy 2 presale tickets and receive one free vinyl, CD, or shirt.

Presale ticket buyers can show email confirmation at the merch table at Radio Artifact during the show to receive their promotional items. Visit the band’s website for more information about the show.

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Do you believe in ghosts? Creepy crawlies living in the shadows of the Queen City?

After today, you just might. 

Late some nights at local haunts like MOTR Pub or Northside Yacht Club, the dead have a tendency to get a little rowdy. Dead Humor, that is. 

This distinctly retro rock-and-roll act has been funking all over town for the better part of a decade – 2018’s self-titled debut proved that any day could be “Groovesday,” and the band has been trucking around playing energetic rock shows ever since.

“So what,” I hear you say, “another funky live act with ‘dead’ in the name? How original.” 

But dear reader, you misunderstand. These dead aren’t here to jam, although there’s plenty of fancy guitar work to be had across their discography – they want you to dance ’til you die. 

Dead Humor cut through the jams with a hard rock edge on 2024’s “Dance ‘til You Die,” a full hour of studio tracks that showcase not only frontman Anthony Palmer’s leadership (and German speaking skills, inexplicably), but the connection the whole band shares. 

On tracks like “Downward Dog,” Tony Dellalio’s guitar takes center stage with huge, chunky riffs that carry the track. Other songs like “Do You Believe in Ghosts?” highlight the bass guitar and drums, easing through without losing momentum. Palmer’s vocals, though, whether subdued or belting over distorted grooves, carries an attitude that keeps it light and fun. 

But this is the thing about groovy bands: From the Grateful Dead to Rage Against the Machine, they’re live acts first. Not only is it your moral duty to patronize small businesses, but a studio album from a band like Dead Humor is only half the story. 

This is the truth for every local band, but doubly so now: Go see a show. If you really want to experience local music in the way it was intended, you’ll have to get out in the world. It’s truly the only way to fully experience the connection a band has with their fans and each other. 

You can find last week’s feature on Mic.Carr and the Shades here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

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