A hot slate of Madison music demands extra attention

Something encouraging happened on August 11. For the first time in recent memory, a source explicitly dedicated to tracking new releases from Madison musicians emerged, courtesy of a new Instagram account: @madisonmusicradar. Run by Quokka bandleader Aaron Grych, the account is already proving to be a valuable tool in keeping up with Madison’s slate of new releases. It’s a surprisingly enormous task; one person by themselves can not possibly hope to track every single new release to come out of Madison (ask me how I know). But that people continue to try inherently reflects a necessary level of care about local music that stems from an understanding of its value.

On those fronts: we have to continue to nurture and support the communities that spring up around and within local music. Madison’s overarching infrastructure has routinely failed the arts, music most certainly included. Yet Madison musicians have still found ways to thrive, even in cases where they’ve had to create their own permission. So, to that end: go follow @madisonmusicradar. Grych has been doing a solid job in the early stages—up to and including the light commentary on what makes the selected releases stick out—and has caught a few things I would have otherwise missed. I’ll let that account shine some love on a trio of great new releases, and dedicate the below space to highlighting six more memorable releases from the past two months. As is typically the case: there’s more than enough great local music to celebrate.

If you want to support any of these artists, one of the most effective ways to do that is with a digital purchase on Bandcamp Friday, which will take place once more on September 5. Find out more about Bandcamp Friday here.

Baby Tyler Band, “The Pressure“

One of Baby Tyler Band’s most defining traits as a project is an express inability to tamp down. The project’s latest track, “The Pressure,” is all teeth-gnashing hardcore venom pushed to its limit. Even with that being the case, the joy of this Tyler Fassnacht-led project is that it doesn’t sacrifice melody or accessibility. While Fassnacht doesn’t amplify those elements to the heights of some of his other current or previous projects, those qualities still prove effective at achieving a winsome balance. As the first single off the forthcoming Sucker With A Dream, “The Pressure” sets a high bar, but its biting punk nature and hooky motifs suggest another moment of triumph for the seemingly tireless songwriter. Fassnacht snarls “The pressure’s killing me / And it’s killing you” on the track’s chorus, but if Baby Tyler Band’s buckling under the weight of expectation, most listeners won’t be able to tell. 

Corridoré, Abandon 

In 2019, the post-metal quartet Corridoré (then a trio) released a cathartic self-titled debut album. In the aftermath of Corridoré‘s release, the band added a member, shuffled at least one more, and set about dialing in their chemistry. In late August 2025, the band released their soaring follow-up album, Abandon. Guitarists Matt Allen and Russell Emerson Hall provide vocals across Abandon, as does bassist Eric Andraska. Drummer Nick Bartley operates as a one-man wrecking crew behind the kit, skyrocketing the band’s all-permeating sense of atmospheric dread and tension.

Black metal screams, understated melodic vocals, and a host of menacing tones all congeal into a succession of small moments on Abandon that are overflowing with raw emotion. One of the best examples takes place at the midpoint of single “Become (Carrion)” in which an elegant post-rock guitar figure snakes its way to the focal point of the mix—punctuated only by a ride cymbal and gnarled, sustained bass note—before the band erupts into an extended outro that feels terrifying and uplifting in equal measure.   

Damsel Trash, Battle Hymn Of The Queerpublic

Ever since distortion-happy punk duo Damsel Trash formed over 10 years ago, they have excelled in balancing the serious and the deeply unserious. Both multi-instrumentalist Meghan Rose and drummer Emily Mills (an occasional contributor to Tone Madison) have continuously met the project with genuine artistic commitment, with each contributing strong vocal performances. Rarely has goof-dom been delivered with such abundant conviction. But it’s not all jest. The duo’s new album, Battle Hymn Of The Queerpublic, takes on a serious bent on more than one occasion. Harsh realities are met with deeply-felt confrontation. (But the band still makes time to work in a trio of fun, scuzzy covers, and a gritty, minimalist punk take on a Michael Shannon-starring Funny Or Die classic.)

In an interview with Fleshbot, Mills opened up about the album’s fiery title track, saying “[It’s] absolutely a political anthem—both my visceral response to the current moment we’re in, but also everything that’s led up to it. I wish any of this was new, but the reality is that we’ve been dealing with Nazis and their relatives for way too long.” Mills adds, “We’re a queer band… We take up space without shame. And we have a lot of fucking fun doing it.” Battle Hymn Of The Queerpublic underscores that ethos with a defiant, celebratory panache.

Drive-A-Tron, EP 2: Crowds

Crowds is the only release in this list to have also earned a feature over at @madisonmusicradar, but it’s a release worth doubling-down on because Paul Vash’s Drive-A-Tron project is such a singular prospect. If anyone else in Madison is making music that bridges electronic, indie-rock, indie-pop, and dance-rock so seamlessly, it’s coming from a project I have yet to hear. Each of the five tracks Vash packs into Crowds was released between January of last year (“Like-Minded Skeletons“) and this August (“Hot Coals Walking“), but hearing all of them interact with each other in sequential order imbues each with newfound energy. Even “Break Your Heart”—a Tone Madison 2024 favorite—packs a stronger punch. It takes a special tune to make listeners nod their head, tap their foot, or demand extra thought. Every song on Crowds manages to do all three. Groovy, soulful, and thoughtfully constructed, Crowds reaffirms Drive-A-Tron’s distinct identity and broad appeal. 

LINE & Kat And The Hurricane, “Life Of The Party“

In July, LINE bandleader Maddie Batzli announced an imminent move out of the state. They’ve already left, but LINE is about to embark on a tour where they’ll be performing as a duo, and once more in Madison as a full band. LINE also got to sneak in one last great release as a Madison act by teaming up with Kat And The Hurricane for the collaborative single “Life Of The Party.” A touching, heartfelt, introspective ballad, the track feels like an appropriate quasi-goodbye; at its heart, there is a sense of displacement that is counterbalanced by solidarity.

“Life Of The Party” builds around the concept of feeling a sense of overwhelming grief at the state of the world, citing ICE disappearances and the ongoing genocide in Gaza as motivating factors. But the narrative is expertly, acutely delivered through a hyper-personalized lens that renders our shared experiences as everyday witnesses even more stark and relatable. Tender acoustic fingerpicking and an atmospheric post-rock electric guitar figure drive home a sense of loss. It’s thoughtful, unapologetically realistic, and compelling—a song that quietly sits as one of the most powerful in either band’s discography.

Solshade, “Gavagai“

After releasing their first recorded material in 2022, metalcore quintet Solshade came hurtling back in mid-August with “Gavagai.” A hyper-aggressive, skyscraping single, “Gavagai” leans into every whammy drop, breakdown, and harmonic shot with emphatic gusto. Dillon James Hare gives the track’s central vocal performance and lets loose with wild-eyed abandon. Guitarists Spencer Fox and Travis Wussow lead the charge on establishing a sense of musical hostility while the rhythm section of drummer Josh Fields and bassist Maddie Moreau dig their feet in and anchor the affair with grisly determination.

The term “Gavagai” stems from the writings of philosopher W. V. O. Quine, who used the term to illustrate the precarity of translation via a thought experiment revolving around a rabbit. In Solshade’s hands, the term’s applied to, ostensibly, an authority figure doing their best to spin a self-serving narrative. “You schematize the world / Through such narrow fucking eyes / But if gavagai can’t be defined / The effort for naught / You’re painting pictures for the blind,” screams Hare at the song’s anchoring point, exuding a hard-earned fury that can only be derived from lived experience.