“Resolution” is out today!

We announced Resolution—our fourth Bandcamp compilation of local music—earlier this week. Yesterday, we had a listening party at Giant Jones Brewing Company, where attendees got a preview of the album. And today, we’re releasing it into the wide world, with the conviction that the material it contains will resonate with our audience.

More than two dozen artists with direct connections to Madison’s past and present contributed a demo, an alternate mix, or an unreleased or otherwise hard-to-find track to Resolution. We’re grateful to each and every one of them for putting their work towards a common cause: sustaining Tone Madison.

From Hottt Probs‘ fiery opening salvo to an elegiac closing number provided by Tone Madison‘s co-founder (and former publisher) Scott Gordon’s latest project, Shrimp Ranch, Resolution boasts a wealth of diverse material. Each track acts as a demonstration of the perseverance inherent to Madison musicians. As much as Resolution is a celebration and showcase of those artists and their unflappable creative impulses, it also acts as a mirror. Steely-eyed determination and a desire to contribute has become an increasingly essential component of keeping Tone Madison a viable outlet. To that end, Resolution becomes an unlikely soundtrack for a time in which Tone Madison faces a critical crossroads.

You can impact how well we are able to navigate Tone Madison‘s future with a purchase of Resolution, which will qualify towards our year-end NewsMatch fundraiser through December 31. Purchases made this December will multiply in value, and every listener who adds it to their collection will be pushing Tone Madison forward. Each purchase made on release day—Friday, December 5—will also net us a larger direct return, thanks to Bandcamp Friday. (If you’d like to make a standard one-time donation, independent of an album purchase, you are welcome to do so here.)

At Tone Madison, we know what we produce cannot be accomplished alone. We know that the impact of that work is not confined to individual responses. We know that the value of our work is largely connected to community, and we’re thrilled to be able to present another effort that is driven by a sense of community. While Resolution is intended to benefit Tone Madison, what the compilation is about extends far beyond that scope, enveloping the values that became central to our journalistic ethos: equitable community, resilience, a desire to be confrontational in a city that historically balks at engaging with friction of any sort, and the audacity of independent creation.

We’re proud of what Tone Madison has managed to accomplish in its 11 years of operation, despite fighting a never-ending uphill battle. In 2026, we want to keep that fight going, and to bring readers the insightful, substantive material they’ve come to expect. And to all of the artists who contributed their time and efforts to Resolution: thank you. Tone Madison owes a sizable portion of its identity to local music, and we’re grateful to be a small part of that community.

As the year winds to a close, we hope as many of you as possible find some joy in Resolution.