Tag: Trending
Janky Fresh Friday: New Albums From John Maus and PeelingFlesh
Danny Ryan
September 26, 2025
Welcome to Janky Fresh Friday- the busiest day of the week for artists and labels to drop newly released music. Check in every Friday for a fresh squeeze. John Maus: Later Than You Think (released September 26, 2025): Young Records John Maus’ new album Later Than You Think is a huge deal. Like a really huge, massive deal. Personally, his last release in 2011 We Must Become the Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves was a formative album during my high school years and one of my first introductions to goth music or synth pop outside of the mainstream. Almost 15 years later and he’s back with a vengeance; a deeply changed man on a spiritual level, but still bringing the lo-fi dark and gloomy atmosphere to the dancefloor. Don’t miss John Maus live this October: Observatory OC – October 20, 2025 The Belasco – October 22, 2025 The lyrical themes have certainly changed quite a bit from 2011’s “Cop Killer” to today with “I Hate Antichrist” and this tone of religious awakening can be felt throughout his newest release. As early as the second track we get lyrics like “Satan, Satan, Satan lies. Turns everything into fucking spite”. You could
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Avant-Garde Headbanging with The Armed at The Roxy
Rob Shepyer
September 24, 2025
Seeing The Armed at The Roxy on September 20, 2025 was not just a whim- for me it was a necessity. Whenever the Armed play in Los Angeles, I make it a point to attend. Their concerts feel like rare glimpses into a future world. With their latest tour stop supported by Prostitute, another heavy and unpredictable band, I wanted to break down not only the performance but also why The Armed matter so deeply and why their most recent album, THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED, truly rules. related: One Friday Night In Hell- Show Me The Body and Twitching Tongues at The Regent The Armed have become my favorite modern band. I am not sure how it happened; I can’t always control what I gravitate toward. Perhaps they filled the vacuum left by The Dillinger Escape Plan, a band whose live shows once stood as the gold standard for ferocity and unpredictability. Perhaps they were the only group writing anthems with lyrics powerful enough to resonate like “Sport of Form” off Perfect Saviors, my favorite album of 2023. That track, which ends with a peaking sing-along verse of “Doesn’t Anyone Even Know You? Does
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Take This: Win Two Tickets To See The Armed at The Roxy 9/20
Janky Smooth Central Command
September 16, 2025
The Armed is playing the legendary Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip on Saturday, September 20. You can buy tickets now or see below to enter our ticket giveaway. The Armed are wrapping up their September U.S. tour in support of their most recent album, the critically acclaimed The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed. With Prostitute opening, the two bands have put together a fierce lineup for fans of experimental underground music across hardcore and post-punk genres. related: Desert Daze 2022: 10 Years in the Evolution of a Music Scene We are giving away a pair of tickets to see The Armed and Prostitute at The Roxy Theatre To Enter: Like and Tag A Friend On Our Armed Ticket Giveaway Post on any social media platform Make sure you both follow Janky Smooth Winner Will Be Announced on Friday, September 18th at Noon Pacific. The Armed is a Detroit-based experimental post-hardcore collective made up of rotating members including Tony Wolski and Cara Drolshagen. With their 2025 album The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, the band explores themes of war, media, and social purity. Known for wild shows, the group often surfs
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Osees at theTeragam- A Rose By Any Other Name
Danny Baraz
September 5, 2025
I had still only seen Osees under 10 times the first time I thought about missing one of their shows- I think I was offered free Lakers tickets- good seats. But the team wasn’t that good that year so I opted for the gig- which was the last time I saw Thee Oh Sees at The Teragram Ballroom. What I realized that night was that unlike the Lakers, every Oh Sees show is just as good as the first- I’ve never seen any composition of the band under any name have an off night. How is that possible? related: The 4th Wave Of Garage Rock- A Retrospective Sometimes, I imagine John Dwyer in a basement beating his drummers when they get off tempo. Like some Rock and Roll Kobe Bryant not allowing anyone who works with him to show any less passion than he in his preparedness for perfection and greatness in his craft. An artist and a scientist, taking the mathematics of art and doubling down to provide a more powerful experience. An endless human algorithm of DIY spewing content. He is not a prototype but he is a prolific model. related: Thee Oh Sees And The Practical Application
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Acid Bath at Hollywood Palladium: Venus Blues and Bayou Sludge
Rob Shepyer
August 29, 2025
Acid Bath was the one band no one thought would ever reunite. They were a flash in the pan at one point, considered a glitch in heavy metal history—yet simultaneously, they were the band everyone wanted to be and emulate, the band that inspired subgenres from the edges of extremity to the depths of doom and across the entire spectrum of stoner rock and roll. That’s why Acid Bath’s show at the Hollywood Palladium on August 22nd was charged with much more power and gravitas than a typical reunion. It was a moment written in stone, acknowledging that the kings of the New Orleans heavy music scene would one day return to their rightful thrones. The anticipation had been building for years among fans who never truly believed this day would come. The venue itself seemed to understand the weight of the occasion. The Hollywood Palladium, with its storied history of hosting legendary performances, provided the perfect backdrop for what would become a defining moment in heavy music. As fans filed into the historic theater, there was an electric tension in the air—a mixture of disbelief, excitement, and the kind of reverence typically reserved for religious experiences. related – Memoirs
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Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Launch North American Tour at Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
August 27, 2025
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, OR Pigsx7 launched their North American tour from the Lodge Room in August, staining the sacred planks of the venue with more sweat and abandon than bands are typically used to expelling throughout a set. For those not in the blissful know, Pigs x7 are a beloved heavy band that’s been adopted by the LA psych scene, one able to discharge hallucinatory spores from their pores during their intense performances that induce pure rock and roll rapture. Their songs breakdown the same way your body does when in their crosshairs. And just when you’re completely destroyed and a pile of rubble before them, they find a way to engineer your rock and roll rebirth in their image. How this crossover from psych to metal took place was a mystery for me and the inspiration that made me trek out to their show in the hopes of catching an earful of insight into what sonic sinew connected their sound to the standard Desert Daze LA hipster. Somewhere between Sabbath worship and The Doors, Pigs x7 managed to straddle the line of two fanbases that, while sharing some DNA, rarely overlap this seamlessly. related: Desert Daze
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Midnight And Ghoul at The Poor Kids Mansion
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 22, 2025
If you’ve never been to a sanctioned or unsanctioned show or event at The Poor Kids Mansion in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of L.A., can you even consider yourself a part of the punk and metal scenes of Los Angeles? Of course you can. But if music scenes were like levels on a video game, this would be one of the challenges along the way to some abstract street cred needed to complete the level. On top of a dead end, hilltop street just off Broadway, is an address that has been made public over the years but I still hesitate to mention. In a somewhat dilapidated 120 year old, 4 story estate whose windows have one of the best views of downtown in the city, is a residence and clubhouse called the Poor Kids Mansion. In the backyard you can see punk rock, thrash and sometimes, backyard wrestling- complete with a pro wrestling ring. There is also a ring inside the house- three of them, in fact. And the ring master of this circus is Russ. He and his brother Dougie are the Poor Kids. There are more Poor Kids but if you say that name, Russ and Dougie
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Blood Incantation Live at The Wiltern, Los Angeles
Danny Baraz
August 19, 2025
The Los Angeles stop of the Blood Incantation 2025 Absolute Else Tour was more than just another date—it was the climactic finale of their North American run and one of the most unforgettable metal shows of the year. On August 7, 2025, The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles’ Koreatown transformed into a cosmic gateway as the Denver quartet delivered a marathon performance that fused progressive death metal, krautrock atmospherics, and spatial ambient noise. From the moment fans entered the art-deco grandeur of The Wiltern, the anticipation was electric. The show sold out weeks in advance, and the bill reflected Blood Incantation’s expansive vision. Krallice opened the night as the experimental black metal heir apparent. Prog-metal icons Cynic elevated the night with a career-spanning journey through tech metal and jazz-inflected experimentation. Last but not least, ambient pioneer Steve Roach offered a rare live set that immersed the crowd in soundscapes of drones and deep cosmic resonance. I thought the order of the bands was peculiar but I can’t say I’d complain. By the time Blood Incantation took the stage, the audience had already traveled through decades of extreme and progressive music and even an extended regenerative period during Steve Roach’s set.
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MSPAINT and Lip Critic at Lodge Room- Disturbing The Peace
Danny Baraz
August 14, 2025
On an undersold Thursday night at the Lodge Room on a quiet night in Highland Park, MSPAINT made their tour stop in Los Angeles to support the No Separation EP. They brought with them Pat and the Pissers and a band that caught my attention at the end of 2024, Lip Critic. I really love MSPAINT but I traveled cross town to see what the fuck this weird, experimental band Lip Critic would sound like live and how the fuck they made the sounds that had been coming out of my speaker the last 6 months. I arrived in time for a REALLY great band out of Indianapolis- Pat and the Pissers. They are a interesting Descendents punk mix of confrontational, charismatic and borderline technical players. Bass player Kilmer stood out immediately but I quickly realized that the entire band was tight and lead singer Alex Beckman was born to sing at people. related: Model/Actriz- Pirouette New Album/Bend Bodies/Break Brains At the end of an extended schmoke break between sets, we heard strange rumblings and sounds coming from the venue. We rushed upstairs to find the 4 Lip Critic lunatics thrashing about the stage, 30 seconds into their set with
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Deltron 3030 Re-Unite At The Bellwether for 25 Year Anniversary
Taylor Wong
August 7, 2025
The thing about seeing Deltron 3030 live is that it’s not just a concert—it’s a time machine. Not one of those glitchy, steam‑punk contraptions with brass pipes and smoke pouring out the back, but a sleek, fully automated warp gate run by a mad scientist producer, a turntablist wizard, and a hip‑hop storyteller who sounds like he’s rapping dispatches from the year 3030 straight into your eardrums. On Friday night, The Bellwether didn’t just host a rap show; it hosted a landing. This was the first of two sold‑out LA dates on the 25th anniversary tour for Deltron 3030, a debut, self titled album that’s not just music for me—it’s a life marker. related: Tyler’s Camp Flog Gnaw 10 Year Anniversary Intersects w/ Chromakopia Number 1 My cousin handed me the Deltron 3030 record when I was 13 years old. I still remember the look in his eyes—half‑mischief, half‑knowing—when he slid the jewel case across the table like contraband. Up until then, rap for me meant whatever MTV and Power 106 were pumping out: a lot of chart‑chasing hooks, a lot of swagger, not much in the way of world‑building. But the Deltron 303 album… it was cinematic. It was
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Mason Manson Self Releases First Full Length Album: Masonic Guide
Janky Smooth Central Command
July 28, 2025
Who is Mason Manson? Have you seen him? What is Masonic Guide? Mason Manson and his first full length written, produced, performed and self released album dropped this past Saturday, July 26th. It’s called Masonic Guide and it is has something that very few artists are able to produce in the modern era- it is a complete body of work from start to finish with theme and continuity in every track. MASON MANSON · MASONIC GUIDE Mason Manson is a young producer we started following after we heard one of his beats on the Dirtybutt album, Analog Horror Core released in 2022. Since then, he has dropped multiple drum kit patches and presets with his signature distorted and dystopian sound. Some call it extreme trap, some people call it rap core or incorporate the term “emo” into it’s naming convention. Whatever you want to call it, it appears that Mason Manson also has something to say and he says it in this language. On the periphery of the Deathnote Inc scene, we hope to see him play live in that context soon. related: Nature World Night Out- Bridging the gap between hip hop and hardcore Accompanying Masonic Guide is the video
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Take This: Win 10 Tickets To See Wavves at Fonda Theater 7/25
Janky Smooth Central Command
July 18, 2025
Wavves are coming! Janky Smooth is giving away 10 tickets for the Wavves show at the Fonda Theater 7/25. You can buy tickets now, or to enter, see below. In 2025, Wavves is riding a fresh wave of momentum. The band recently announced a new album titled Freak Frequency, set to release in Fall 2025 via Ghost Ramp, the label of Wavves mastermind, Nathan Williams. The first single, “Burn Out Bright,” dropped in July and features a cleaner, more refined sound while retaining Wavves’ rebellious spirit. related: Welcome To The Freakshow- Wavves at The Lodge Room Wavves are currently in the midst of their summer tour across North America and they are coming back to Los Angeles’ Fonda Theater a week from today. To enter the contest: Find the original post on Instagram Like the post Tag a friend Winner/s will be announced on Wednesday, July 23rd at Noon pacific. Stay tuned to Wavves’ official social channels and Ghost Ramp for updates on upcoming music, merch drops, and tour dates. related: King Tuff Unloads His Clip For Farewell Show At The Lodge Room Wavves is an American rock band from San Diego, California, best known for their blend of lo-fi
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