Protomartyr make a triumphant return with their seventh studio album, Hotel Usona [out September 25]. When a band has been around for 16 years and released so many records, it’s hard to surprise listeners with something new or fresh. Yet this Detroit band proves that it’s still possible. There are previously unexplored influences from Middle Eastern music, and sonically, this is their most powerful work to date – and, in my opinion, one of their best albums. The sheer richness of the arrangements is almost overwhelming. Producer Dave Fridmann certainly deserves a lot of credit for that [he’s produced 12 albums by The Flaming Lips, including Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, as well as Oracular Spectacular by MGMT, Some Loud Thunder by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Marauder by Interpol, and Drums and Guns by Low].
Continue Reading “If we’re still moving forward, there’s a reason for it. An Interview with Joe Casey (Protomartyr)”
Category: English
A footprint in the stars. An interview with Spencer Clark
Visionary artist behind projects like Monopoly Child Star Searchers, Typhonian Highlife, Fourth World Magazine and many others in conversation about his creative aims, music industry and crossing cultures
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This place has always been on fire. An interview with dälek
pic. Jonny Scala
dälek can already be confidently described as a legendary group. With their latest album, Brilliance of a Falling Moon, they only further solidify that status. It’s an uncompromising record — a powerful response to everything unfolding in the world right now. At the same time, it’s also a record full of hope — and as you’ll read in the interview, hope is the fuel that should keep us going. I had the great privilege of speaking with Will Brooks and Mike Mare about the making of the album, their return to their roots, their unique dynamic, and what it feels like to be the “older uncle” in the scene.
Continue Reading “This place has always been on fire. An interview with dälek”
Tesla crashing. An interview with Jordan Dreyer of La Dispute
While doing research, I learned that some journalists who spoke with Jordan Dreyer around the release of No One Was Driving the Car in 2025 received nearly 50-page analyses of the album’s lyrics to help them prepare for the interview. It’s no surprise – just listening to any La Dispute record makes it clear that this vocalist’s works are essentially multi-layered, highly expansive novels. The same seems to apply to the interviews themselves.
Even though I caught Jordan backstage at Warsaw’s Proxima just before a sold-out March show, the result is probably the longest, most interesting, and at the same time the most pleasant conversation I’ve conducted for Undertone. About change, TikTok popularity, technology, the complex process of creating La Dispute’s music. About life. Give it a read.
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Heated Rivalry exploded! You can’t plan something like this. An interview with Peter Peter
I’ve learned more than once that the world is small and that life (not only mine) is often guided by happy coincidences — and my interview with Peter Peter is the best example of that. I first heard about this Canadian artist in 2024 and immediately started following his work. Even though I don’t understand more French than just “merci,” it turns out that language is no barrier at all — the real magic lies in the emotions you can hear in the music created by Peter Peter. Recently, the artist has gained even greater popularity thanks to the series “Heated Rivalry,” which tells the love story of two hockey players and for which he composed the soundtrack.
It Started with Care and Love: Le Guess Who? And a Radical Act of Empathy
Le Guess Who? has been redefining what a music festival can mean — not only through bold programming, but also through the way it thinks about programming itself. In a world where culture is increasingly shaped by market logic, this festival offers something different: empathy as a radical act.
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Mistakes, messiness – no sequences. An interview with Author & Punisher
fot. Agata Hudomięt
Author & Punisher is celebrating 21 years, and Tristan Shone – engineer, composer, and vocalist – has released the project’s heaviest and most organic record to date. On the new album Nocturnal Birding, instead of cold sequences we get grit, mistakes, and raw energy: all played live. We talk about what it means to be an “industrial uncle,” why birds can inspire just as much as synthesizers, what it was like collaborating with Arca, and how volunteering at the U.S./Mexico border shaped Tristan’s work. It’s a conversation about an artist growing older, who after two decades on stage still manages to surprise. Both himself and his audience. Continue Reading “Mistakes, messiness – no sequences. An interview with Author & Punisher”
Lord Spikeheart: soundtrack of my life
Exclusively for UNDERTONE, Lord Spikeheart opened up about the music that means the most to him. Usually, we send artists a pool of topics, and they pick 3–5. Martin answered EVERY single one! That’s how you spot a total music nerd…
5 non-metal albums that I love. Seb Alvarez (meth.)
Meth.’s music is a masterful blend of sludge, metal, post-hardcore, and noisecore, but the band’s vocalist, Seb Alvarez, points out that their inspirations reach far beyond those genres. That’s why, exclusively for Undertone, he put together a list of his favorite non-metal albums – and some of his picks are sure to surprise you! Continue Reading “5 non-metal albums that I love. Seb Alvarez (meth.)”