The first time I saw Wallows, I was sixteen and alone at a 1,000 capacity venue in Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday, September 12, I attended my sixth Wallows show to date. Despite all that’s changed in the years since my first show, so much has remained the same. Their setup will always see Braeden Lemasters at stage right and Dylan Minnette stage left, with Cole Preston sat at the drums between them. The same three dudes I met that night in Fort Lauderdale. But today—an EP, two albums, and two tours later—I’m twenty-one, and Wallows is playing a show at the Kia Forum.

SOS Booking’s all-out, B.S.D.M festival, serving as Peeling Flesh’s Los Angeles stop on their current tour, demonstrated every bit of violence, chaos, and fun that you could expect from a genre and band with those names. The night started with an up-and-coming band, First Degree. They were followed by IE locals, Smoked909, the Bay Area’s Slime, Two Piece from Florida, and the so-southern and so-dreadful Corpse Pile, from Houston. Headlining the night were the two prime bands of the Slam genre currently, PeelingFlesh and Snuffed On Sight.

Clairo charmed Los Angeles audiences during her five-night residency at the Fonda Theatre, where she showcased her third studio album, Charm. Her soft, radiant voice made audiences want to dance, act frivolous, and take off their clothes while fans experienced the brutal LA heat wave lining up along Hollywood Boulevard before the shows.

Chris Stein, cofounder of Blondie, may have lived even more lives than the nine given to his black cat, Lou. Both joined me on a video call to chat about their human half’s new memoir, “Under a Rock.” The book is a masterclass in rich storytelling, forgoing glitz and glamour in a stream-of-consciousness divulgence from a generational musician. Reminiscence is a gift, and each reader is a lucky recipient.

London-based bar italia headlined a sold-out show at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre on Thursday, April 18. Four years out from their enigmatic origins in Dean Blunt’s record label World Music, bar italia electrified Thursday evening on Hollywood Boulevard. 

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to sit around with Fat, Evil Children to talk about their new record, their friendship, and their candid process. I walked up to find the four bandmates sitting on a porch and passing a guitar around. I was surprised by their collective deftness with the guitar, which I learned was just a lay example of their instrumental ease and collaborative process.

Arctic Monkeys have come back down to Earth. Following their latest studio album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, the group abandons their 2018 interplanetary travels for their trademark Bittersweet Breakup Special with new lead single "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball."

Amaarae is for the girls. More specifically - Amaarae is for the beautiful mid 20-somethings sporting Depop leather, a vaguely vintage shoulder bag, and liquid blush that complements their horoscope. 

Bloody Angel’s content is partly fresh, partly recycled, but fully fun. I have an interesting history with 23 year old, Northern California native, Sematary. My first exposure to his deep fried, found footage horror inspired sounds and visuals was in my high school chorus classroom…

“Mac is in his feelings and he can't get out of it,” Malcolm Todd confesses in the opening track “Earrings” of his new Sweet Boy mixtape. The stage is set for the lovesick themes present throughout Sweet Boy: missing an ex, troubled relationships, and young love being all-consuming, intense, and confusing.