Penny 2.4 ft. Shame

Featuring : In n e r W ave , Hello Mary, Cola, andmore!

“We just want to prove the everyman wrong, to prove ourselves to the Shame doubters”

- Charlie Forbes

On Keeping a Songbook: Hello Mary Channel Their Inner Joan Didion on Their Debut Self-Titled Album (6)

Staying Simple and Sane: A Conversation with Cola (12)

“With the Same Old Tongue” — Popping Open the Can of Worms Behind Shame’s Highly-Anticipated and Truly Great Third Full-Length LP (20)

“It’s Like We’re Conjuring Spells” – In Conversation with The New Eves (28)

From Middle School to Sold-Out Venues, Inner Wave Reflects on Their Friendship, Tour Album, and Success on Tour (34)

From the Basement to the Stage: Navigating Chicago’s DIY Scene with Alt-Rock Band Cutest Nuisance (44)

EDITORIAL

Penny Puzzle by Marí Cárdenas (39)

2023 Release Radar (43)

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gallery by Caroline Safran (10)

Gallery by Ethan Lam (29)

Gallery by Ari Karnezis (26)

Gallery by Alexandra Santos (50)

Photo by Nolan Zangas

Comprised of Stella Wave (drums, vocals), Helena Straight (guitar, vocals), and Mikaela Oppenheimer (bass), the Brooklyn-based slacker rock outfit Hello Mary was sent on an upward trajectory when their 2020 debut EP Ginger took the indie world by storm Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean and Tonya Donnelly of Throwing Muses are both selfproclaimed fans, and last year, KEXP lauded Hello Mary as “your favorite band’s favorite new band ”

Dazzled with pedal-heavy riffs, kaleidoscopic tunnels of psychedelia, and childlike schoolgirl gang vocals, Hello Mary’s selftitled debut album serves as a time capsule for the mundane occurrences in life that can only be remembered when they are written down. According to Wave, this album is “about accepting the state of things as they are at a given moment, whether it’s your relationship to another person or the world around you.” Asking the band to pinpoint a resounding theme or common thread throughout the album misses the point entirely, because the answer lies within the music

Penny caught up with Hello Mary to discuss the making of the album, the origins of the band, the physicality of singing and drumming, the current state of the music industry for women and LGBTQ+ people, and hitting local dining spots across the country on tour.

just makes sense for me, being both a songwriter and a drummer. It would feel weird if I wasn’t doing one or the other

It’s nice to see a band like yours wear their influences on their sleeve. What is one big shared all-time favorite band between the three of you?

This first question is for Stella: it always makes me happy to see a vocalist behind the drum kit. What has balancing these two physically demanding tasks taught you as a musician?

Stella Wave: Thanks! I’ve been playing drums and singing since I was an early teen, so I feel like I don’t even really think about it too much anymore But, as cliche as it sounds, I guess it’s taught me that good things come with hard work and heavy lifting, figuratively and literally (drum gear). Also, I think it really

Helena Straight: There are a few, but I think Big Thief has had the biggest impact on us as a whole. We’ve seen them together a few times

Photo by Jessica Gurewitz

PhotobyMarkShaw

m o m e n t , i t ’ s a l l f e l t p r e t t y g r a d u a l b u t

I ’ m s u p e r g r a t e f u l f o r a n y a t t e n t i o n w e ’ v e g o t t e n , a n d h o n e s t l y b a f f l e d t h a t t h e r e a r e p e o p l e o u t s i d e o f t h e u n d e r g r o u n d B r o o k l y n m u s i c n i c h e t h a t k n o w a b o u t u s a n d e n j o y o u r m u s i c

W h a t p a r t o f t o u r i n g a r e y o u l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o t h e m o s t ? S t r a i g h t : H i t t i n g d i n e r s a n d t r a v e l i n g t o r a n d o m c o o l p l a c e s

W a v e : J u s t b e i n g o n t h e r o a d w i t h m y b e s t i e s a n d p l a y i n g s h o w s e v e r y n i g h t A n d d i f f e r e n t c o o l l o c a l f o o d s p o t s

M i k a e l a O p p e n h e i m e r : D e f e a t i n g y u m m y f o o d a n d p l a y i n g a l o t P l u s m e e t i n g c o o l p e o p l e

H o w d o y o u f e e l t h e i n d i e m u s i c s c e n e i s f o r n e w e r a r t i s t s a t t h e m o m e n t ? A n d d o y o u f e e l t h e i n d u s t r y i s g e t t i n g b e t t e r f o r w o m e n a n d L G B T Q + p e o p l e ?

Wave: I honestly feel like the indie music

scene is at a good place for new people to enter into right now Especially after covid, I feel like people are desperate for good, new music. I feel like the industry is getting better for women and LGBTQ+ people, but I still think there’s a lot of work to be done I definitely feel like there’s still a lack of musician-to-musician respect for women, especially in the indie music/ guitar music scene It’s just so dominated by men Also, I feel like often, female-fronted rock bands are instantly viewed as “riot grrrl” bands purely because they are women playing loud instruments. And while that genre is obviously hugely important and great, there are many women who are making rock music nowadays that don’t fall into that genre, or isn’t necessarily commenting on something political I think it’s important that people respect music made by women enough to understand that difference

Oppenheimer: I definitely agree with Stella. We haven’t really been in the music industry long enough to speak for how it’s changed over the years , but I would say it’s a generally welcoming place. One thing that I

think we all find frustrating is how often people want to view what we’re doing as political because we’re all women We’re just havin’ fun!

Are there any cuts you had to make to this album’s tracklist that you might want to revisit in the future?

Straight: For me, yes. There is a song that the other 2 kind of vetoed that I want back.

Wave: There are songs that were recorded at the same time as the other songs on this album that will be on the next album, so I don’t know if that counts but…we will definitely be “revisiting” those.

I love the sinister summoning calls in the opening harmonies for “Special Treat.” How did that specific song come about?

correctly. I recall being really pumped about the instrumental section and the round at the beginning of the song

As we are a music-focused site, are there any up-and-coming bands you’d like to recommend we listen to or check out?

Straight: You may know them already, but we love waveform*, Clovis, Jockstrap, Sensible Ben, Stella Rose Gahan, Julie, Pretty Sick, and Dari Bay.

Wave: Yes, definitely all those bands AlsoComputerwife, Fishhunt, Lola Star, Shep Treasure, Brittle Brian, Momma, Horsegirl, @, and Flowers for the Dead.

Finally, what does the future have in store for Hello Mary?

Wave: Lots of touring and hundreds of albums >:)

Keep up to date with Hello Mary via Keep up to date with Hello Mary via their socials and listen to their self- their socials and listen to their selftitled debut LP, out now. titled debut LP, out now.

Photo by Nolan Zangas

Photos by Caroline Safran

Staying Simple and Sane : A withConversation Cola

Canadian trio Cola, comprised of former Ought and U.S. Girls members, released their debut album Deep in View last May. Recently, Penny caught up with lead singer Tim Darcy after their Washington, D.C. show to discuss creating a new project from the ashes of Ought, staying sane on the road, and how once-emerging social media technologies are no longer emerging, but instead, are influencing our communication and cognition long enough to be critiqued.

Cola released their first single the day your old band, Ought, disbanded. You’ve expressed in past interviews you want Cola to be seen as its own separate project. In another world, do you think Cola could’ve existed as your first and only band?

I think it’s its own project because three creative voices are involved, but two (Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy) were in Ought.

Interview & Photos by Giliann Karon

The one-in-one-out narrative was more because Ought never officially made a statement saying that we were breaking up, which we decided in 2018. We had a few major tours left, so we figured we’d finish those and do our new record justice. Because of the personalities in that band, we decided we didn’t need to make a big fanfare.

Maybe in retrospect, it would’ve been nice to let folks who cared about that band know, but it became something that felt like it couldn’t be ignored once Ben and I started writing music with Evan (Cartwright, U.S. Girls). As that

South Philly. Even the act of getting a real meal is very grounding when you’re constantly moving.

What’s your favorite kind of venue to play in?

I’m always talking about sightlines. It’s a real vibe kill if you’re halfway back and can’t see anything, no matter how big the venue is. There’s stuff that can be done to make that better.

We played at a bar in Cleveland called Happy Dog, which was a funky spot that’s been there for a long time and is really valued in the community. We played so many great spots on this last tour. It’s a really great era for touring. Even on this last tour, we did a lot of spots in the Midwest because we played a festival in Norman, Oklahoma.

It was cool to go to Wichita, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, places we skipped last year and didn’t always visit when Ben and I were in Ought. One of the best tells for a venue is if the people who work there are happy. I think that’s the sign of a healthy ecosystem. If everyone who works there likes being there, it’s gonna be a good night.

That’s awesome! I’m originally from Cleveland, so it’s great to hear that you enjoyed Happy Dog. It’s such a cool space.

Awesome, that place is rad. We played with two great local bands, Suitor and Autopolitan, the latter of which is a newer project from some Cloud Nothings members.

I’m noticing a lot of local support on this tour, which is fantastic.

We’ve been talking about how lucky we are to play with so many great people and awesome locals everywhere.

You’ve managed to achieve commercial success largely without TikTok or an oversaturated social media presence. Do you think being “extremely online” and bending to trends and algorithms is necessary?

Honestly, it’s probably one of those things that can’t hurt. That point has been made to us in our discussions about being more active on social media. At the same time, you have to be honest about your relationship to these things as both an individual and an artist. For us, the way we use Instagram feels fine, mostly to let people know about tours and new

releases. If these platforms can be an arena for a bit of creativity, that’s great too.

We’re all Luddites to various degrees. None of us have personal social media accounts. Evan, our drummer, has a

flip phone. It’s who we are and we have tons of friends who are very active on social media and that does good things for them, but right now, the way we use Instagram feels correct for us.

That’s probably healthier because it means you’re not obsessively checking what everyone thinks of your music. Yeah, hopefully, it allows us the mental space to make the art we want to make. Honestly, it might be as simple as we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves on there.

It’s easy to fall down that rabbit hole, which leads me to my next question. Your lyrics address

I don’t know about “headed in,” but hear and am compelled to address these facts of life. To the extent that someone wants to address that in their art, I certainly look over the tracks on Deep in View and can solidly say those themes are present. They feel like very pressing issues to me. I don’t feel like I have any answers personally, nor do I interact with anyone who feels like they do either.

My hope is that there are certain elements of familiarity and people will encounter these ideas on the record and recognize or even try to metabolize them. “Bloated and hollow” were your words but that’s a great summary of what these new media institutions do to us. We’re awash but also increasingly empty.

Right, I think the pandemic made us rely on these technologies even more. Even though we can connect in person now, there’s still a dependency.

how mass media makes us feel both hollow and bloated all at once. Music has always been political, but do you think media criticism is the direction music is headed in?

snowballed into a record, it felt like when we were announcing that album, because two of the members were in Ought, we needed to say something about what happened to our old band.

Is there anything you explicitly wanted to achieve with Cola?

We wanted to have a bit of forced simplicity. All of us were excited about doing a stripped-down, post-punk three-piece album where all of the information felt present in what the three of us could do, and not writing songs where we were going to go into the studio and spend a lot of time doing overdubs.

There’s a conciseness to the songwriting, which we were really excited about, especially Ben and me after working on Ought songs, which were longer with a jam-based songwriting process. We’d do these endless jams and parse down the ideas, so Ben and I were excited about the briskness that was available to us in writing for a more nimble trio. We very quickly got on the same page with things we wanted to achieve, such as alternate tunings.

“Blank Curtain” was the first single on Deep in View. What tone did that set for both the album and the new band?

To be honest, that’s a label decision. It wasn’t my first thought as a single, but I learned to trust the folks I work with on the label side after doing this for x number of years. They have an ear for what’s gonna get people excited about the project. I think that was a good choice, there’s an earworm in there.

What I really like about Deep in View is that even though it’s just guitar, bass, drums, and vocals throughout, there are a lot of different types of songs in there. We did three singles and four or five videos for that record, which I was really excited about because we got to showcase a lot of different types of songs this band makes.

You just finished your second headlining tour and you’re off to the UK and Europe this summer. What keeps you grounded when you’re constantly on the move?

My bandmates and our tour manager have a great dynamic on the road. We’re all attentive to each other’s needs and we get along really well. It helps that we get into the same things on the road. Everyone is a pretty big reader so there’s a lot of quiet reading time, which feels very stabilizing.

We always make a point to find an exciting place to eat when we stop. We stopped in Philly on our way from DC to New York and went out of our way to go to our favorite Indonesian place in

Definitely, I spent more time on the internet during the pandemic than at any other point in my life. I don’t have any kind of grand thesis on social media, but I heard someone say the other day that if they could hit a button to put social media back in the bag, I’d press it instantly. I wonder how many other people feel that way.

Minimalist instruments mean your lyrics stand out even more. Do you think you could’ve achieved this same level of reflection with a scuzzier sound?

Probably not. That was an element of how Ought records were mixed as well. Because of the lyrical nature of the vocals, I think it intuitively makes sense to have the vocals be clear. I’ve been present in mixing sessions where I thought, “Let’s try mixing the vocals a bit differently.” I’ve come to accept that it doesn’t make sense for the type of singing I do. I think Ben and Evan leave me a lot of space, even on a song like “Water Table,” there’s a lot of room for the vocals on that track. It’s nice to have bandmates who are on the same page as me in that regard.

Short answer, I think a scuzzier sound would make it harder to be as lyrical unless people are pouring over lyric sheets, which is great but increasingly not a part of how people interact with art.

Last question! What 2023 releases are you most excited about?

I’m woefully out of touch with new music, but I’m really excited about the new bar italia album. I’m seeing them in June at Zebulon in LA!

Photos by Ethan Lam

With the Same Old Tongue

Words and Photos byErinChristie

Popping Open the Can of Worms Behind Shame’s Highly-Anticipated and Truly Great Third Full-Length LP

f you think back to the schoolyard friends you grew attached to the hip with growing up, you might notice that you’ve since grown distant, or aren’t speaking at all anymore. For a lucky few, those “OG” relationships are still some of the closest you have, and that sweet spot is the case for the quartet composing London band Shame, whose riotous and stellar debut LP SongsOfPraisearrived in 2018.

From childhood friends starting a band due to sheer opportunity to just as tightly knit friends now in their 20s

and acclimating to being majorly touted English rock scene sweethearts, Shame have found themselves in a precarious position, with the anticipation that led up to their third LP, Food For Worms (out now via Dead Oceans), being enough to drive the sanest man mad. “Ifeellikewe’vealways gotsomethingtoprove,” explained drummer Charlie Forbes. “[Ourmotivation is] justprovingtheeveryman wrong,provingourselvesto the Shame doubters. And thisthingis,wedocare.We aredeeplyandhorrifically insecurepeople.”

Perhaps this overall concern (perhaps to a fault) is what helped Shame quickly land among the ranks of like-minded “post-punk revivalists” such as Fontaines D.C. and Gilla Band upon their debut, bands who hit the ground running with call- backs to the speaksange popularized by acts such as The Fall, backdropped by a smattering of kick-drum hits, frenetic riffery, and energetic stage presence. This specific niche has been replicated ten-fold over the last few years, and an overly- saturated market can be a nightmare for bands such as Shame who immediately became an associated part of it (albeit, also a blessing, as they emerged within that circle at its utter peak). Where to go next was then difficult to define, as it would either indicate straying from what’s expected and being met with criticism or threaten them with being pigeonholed into a corner for the rest of their career. And though it sometimes seemed as though the “Shame hater train” was full speed ahead as they attempted to craft their next new material, they’ve been racing alongside it all along. “Ifeellikeit’sgood tostrikewhentheiron’s lukewarm,astheysay,” Forbes joked.

In working within their very own private studio for the first time, crafting what later became Food ForWorms effectively became a 9-to-5 of epic proportions. However, even with the boundless time to workshop the material on their own terms, the process was slower than it had ever been, despite possibly also putting more effort into it than ever before. “Iforgot howto make music for like 18 months somehow,which reallysucked,” Forbes recalled on the “driest patch” the band had ever experienced.

With desperation to have something to show for all their time spent, Food For Worms eventually came together through endless sessions of jamming and figuring everything out “one idea at a time,” no matter how many re-workings it took. Forbes continued, “Everythingjustkindoffell intoplace,andoncewedid startgettingit,oncethings didstarthappening,itwasall veryfastfromthere.”This is the very design behind one of the record’s centerpieces, “All the People,” a deeply emotive, guitar-led epic that urges its listener not to throw in the towel even when times appear bleak.

“Ithink‘AllthePeople’was amassive,massivesore legtogetdown,” Forbes notes. “Wehadlikeamillion differentconversationsabout restructuringeveryrecording, tryingdifferentthings. Wecameupwithloadsof insanelydifferentconvoluted andlongsongstructures forittotryandgetitdown. Thatinitialrecordingactually madethealbumgofroma monthintoathree-month process,anditwasjustan off-the-cuffrecordingthat webookmarked;itwasn’t meanttobewhatitbecame. Butit’scute,withSeanand Steensingingtogether.I thinkthatone’sprobablythe

mostemotionallychargedin termsofhowwefeelabout it.”

With a healthy dose of both aggravated, guitar-ripe rippers and introspectively heady crooners, the resulting FoodForWorms is surely Shame’s most developed, yet experimental project yet, a testament to their malleability and growth in an ever-demanding and short-attention-spanned musical climate. While calling back to their debut SongsofPraiseand also incorporating the witty and poetic lyrical stylings of their 2020 follow-up DrunkTank Pink , on this record, Shame

further establish their persisting ability to churn out introspective and truly punk rippers, meant to be showcased before a frothing audience.

“Wegiveitabloodygolive,” as Forbes attests, and that inarguable live atmosphere informed the decision to record the LP live, especially after debuting a handful of the unreleased tracks on previous tours — another first. This production style was, however, controversial as it did point the band in a different creative direction, but in the eyes of many, that decision paid off as it helped touch on the captivating live synergy that the group have been known to possess since their Brixton pub-punk days.

With chaos lit behind his eyes and beads of sweat traveling down the sides of his face, Shame frontman Charlie Steen leaves quite the impression in a live sense, whether that of fear, admiration, or complete whiplash. During their recent gig at New York City’s Irving Plaza, he and the band played through an effortlessly balanced yet ferocious set, including a tour debut of fan-favorite, “Gold Hole.” Throughout it all, the crowd was absolutely frenzied, clinging onto Steen’s every word and

grasping at his flailing limbs as he writhed like a landlocked fish, sailing above their heads by route of the second story balcony.

“Wetrytomakeasetthat flowsbetweentheoldstuff andthenew,asifthey’re standingsidebyside, battefrontsunited,”Forbes explained. And indeed said battlefronts powered through together that night, formulating in a mass of bodies sloshing around in unison, a room filled with nothing but pure adrenalin and soaked in spilled beer.

While Steen’s efforts as a true showman haven’t died down in the slightest — even if he’s “burningout beforetheendoftheshow”

(“The Fall Of Paul”) — take away the façade enabled by business-casual-attireturned-stage-costume and you’ll also find a songwriter with a heart that bleeds just like the rest of ours. Contrasting Food For Worms’ exhibitions of distinct joy and ferocity are a handful of glassyeyed sentiments rife with emotional heavy-lifting.

While early singles “Adderall” and “Six-Pack” were an easy continuation on the staple Shame-isms that have made fans go feral with euphoria in a live setting, Forbes recalls the anticipatory bliss leading up to the live debut of the softer sides of the record, such as the unabashedly romantic “Orchid,”

content that sounds unlike anything they’ve ever done before. Especially highly recommended of the tracks in this vein is unexpected tear-jerker “Yankees,” a topsyturvy, love-lorn, nostalgic, and all-around pain-stricken portrayal of a tumultuous relationship. Later, “Burning By Design” takes on a similarly melancholy air, punctuated by Steen’s wailing drawl.

When journalists consume records, they often compare each work against each other, as opposed to letting them speak for themselves. As a result, bands striking the balance between 1) retaining their unique voice, 2) catering to what’s been shown to perk up audiences’ ears, and 3) actually being excited about their own project, is surely a daunting task, but one Shame have thrown themselves into entirely. Whether or not the resulting FoodForWorms “holds its own” against their previous releases doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, that said. It’s more valuable that it touches on what makes this band work and undoutedly proves their wherewithal in spite of the naysayers and aforementioned “Shame doubters.”

While self-deprecating and humble to the umpteenth degree, the boys of Shame surely know they have something special going on, or at least, they should.

Since the arrival of their debut SongsOfPraise , this band has been one of the most exciting on many fans’ frequently-listened-to list (mine included) and it’s thrilling to see that they’re still burning hot despite becoming bitter and tired old men, half a decade into their burgeoning careers. What’s next, then? “We’reexcitedto pickupalltheGrammysat theendoftheawardseason; lookingforwardtothat,”says Forbes.

Keep up to date with Shame via their socials and check out Food For Worms, out via Dead Oceans now.

“IT’S LIKE WE’RE CONJURING SPELLS” CONJURING SPELLS”

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE NEW EVES

WRITTEN BY DYLAN MCNALLY

It was a sunny Good Friday in South London, and the Bank Holiday weekend always provides a perfect opportunity to enjoy some music. The Windmill obliged, providing both bands and a barbeque for their annual ‘Bad Friday’ all-dayer After a longer-than-normal commute from north of the river to Brixton, the barbeque was a blessing – for many reasons, as it would turn out The food was, as always, excellent but it was also where I would first meet The New Eves, who were alongside me in the queue, also waiting to get to the spoils. So, after a brief chat, I couldn’t not see what they had to offer Featuring a rotation of cello, violin, and flute alongside more familiar guitar, bass, and drums, they delivered a truly spellbinding set and provided a willing audience with something different to the various forms of alt-rock that took to the stage that day. The Windmill may be the cathedral of the London post-punk scene, but it is also home to so much more and The New Eves are the perfect encapsulation of its other side Their performance that day was the highlight from an absolutely stacked line-up. At a venue that seemingly deals in first impressions, it is hard to think of a band that has made such a memorable one.

With a penchant for the theatrical and a sound that ranges from the Velvet Underground to Nick Drake via no-wave, it’s hard to describe quite what The New Eves are. So, following a string of shows in London, Brighton, and Bristol, I spoke to them to see if they might be able to give it a crack themselves The answer? It’s inconclusive

Firstly, though, how are you guys? ‘We are all homogenously good’. Ok, it’s good to know you guys are one homogenous group. A hive mind. 'Yeah, we don’t have our own separate minds.’ No, of course, just the one.

They joke of course, but there are times watching The New Eves where it does seem as though they are a singular entity There is certainly a strong bond between the four, something that is a crucial aspect in creating and moulding their sound. What that sound is, however, seems to evade definition, even for the band themselves

Could you maybe try and describe your sound to people who maybe aren’t familiar with it? What should people expect from The New Eves?

Violet: That’s a difficult one, we have difficulty describing our own sound People come up with loads of different things to describe us for us Whenever we have a gig, someone comes up and says something else

Nina: I think a lot of people are surprised, well I don’t know if surprised is the word, but there is not really much to compare it to, like “oh, this sounds like this band " So, how would we describe our sound?

Violet: We call it hagstone rock, and everyone can correct me on this, but very vaguely it’s like folk, punky rock. Or like folk rock with a punk attitude.

Can you explain what hagstones are?

Violet: Oh, yeah So, a hagstone is a stone with a hole through it, that you can see through, and the idea was that witches used them to see into another world and there’s loads of different ideas around hagstones, that isn’t the only interpretation of them. I guess I don’t know how to explain why we use that exactly, but it’s the magical, witchy, dark feminine feeling that’s at the base of all of our music

Nina: But there’s also something very earthy about it, it’s very much this world, it’s not just other worlds and it's very much of the ground

It is a definition that might not make it any

together and be very honest

Violet: Yeah, we’ve never sat down and said “We want to sound like The Velvet Underground” or “We want to sound like Patti Smith” or something. It was just what came.

And has that developed? Has being together more frequently changed how that has occurred?

Kate: I think that to start off with, it was something that kind of appeared. To begin with, when we first started playing together, it wasn’t there, like the sound, it just kind of came one day And I guess when we started jamming together and being comfortable with

easier to understand The New Eves or their music, and yet it is a fitting one. If their audience might disagree on who exactly the band sounds like, they’d probably all agree that ‘Hagstone Rock’ makes sense

This wide range of sounds that makes them such a hard-to-define band might be a conscious decision for some bands, but for The New Eves it was more natural:

Ella: it’s just what happens when you put the four of us together, I think we’reall very honest in this project and we’re all very different people and it’s a complete collaboration. So, we’ve never tried to do anything and that’s what’s made this sound happen We sort of just go into a room

each other musically, and when we found that, we just kept going with that. I guess it's developed because, to start off with, we didn’t know what The New Eves sound was and we kind of found out and it’s developed in that we know what it is and we can push it further.

Ella: The New Eves is sort of an entity in itself that appears when we all work together and

b e c a u s e i t ’ s g o t s u c h a s t r o n g e n e r g y , i t ’ s v e r y m u l t i f a c e t e d a n d i t ’ s l i k e l e a r n i n g a b o u t a p e r s o n a n d a l l t h e i r d i f f e r e n t f l a v o u r s , i t ’ s v e r y e x c i t i n g V i o l e t : a n d i t ’ s l i k e h o w d o y o u d e f i n e t h a t p e r s o n , w e d o n ’ t w a n t t o d e f i n e t h a t e n t i t y I t s u n d e f i n a b l e T h a t ’ s h e l p f u l f o r m e , t h e n –u n d e f i n a b l e B u t w i t h i n t h a t , t h e r e a r e m o m e n t s w h e r e c e r t a i n i n f l u e n c e s a r e m o r e p r e v a l e n t , o r a t l e a s t l e s s s u b t l e , t h a n i n o t h e r s . I t i s a r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e b a n d s c o l l a b o r a t i v e a n d c o l l e c t i v i s t n a t u r e – t h e r e i s n o h i e r a r c h y o f i d e a s o r i n d i v i d u a l s a n d e a c h m e m b e r b r i n g s s o m e t h i n g d i f f e r e n t

V i o l e t : I ’ m t h e f o l k y o n e I ’ m t h e o n e t h a t ’ s m o s t i n t o f o l k , l i k e V a s h t i B u n y a n , P e n t a n g l e a n d N i c k D r a k e a n d l i k e , o l d I r i s h f o l k m u s i c . K a t e : I r e a l l y l i k e f u n k a n d g r o o v e m u s i c , l i k e w o r l d m u s i c , s o I a l w a y s s a y t h a t m y f a v o u r i t e m u s i c i s f u n k f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d , s o t h a t ’ s m e ! N i n a : I f i n d i t i n t e r e s t i n g h o w e v e r y o n e h a s d i f f e r e n t t a s t e s I t h i n k I ’ m v e r y m u c h l i k e r o c k a n d r o l l T h a t ’ s w h a t I l i k e , r o c k a n d r o l l

V i o l e t : I m e a n , I l o v e r o c k a n d r o l l t o o I j u s t w a n t t o s a y K a t e : w e a l l c r o s s o v e r , t h e r e i s a c r o s s o v e r b e t w e e n w h a t w e l i k e

E l l a : I g u e s s I ’ m l i k e a b i t o f e v e r y o n e - I l i k e e v e r y t h i n g .

I t ’ s a m i x o f v e r y d i f f e r e n t , t r u l y v a r i e d i n f l u e n c e s A n d m u c h l i k e t h e c r e a t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i r s o u n d , t h e b a n d s i n i t i a l f o r m a t i o n w a s a l s o v e r y m u c h a n a t u r a l o n e :

N i n a : i t w a s a l u c k y a c c i d e n t

i n a w a y . W e d i d n ’ t p l a n i t r e a l l y . T h e s t o r y g o e s w e w e r e a l l i n d i f f e r e n t p r o j e c t s b e f o r e w h i c h e n d e d i n d i f f e r e n t w a y s a n d s o , w e w e r e a l l w i t h o u t a p r o j e c t a n d e v e r y o n e r e a l l y n e e d e d t o p l a y m u s i c a n d w e j u s t s o r t o f r e a l i s e d , m a y b e w e c a n h a v e a b a n d t o g e t h e r a n d i t ' s w o r k e d p r e t t y w e l l

V i o l e t : Y e a h , ' c a u s e w e w e r e a l l f r i e n d s a l r e a d y , w e w e r e d o i n g w o m e n ’ s c i r c l e s a n d s t u f f a l l t o g e t h e r , a n d t h e n w e r e a l i s e d “ O h , w e c a n b e a b a n d "

E l l a : W e w e r e l y i n g i n y o u r b e d , V i o l e t a n d y o u w e r e l i k e , " Y e a h , l e t ' s s t a r t a b a n d ; i t ' s g o n n a b e c o o l . "

A l l t h e b e s t b a n d s s t a r t i n b e d .

N i n a : T h a t w a s a c t u a l l y t h e ' h a l l e l u j a h ' m o m e n t b e c a u s e a l l o f u s w e r e l i k e " O h , I w a n t t o b e i n a b a n d " a n d t h e n s o m e o n e w a s l i k e " W a i t , w e c o u l d t o t a l l y b e a b a n d "

A n d K a t e c a m e i n a b i t l a t e r , a n d s o t h a t w a s m e a n t t o b e b u t i n a d i f f e r e n t w a y , t h e n i t w a s l i k e , " O k , t h i s m a k e s t o t a l s e n s e " I d o n ’ t k n o w i f i t w a s l u c k , I d o n ’ t k n o w w h a t i t w a s

K a t e : I w a s l i t e r a l l y o u t o f o n e b a n d a n d t h e n , a c o u p l e o f d a y s a f t e r w a r d s . I e n d e d u p j a m m i n g w i t h t h e s e g u y s i n t h e p l a c e o f s o m e o n e e l s e w h o w a s m e a n t t o g o w h o d i d n ’ t g o S o , i t j u s t s o r t o f h a p p e n e d R i g h t p l a c e , r i g h t t i m e s o r t o f t h i n g .

A s w i t h m u c h , o r a l l , o f w h a t t h e b a n d d o e s , t h e a r t i t s e l f i s w h a t s e e m s t o g r o u n d a n y a n d a l l i d e a s , a n d a l l o w s f o r t h e n a t u r a l p r o g r e s s i o n t h a t i n f l u e n c e s n o t o n l y t h e i r s o u n d b u t a l s o t h e i r t h e a t r i c a l l i v e p e r f o r m a n c e s .

A s w i t h t h e i r m u s i c , t h i s t o o

w a s n o t p l a n n e d , i n s t e a d i t j u s t s e e m e d t o f i t w i t h t h e e m e r g i n g e t h o s o f T h e N e w E v e s a n d s o , m u c h l i k e t h e o t h e r a s p e c t s o f t h e b a n d , t h e y e m b r a c e d i t a n d p u s h e d i t f u r t h e r

N i n a : I t w a s n o t p l a n n e d , a n d I t h i n k w h a t ’ s r e a l l y n i c e a b o u t t h i s p r o j e c t i s t h a t e v e r y o n e g e t s t o r e a l l y e x p r e s s t h e i r f u l l p e r s o n a l i t y . V i o l e t i s a d a n c e r a n d s o i t w a s n a t u r a l t h a t i t w a s l i k e " O h , w e c o u l d d o a d a n c e "

K a t e : I t h i n k t h a t t h e b a n d , a n d d o i n g t h i n g s a s T h e N e w E v e s , h a s c r e a t e d a p l a t f o r m a n d a s p a c e t o s h a r e o t h e r c r e a t i v e s i d e s o f o u r s e l v e s . S o i n t h e f u t u r e , w e ’ r e h o p i n g t o p u t o u t a z i n e , a n d e v e r y o n e d o e s d i f f e r e n t t h i n g s p a i n t i n g , p h o t o g r a p h y , d a n c i n g a n d s o i t ’ s k i n d o f b l u r r e d t h e l i n e s b u t i t ’ s a l l d i f f e r e n t w a y s o f e x p r e s s i n g o u r s e l v e s a n d i t a l l c o n n e c t s a n d l i n k s i n t o g e t h e r .

V i o le t : I t ’ s r e a l l y a m a z i n g f o r m e t o g e t t o d a n c e w i t h T h e N e w E v e s a n d , a s N i n a w a s s a y i n g , t o e x p r e s s o u r f u l l p e r s o n a l i t i e s G e t t i n g t o d a n c e i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t a n d a m a z i n g f o r m e . N i n a : A n d w e a l s o p l a y d i f f e r e n t i n s t r u m e n t s a n d t h a t ’ s k i n d o f t h e s a m e t h i n g y o u ’ r e n o t p i n n e d d o w n t o o n e t h i n g l i k e " y o u a r e t h e s i n g e r " I m e a n , s o m e t i m e s I s i n g , s o m e t i m e s I p l a y t h e c e l l o , s o m e t i m e s I p l a y t h e g u i t a r . . . a n d I t h i n k i t a d d s t o t h e e x c i t e m e n t w i t h i n u s . I m e a n a t l e a s t f o r u s a s p e r f o r m e r s , I t h i n k s o .

E l l a : y e a h , i t ’ s l i k e a c o m p l e t e l y s a f e s p a c e t o e x p l o r e a n d e x p r e s s y o u r s e l f i n a n d w h e n w e d o t h a t i n f r o n t o f p e o p l e , i t b r i n g s t h a t e n e r g y I t h i n k i t ’ s v e r y l i b e r a t i n g f o r p e o p l e t o s e e o t h e r p e o p l e b e i n g t h e m s e l v e s o n s t a g e a n d s o r t o f t a k i n g n o s h i t .

F o r a b a n d w h e r e e v e r y t h i n g s e e m s t o c o m e n a t u r a l l y a n d f i t t o g e t h e r , I ’ m i n t r i g u e d b y t h e d y n a m i c o f t h i s p r o c e s s o f f - s t a g e – d o e s r e h e a r s a l , a s o p p o s e d t o p e r f o r m i n g , c h a n g e y o u r p r o c e s s a t a l l ?

E l l a : I t h i n k w e ’ r e v e r y m u c h t h e s a m e i n r e h e a r s a l a s w e a r e o n s t a g e , b u t w e p e r f o r m m o r e o n s t a g e O b v i o u s l y w h e n y o u e n t e r t h a t s p a c e , y o u r e a l l y g o f o r i t

N i n a : I t h i n k t h a t , a n d i t ’ s l i k e t h i s f o r a l l b a n d s , b u t w h e n t h e r e ’ s a n a u d i e n c e y o u p e r f o r m a n d t h e r e ’ s a n i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n y o u a n d t h e a u d i e n c e . F o r m e , i t ’ s a c o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t t h i n g a n d I f e el l i k e w e g e t m o r e e n e r g y , w h i l s t b e i n g i n t h e r e h e a r s a l s p a c e , i t ' s m o r e p r i v a t e S o m e t i m e s , i t ’ s l i k e w e ’ r e c o n j u r i n g s p e l l s a n d n o o n e ’ s a l l o w e d t o s e e b e c a u s e w e ’ r e w o r k i n g o n s o m e t h i n g . B u t w h e n w e ’ r e o n s t a g e , i t ’ s l i k e ' t h i s i s u s , h e r e y o u g o , ' a n d w e g e t s o m e t h i n g b a c k f r o m t h e p e o p l e t h a t a r e d a n c i n g o r s h o u t i n g w e i r d t h i n g s o r w h a t e v e r

A l o n g w i t h m a n y o f t h o s e d a n c i n g o r s h o u t i n g a l o n g , T h e N e w Ev e s a r e p a r t o f a w i d e r , t h r i v i n g g r a s s r o o t s s c e n e i n

B r i g h t o n , s o m e t h i n g t h a t h a s n o t o n l y a l l o w e d f o r t h e i r c r e a t i o n b u t h a s s e e m i n g l y e n c o u r a g e d a n d d e v e l o p e d t h e b a n d I t i s p e r h a p s a c o m m u n i t y r a t h e r t h a n a ‘ s c e n e ’ A n d s e e i n g a s i t i s p e r h a p s m o r e c l o s e - k n i t t h a n s o m e w h e r e l i k e L o n d o n f o r i n s t a n c e , I ’ m c u r i o u s a s t o h o w t h e b a n d v i e w s i t a l l .

V i o l e t : I t h i n k B r i g h t o n ’ s p l a y e d a p r e t t y b i g r o l e i n f i n d in g e a c h o t h e r a n d t h e s c e n e t h a t w e ’ r e i n , w e b e l o n g t o a c o m m u n i t y o f l o t s o f o t h e r a r t i s t s a n d m u s i c i a n s , a n d i t ’ s a r e a l l y i n s p i r i n g a t m o s p h e r e o r p e o p l e c r e a t i n g a n d p u t t i n g t h e i r s t u f f o u t t h e r e a n d e n c o u r a g i n g e a c h o t h e r

K a t e : O n t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h i n g s , t h i n g s i n

B r i g h t o n c a n b e q u i t e c l o s e d w h e r e i t s t a y s i n o n e s p h e r e , a n d t h a t ’ s w h a t h e l p e d u s c o m e t o g e t h e r a n d h e l p e d u s s t a r t o f f , b u t i t ’ s b e e n r e a l l y n i c e t o b u r s t

o u t o f t h a t a b i t a n d g o b e y o n d o u r c o m f o r t a b l e B r i g h t o n b u b b l e w i t h a l l o u r f r i e n d s , t o g o t o L o n d o n a n d B r i s t o l a n d m e e t n e w p e o p l e a n d b e i n v o l v e d w i t h l o t s o f d i f f e r e n t n e w t h i n g s . T h a t ’ s b e e n r e a l l y e x c i t i n g t o d o t h a t C o m i n g o f f t h e b a c k o f a m i n i t o u r o f s o r t s , p l a y i n g m o r e g i g s i n L o n d o n a n d o n e i n B r i s t o l , t h e t r a n s i t i o n a w a y f r o m B r i g h t o n i s o n e t h a t h a s b e e n e m b r a c e d b y t h e b a n d :

E l l a : I t ’ s e x c i t i n g , i t ’ s r e a l l y n i c e f o r u s t o m e e t l o t s o f n e w p e o p l e a n d t o a l s o s t a r t p l a y i n g w i t h o t h e r b a n d s t h a t w e r e a l l y a d m i r e a n d e n j o y I t ’ s o n l y a l l g o o d r e a l l y , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h t h e r i g h t a t t i t u d e

N i n a : I t h i n k o n e o f t h e i m p o r t a n t p o i n t s f o r m e w a s w h e n w e l e f t B r i g h t o n a n d p l a y e d f o r p e o p l e w h o w e r e n ’ t j u s t o u r f r i e n d s a n d t h e y s t i l l l o v e d i t T h a t w a s l i k e , " O k , w e ’ r e r e a l l y d o i n g s o m e t h i n g h e r e " S o m e t h i n g r e a l l y c h a n g e d f o r m e t h e r e I t w a s n ’ t j u s t o u r f r i e n d s b e i n g n i c e a n d h a v i n g a b o o g i e , i t w a s p e o p l e w e ’ d n e v e r m e t , c o m i n g t o s e e u s a n d h a v i n g a r e a l l y g o o d t i m e a n d t h a t w a s c r a z y t h e f i r s t t i m e t h a t h a p p e n e d

V i o l e t : W e w e r e n ’ t s u r e w h a t o u r r e c e p t i o n w o u l d b e l i k e i n L o n d o n W e a l l t h o u g h t e v e r y o n e w o u l d t h i n k w e w e r e r e a l l y w e i r d , b e c a u s e w e a r e r e a l l y w e i r d a n d u n u s u a l , a n d w e w e r e n ’ t s u r e h o w t h a t w a s g o i n g t o g o d o w n . W e w e r e n ’ t s u r e i f p e o p l e w o u l d s t a n d t h e r e g o i n g

“ U g h , w h a t ’ s t h i s ” O c c a s i o n a l l y , t h e r e a r e p e o p l e l i k e t h a t b u t , o n t h e w h o l e , w e g e t a r e a l l y g o o d r e c e p t i o n

F i n a l l y , w h a t a r e t h e p l a n s f o r t h e f u t u r e ?

E l l a : W e ’ v e g o t a s i n g l e c o m i n g o u t s o o n i s h a n d t h a t w i l l b e w i t h S l o w D a n c e R e c o r d s L o n g t e r m , w e ’ r e g o i n g t o s t a r t r e c o r d i n g a g a i n s o o n W e ’ v e g o t a l o t o f s t u f f r e a d y

T h a t ’ s g oo d t o h e a r . G i g - w i s e , d o i n g a n y f e s t i v a l s a n d t h i n g s t h i s s u m m e r ?

K a t e : W e ’ r e p l a y i n g a t a f e s t i v a l i n C o r n w a l l , T h e C o r n i s h B a n k S u m m e r C a m p , a n d w e ’ v e g o t s o m e g i g s i n B r i g h t o n b o o k e d i n

N i n a : T h e p l a n i s t o h a v e a s i n g l e r e l e a s e s h o w , o n e i n B r i g h t o n , o n e i n L o n d o n . A n d t h e y ’ r e g o i n g t o b e g o o d

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT, THEN FOR ONE OF THE MOST CAPTIVATING BANDS AROUND. AND WHILST SEEMINGLY EVERY NEW BAND IS SUPPOSEDLY DIFFERENT AND EXCITING, THE NEW EVES ARE THAT RARE OCCURRENCE WHERE IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE – THEY ARE A BAND THAT IS TRULY DIFFERENT AND AS A RESULT, VERY EXCITING.

It’s all black until a neon yellow light illuminates the stage with Inner Wave’s “IW” logo as the funky bass line from “Take 3” that encourages concert-goers to “wake up” for the ride, known as the Jukebox tour. From selling out shows and upgrading venues for more capacity, the psychedelic-rock hometown heroes

former drummer on the drums. But, it took them a year until they got a bass and drum set — so, in the meantime, Narvaez printed out different names and logos.

“That’s how I remember it.From there,wejuststartedtalkingandnow we’ve been next to each other for like

bask in the blue, pink, and purple lights amongst screams from new and old fans.

As evidenced by where they are now, Inner Wave have always been nothing but genuine and their new-found success is a product of that.

One day in 2006, Pablo Sotelo (vox, guitar) and Elijah Trujillo (guitar) were placed in the same 6th-grade class. After Trujillo kicked Sotelo in the shins during homeroom and Sotelo threw a basketball at his head, they became the best of friends. A week later, Sotelo bumped into Jean Pierre Narvaez (bass) in the bathroom. Shortly after, Narvaez, Trujillo, and Sotelo decided that they were going to be a band with Trujillo and Sotelo on guitar, Narvaez on the bass, and their

17years,” Sotelo reminisces.

Combining a mix of their alternating tastes from The Killers, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, Led Zeppelin, Sade, and samba - Inner Wave’s sound was born. Well…almost.

According to Wikipedia, Inner Wave began as a Christian rock band between seventh to eighth grade. “Myfamily’sreligious;myDad’s apreacher,andallmyunclesare pastors,” Sotelo says. Although they aren’t a Christian rock quartet anymore, Sotelo states their song composition is similar to religious music and doesn’t follow the basic verse/chorus song pattern but rather “whereit’sanewpart,anothernew part,andthenthisjamattheend,and then finishes.”

Through the Christian rock era, members switching out, new management, and nine projects [including EPs], Inner Wave have since then toured with Foals, Chicano Batman, Boy Pablo, and Eyedress; they even played Coachella in 2022. The group is most notable within the indie-rock scene, especially the Latino music scene, and became popular from songs such as “American Spirits,” “1 4 2,” and “Diamond Eyes” — all being from their freshman and sophomore album. Their 2022 album, Apoptosis, left fans loving their top songs “Fever” and “Take 3,” both with over 6 million listeners on Spotify.

Thinking about this free-flowing writing pattern, this shows evidently within the new approach toward their Apoptosis album. Regarding the album title’s origin, ‘Apoptosis’ is defined as the death of cells that occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development. The album process began around October 2020, which was during the height of COVID-19. Being in a state of uncertainty about the state of the world while working through the emotions of missing everyone and the collective grief intertwined with fear towards the illness, this album came to be born. The central theme for the album comes from the song “Fever” which states, “I think we’re here for a reason we’renotmisplacedordefeated.”

Therefore, the group began working with a tape machine and making demos in, as the group lovingly calls, Sotelo’s formerly A/C-less home studio “The Swamp.” However, for the safety of their families, they decided to stay at a studio for 2 weeks straight to work on the album.

“Ourkeyboardist Jose Cruzhadjust started a studio with his friend and businesspartnersoitwasperfect timing.Werecordedtotapeandthe majorityofitwaslive.I’dsay,60% of the album was done there and the other 40% were demos we did in [theSwamp].ShoutoutTrueSound Recording,” Sotelo says.

And perfect timing it was, because this new album inspired the group to start taking new risks for their sound development. Sotelo kept thinking that since it felt like a time when people couldn’t get together, it was important for us to try to make it happen in a new way. Because of this, they introduced different artists and friends to help create a “live music feel” packaged into a little tape. The album features harps, violins, and even Trujillo’s trumpet in some of these songs. The band also brought in Jesse Perlman (guitar) from The Marías for the song “Mystery,” Bardo Martinez (background vocals, harmony) from Chicano Batman for the song “Air,” and their friend Ruby to sing with Narvaez on “Bones.”

“We’ve had friends that like our music andtoldusbeforetheywantedtodo somethingwithusandthisfeltlikethe righttime,”Sotelosays.“Itfeltniceto beabletobringpeopleinanddotheir thingandIthinkpeopleappreciated it,too,becausenoonewasmeeting

uptodoanythinglikethat[during COVID] and were assured that we werebeingsafesincewewerelike literallynotevenleavingthatstudio unlessitwastogograbfood,” Sotelo says.

After vaccines and the return to normalcy, the Jukebox tour did as well — and with a new feel. The band, including later additions Luis Portillo (drums) and Jose Cruz (keys), decided to create two new fan interactive experiences — VIP meet-and-greets and fan-voted setlists through their website for each show. “Weplayed ‘Buffalo’andwehaven’tplayedthat inawhile.Thereweresongs[picked] thatonceeveryfewyearspeoplebring upastheirfavorite,suchasoldsongs like ‘Pseudo’ or ‘Solar’ and it’s a curveball to us,” Sotelo says.

Coming off this 20-date tour, the quartet reflects on the abundance of touring and performing for almost two decades. “Ifeelreallyexcited tohaveplayedtheNovoinLAand finallyheadliningtheFoxTheatre[in Pomona].I think the Novo was the biggestheadlineshowwe’vedone,” Soleto says. Prior to this tour, the band was used to traveling with a passenger van with a trailer for the last five years, starting with Sotelo’s mom’s Honda Odyssey.

“IfeelliketheonethingthatIfelt wasproudofus.Toleveluptoabus wherewegettoactuallysleepforthe showontopoftheproduction,itwas eye-openingtosee,” Trujillo says. This tour, they were able to tour with a bus and production team, rounded out with a lighting director and stage manager.

“Andthere’snothingbetterthan seeingthefans.Wehadameet-andgreet-likeVIPexperienceforthefirst timeandthatwasreallyspecialto meet all the fans beforehand.

Wedon’talwayshaveachanceto chit-chatwithfansthatjustfound their waytoourmusicindifferent ways.” Trujillo says.

If there’s anything the almost twodecade-old band wants to convey, it’s to encourage fans to find those who are also interested in what you are also interested in and full-send it, especially while you are young. “Listen asmuchasyoucantoeverything youcanbecausethere’ssomething totakefromeverything.Andjusttry [makingmusic],” Sotelo says. “We need more bands.”

From the Basement to the Stage: Navigating Chicago’s DIY Scene with Alt-Rock Band Cutest Nuisance Cutest

Interview by Ari Karnezis

Photos by Jonathan Revzan

Deep in a cozy suburban neighborhood in the village of Oak Lawn, Illinois, about 30 minutes south of the city of Chicago and away from the unrelenting noise of 95th Street, the members of Cutest Nuisance shacked up in bassist Matt Cortez’s basement studio for the weekend to record their next EP It’s Saturday, and the night before, the four-piece had stayed up until 4 in the morning to finish writing a new song, though they show no signs of exhaustion. In fact, by 3 in the afternoon that day, the drums had been recorded

The basement is illuminated by a series of multi-colored string lights and a single magenta light bulb. In one corner is the

basement studio’s drum kit, and in the other a vocal booth with two weighted blankets serving as curtains Next to the vocal booth off to the left is Matt and guitarist Melissa’s computer setup, with ProTools open and several tracks of instrumentation already in place Behind the drum kit are fliers of past Cutest Nuisance shows and other gigs around the Chicago area, paintings and prints from local artists, and a canvas of the Beatles.

The band gathers around Matt’s coffee table to take a break, snacking on assortments from a charcuterie board and sipping on Pabst Blue Ribbon, and discuss their future as a band and how their past and present as musicians

has led them to where they are now

“I hate telling this story, dude,” Devin laughs when asked where the name Cutest Nuisance came from However, it’s a simple (and cute) one at that – the band name originates from Devin’s cat, Ted.

“My girlfriend called him ‘the cutest nuisance,’ and here we are!” he chuckles, gesturing broadly to the rest of the band members. “It’s very not glamorous.”

Cutest Nuisance consists of Devin Brezak on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Matt Cortez on bass, Melissa Hernandez on lead guitar, and Brad V. Earl on drums and backing vocals. The band was formed out of what Devin frequently calls a “bedroom project” in 2021 after he spent a year writing songs in his Chicago apartment during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the dissolution of his previous band, he recruited his longtime bandmate Brad before setting out to find a bassist and guitarist

“Coming out of a few projects prior to this, I was looking to kind of test myself when it comes to writing a solo project…I’d gone through a few iterations of what that looked like, and during COVID, when the pandemic hit I got an interface, and I started teaching myself the very, very, very, very basics of tracking and somewhat mixing…I’ve been working with Brad, our drummer, for a long time, close to like ten years at this point, and I was going to bring the songs to them and kind of flesh them out. Originally, it was just supposed to be a fun solo project, and then we were, as we do, having a good time, so we wanted to play out,” Devin says of the earliest development of the band

Enter Matt and Melissa. In 2020, Melissa Hernandez moved from Orlando, Florida, to Chicago, shortly after the lockdown began It was a few months later that she would meet Matt Cortez and start working together on a home studio, which would eventually become Synergy Music Studio. Through the same Facebook group, Devin would also meet Matt,

who would introduce Brad and Devin to Melissa, and Cutest Nuisance would begin recording at Synergy for the majority of their nearly two years as a band

“This is a very easy band. It took a few years to just get everybody on the same page,” Brad chimes in, referring to the band they and Devin have tried to create since meeting and starting to play music together shortly after high school, “but once we found the people that could, it took months… like two months, easy.”

“It just felt good once it was all put together [with] all four of us in the same room,” Matt adds.

The band played their first show in September 2021 after a few months of delays due to venues still being shut down out of precaution, but during that time, the last thing the band did was sit around and wait instead, they remained hard at work on writing what would become their first EP, As Good As You Remember, which would be released on March 11, 2022. Most of the songs from the EP came from Devin’s time writing for his solo project, with the lyrics focusing on nostalgia, society, personal struggles, and sometimes skirting around the pandemic.

"We’re just trying to play music and enjoy other people’s music, and I think that translates"

T h e t i t l e t r a c k s e e m s t o f o c u s o n D e v i n ’ s e x p e r i e n c e s i n a n d o u t o f t h e m u s i c s c e n e , e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g l o c k d o w n , a n d t h e c h a n g e s t h a t c o m e w i t h a g e – t h e l y r i c s d w e l l o n s t r u g g l e s b e f o r e o f f e r i n g a b i t o f a m b i g u o u s p o s i t i v i t y :

T h e f a l l i s s o m u c h f a r t h e r t h a n y o u w o u l d l i k e t o a d m i t / t h e p a v e m e n t h i t s s o m u c h h a r d e r j u s t l i k e t h e y s a i d / I ’ m c h e a p , I ’ m w o r r i e d I ’ m p l a s t i c / W h a t ’ s t h e l a s t t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s b e e n ? / W o u l d I , s h o u l d I , i f I c o u l d , I w o u l d d o i t a l l a g a i n . “ D u r i n g t h e p a n d e m i c , n o t b e i n g a b l e t o p l a y m u s i c m a d e m e f e e l l e s s o f m y s e l f , s o t h a t s o n g i s a l o t a b o u t a c c e p t i n g g e t t i n g o l d e r , a c c e p t i n g y o u r p l a c e i n m u s i c , a c c e p t i n g y o u r p l a c e i n t h e w o r l d … I t ’ s k i n d o f a r e f l e c t i o n o n e v o l v i n g , ” D e v i n e x p l a i n s a b o u t t h e s o n g t h a t s i n c e w r i t i n g , r e l e a s i n g , a n d p e r f o r m i n g i t h a s b e c o m e t h e i r f i r s t s o n g i n e v e r y l i v e s e t t h e y ’ v e p l a y e d s i n c e 2 0 2 1 .

N o t o n l y d o e s t h e a l b u m r e f l e c t o n p e r s o n a l c h a n g e , b u t i t a l s o m a r k s a c h a n g e i n t h e f r o n t m a n ’ s s t y l e o f s o n g w r i t i n g a n d i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n .

“ I w a s t r y i n g t o d o a m o r e s t r i p p e d - d o w n v e r s i o n o f e v e r y t h i n g I h a d d o n e p r i o r t o t h a t b e c a u s e I ’ d b e e n i n s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t b a n d s o f d i f f e r e n t g e n r e s . M o s t o f t h e m w e r e h e a v y o r v e r y p r o g r e s s i v e , s o I w a n t e d t o k i n d o f t a k e a s t e p b a c k a n d f o c u s o n s i m p l e s o n g w r i t i n g a n d e f f e c t i v e s o n g w r i t i n g T h a t w a s t h e m a i n g o a l , a n d o n c e w e h a d b r o u g h t t h e s o n g s t o t h e b a n d , o n c e e v e r y o n e w a s f u l l y i n v o l v e d … t h e w r i t i n g p r o c e s s r e a l l y c a m e t o l i f e i n t h e s t u d i o , ” D e v i n e x p l a i n s

S i n c e r e l e a s i n g t h e E P , t h e b a n d h a s t r a n s i t i o n e d f r o m b r i n g i n g t h e i r o w n s t y l e t o D e v i n ’ s w o r k a n d h o n i n g e a c h s o n g t o w r i t i n g a n d c r e a t i n g n e w m u s i c t o g e t h e r a s a f u l l y f o r m e d q u a r t e t T h e p r o c e s s h a s n o t o n l y b e c o m e a p a t t e r n b u t a n e a s y o n e a t t h a t b e c a u s e o f t h e i r c h e m i s t r y a n d s e n s e o f c a m a r a d e r i e .

“It kind of just flows very naturally,” Devin says, describing their process while looking toward the future. “There’s not a whole lot of thought put into what part comes next… It’s a stew of ideas, and we pick and choose what we want to use, and that’s what we’re going to approach this next album with We’re shooting for a full-length that we can approach from a completely collaborative standpoint.”

“We do undersell ourselves a bit, but we’re all very knowledgeable in music theory,” Brad adds. Three of the four members work regularly as studio engineers, with Matt and Melissa building up their own basement studio and Brad working full-time at Gremlen Studios, a studio seated in the heart of downtown Aurora, Illinois. For such a young band, the process comes naturally and subconsciously to all four musicians, but it does not come without its challenges, internal or otherwise

"We all kind of think, ‘How do you do the age-old adage of, keep it simple, stupid?’ You can always do something interesting, but even if you’re going to do something interesting, you got to approach it from the idea of not reinventing the wheel…Devin could send me four chords, and every single person in the band that hears it will have a completely different musical interpretation [but] when we get together, it’s less about the individual interpretation and more how the group can figure things out,” Brad explains

“That’s where the challenge comes in, but it’s a fun challenge because…we all have different ideas of where it should go, and sometimes we’re all like, ‘Just listen, just listen, hear me out!’” Matt adds, eliciting some laughs from the rest of the band

“That first EP does still guide us in the way of [making] something more technical or more complicated, but [we still] harken back to the idea of straightforward and things moving logically. We’re taking risks [on the next album], but we’re keeping it in the same

v e i n , ” a n s w e r s B r a d

I n t h e f a c e o f a p o s t - p a n d e m i c w o r l d a n d

c o m i n g u p o n t h e i r t h i r d f u l l y e a r a s a

b a n d , t h e m e m b e r s h a v e a l s o n o t i c e d c h a n g e s n o t o n l y i n t h e i r p r o c e s s b u t a l s o i n t h e m s e l v e s a n d w h e r e t h e y f i t i n t h e

C h i c a g o m u s i c s c e n e ; i n f a c t , t h e y s u m u p t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e s i n o n e w o r d : i d e n t i t y . D e v i n d e s c r i b e s h i s o w n p e r s o n a l g r o w t h s i n c e 2 0 2 0 : “ I c h a n g e d l a n e s c o m p l e t e l y f r o m p l a y i n g i n t h e ‘ b u r b s w i t h h e a v i e r b a n d s a n d m o r e p r o g r e s s i v e b a n d s , a n d I w a s h a v i n g a p e r s o n a l s t r u g g l e w i t h m y i d e n t i t y a s a m u s i c i a n I r e t h o u g h t w h a t I w a n t e d f r o m m u s i c , a n d I r e a l l y s t r i p p e d a w a y a l o t o f t h e e x t e r n a l s t r e s s o r s a n d d r a m a t h a t [ c a n b e ] a p a r t o f t h e m u s i c s c e n e , a n d n o w I f i n d m y s e l f m o r e e n t h u s i a s t i c a b o u t i t b e c a u s e [ t o ] t h e p e o p l e t h a t w e ’ v e r u n i n t o i n t h e p a s t c o u p l e y e a r s , w e t r y t o p r e s e n t o u r s e l v e s a s a u t h e n t i c a l l y a s w e c a n . S o m e t h i n g t h a t m e a n d B r a d h a v e b e e n s p e c i f i c a l l y w o r k i n g a s l o n g a s w e ’ v e b e e n p l a y i n g i s t o n o t w o r r y a b o u t t h e l i t t l e t h i n g s w h e n i t c o m e s t o p l a y i n g o u t a n d j u s t e n j o y i n g t h e f a c t t h a t w e g e t t o p l a y o u t , a n d h o p e f u l l y , t h a t t r a n s l a t e s t h r o u g h t h e m u s i c a n d o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t w e ’ v e b e e n t r y i n g t o b u i l d w i t h o t h e r b a n d s ”

“ R e s p e c t y o u r p e e r s , ” B r a d i n t e r j e c t s , a s i m p l e y e t i m p o r t a n t m e s s a g e f o r n e w a n d s e a s o n e d m e m b e r s o f t h e l o c a l s c e n e i n g e n e r a l “ I t c a n f e e l l i k e s o m e t i m e s i t ’ s s t i l l a p o p u l a r i t y c o n t e s t , w h e r e p e o p l e s h u t d o w n o t h e r p e o p l e w h o a r e a g a i n s t [ t h e m o r e w e l l - r e s p e c t e d m u s i c i a n s o f t h e s c e n e ] o r w h o a r e n ’ t o n t h e s a m e w a v e l e n g t h , [ b u t ] a t t h e e n d o f t h e d a y , r e s p e c t t h a t p e o p l e a r e w o r k i n g i n t h e s a m e k i n d o f g r i n d . I t c a n b e h a r d , a n d w h e n y o u w a n t t o g o o n a 3 - d a y t o u r , y o u h a v e t o p l a n t h a t o u t , w o r k t h a t o u t w i t h y o u r j o b j u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t ’ s h a r d f o r y o u t o d o , a n d t h a t ’ s h a r d f o r t h e m t o d o … I t h i n k a l o t o f p e o p l e d o t h i n k t h a t w a y n o w , a n d t h a t ’ s w h y y o u s e e s o m u c h

The band also similarly describes the shows they play as positive and easy-going, without a dull moment They have also prioritized enjoying the moments in playing live and focusing less on the potential draw a show may provide.

“We’re not there to flaunt or flex or anything, we’re just trying to play music and enjoy other people’s music, and I think that translates because we’ve made some solid connections with people and fostered good relationships that keep and engage other bands A lot of positivity is promoted, at least hopefully, genuinely,” Devin says.

“You should absolutely always go in with the idea that someone on that bill is going to be just awe-inspiring,” Brad adds “There are so many talented people out there in the world.”

As of now, the band is taking that perspective to heart as they continue writing for and recording their first full-length album and work toward heading out on the road this summer. On February 10, Cutest Nuisance released their new two-song EP Move Along consisting of “Junk” and “Paper Weight, ” an introduction to what’s next for the band. You can find their debut EP and newest material on all streaming platforms. For Cutest Nuisance, despite their long history as musicians, this is only the beginning

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