Once did a quartet concert with John alongside Caroline Kraabel and Johnny Hunter. Absolutely the most redundant I’ve ever felt as a bass player; he’s just playing All The Bass…

Oh, also…

ECLIPSE PHASE

Woosh, not gonna lie, this one hit a little too close to home! I might be in that band… 😅

Really, really fast old-school Hardcore throwback band with a dedicated fan base of crusty punks. Incomprehensible lyrics, slam-dancing and not-even-begrudging respect from old-head scene guardians because “nah, those kids can really do it”.

Hauntological folk duo pairing guitar and whispery close harmony vocals with tape loops, a shitload of reverb and lyrics in German. Get a lot of play late night on BBC 3 and college radio, beloved by music critics but so far yet to manage a full in-person tour.

FIASCO

(You’ve accidentally stumbled into my exact wheelhouse and invented my perfect game, @gregstolze.bsky.social…)

One kid, alone in their bedroom making dungeon-synth layered with pseudo-gothic spoken word. Albums are $6.66 on Bandcamp and 23 tracks long. It’s INCREDIBLY popular on a particular subreddit and nobody else knows about it.

MOTHERSHIP

Self-consciously difficult Math Rock. Preppy clothes, guitars worn very high, nobody wants to be the singer so everybody screams, allergy to 4/4.

Next up: Goblin Quest