PYGMY LUSH - TOTEM

PYGMY LUSH: reunited Pageninetynine offshoot announces release of lost album "TOTEM" via Persistent Vision Records; first single streaming now

Persistent Vision Records announces the July 11th release of Pygmy Lush's TOTEM.

Recorded and mixed by Converge's Kurt Ballou in 2016, the album has remained unreleased for nearly a decade. Active again now after a long hiatus, the revitalized band has made the decision to unearth this lost masterpiece.

Stream the first single, "February Song," here: https://youtu.be/leDxRQ-sP8o

Pre-order the album, here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/products/pygmy-lush-totem

Pygmy Lush was founded in Northern Virginia in the mid-2000s by brothers Chris Taylor and Mike Taylor as an experimental offshoot of their band Pageninetynine. Beginning with the debut album, Bitter River, released on Robotic Empire in 2007, Pygmy Lush's output ranged from Pageninetynine-caliber screamo, to fragile Americana; from the basement show to the campfire and back again, the songs all hit with equal conviction.

Following the release of 2011's Old Friends album on Lovitt Records, Pygmy Lush faded from view, reemerging in 2024 to many fans' surprise and delight. Reentering the limelight by way of an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in August 2024, the newly reignited band was a standout of the inaugural Dark Days Bright Nights festival in September of that year, and went on to wow the crowd at this year's Roadburn.

With an appearance at Toronto's Prepare the Ground festival booked for May, and shows in the works with the likes of Young Widows, Pygmy Lush now prepares to reveal the long-buried TOTEM. Mike Taylor explains why this nine-year-old masterpiece has not yet seen the light of day: "Frankly, we lost momentum shortly after recording the album. It was a very transitional time for Pygmy Lush where we were trying hard to figure out what this group wanted to do."

He describes the upcoming 2025 release of TOTEM as a necessary step in Pygmy Lush's progression toward its next phase: "I personally have wanted to release TOTEM as a document of this era of the band, in order to continue moving forward."

While TOTEM's belated release might give the Taylors a sense of closure on the past, it is more than a snapshot of bygone days. It is a monumental work of art that feels absolutely fresh and vital in 2025. A feast for the ears and the heart, TOTEM is an engrossing display of musical freedom, backed by authentic emotion. There are songs that rage, songs that rock, and songs that cruise hypnotically. From bruising noise rock, teetering on the edge of hardcore, to meditative refrains that roll along like trains through moonlit valleys, it moves in its own ways, unhindered by genre.

"The album became a bridge between the two completely different sounds of the band, the quiet and the loud," states Mike Taylor. "It was very collaborative. We were all trying out as much stuff as we could. It’s a very eclectic album." He offers up Born Against, PJ Harvey, and Brian Eno as three reference points. First single "February Song" is a heavy, haunting lullaby that ravages, serenely, evoking the quieter moments of Sonic Youth and Pavement alike.

The common denominator beneath TOTEM's songs is the urgency, the realness, fueling every note and lyric. Chris Taylor states: "The lyrics desperately look for answers that aren’t there, and deliberately mock themselves. We sing and we write and we play, as the world becomes more and more obviously horrific. We admire, or argue over, the patterns of our battle flags while the fort is burning."

Furthermore, TOTEM's rich, warm production unites the disparities into one whole. With longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou overseeing the recording and mixing at his hallowed GodCity Studio, mastering was handled by the great Carl Saff (Bambara, Bonnie Prince Billy). 

The cover art, created by Paul Nitsche, consists of hand sculpted organic elements and mixed media collage, photographed using traditional tintype photography and darkroom methods. Nitsche is known widely for his artwork for Dazzling Killmen's Face of Collapse album.

With TOTEM set to be released to the world on July 11th, the path is cleared for whatever Pygmy Lush chooses to do next. "Yes, we will be writing new music ASAP," declares Mike Taylor.

Tracklist:
1) House of Blood (Butch’s Monster)
2) It Wasn’t a Compliment (Martial Law Blues)
3) A Little Boy and His Bulldozer
4) Algorithmic Mercy (Prayers Printed Directly into a Shredder)
5) A Famous Jock (The Rest of Us)
6) February Song
7) Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound
8) The Puppeteer
9) Post-Punk in the Wrong Hands
10) Artistic Blood / Blanket Out the Sun (in a world of better things)
11) Nonsensical Whimper

TOTEM recording lineup:
Chris Taylor - vocals, bass
Mike Taylor - guitar

Mike Widman - guitar
Erin McCarley - bass, vocals
Andy Gale - drums

2025 lineup:
Chris Taylor - guitar, vocals
Mike Taylor - guitar

Mike Widman - guitar, bass
Johnny Ward - guitar, vocals
Andy Gale - drums

Upcoming shows:
May 30 - Toronto, ON @ Prepare the Ground (w/ Baroness, Yob)
June 8 - Richmond, VA @ The Warehouse (w/ Young Widows)

Discography:
TOTEM (2025, Persistent Vision Records)
Demos / B-Sides (2016, Self-Released)
Old Friends (2011, Lovitt Records)
Cold World / Guilt 7" (2011, Lovitt Records)
Split w/ Turboslut (2009, Exotic Fever)
Mount Hope (2008, Lovitt Records)
Bitter River (2007, Robotic Empire)

Live photo by Michael Thorn

HEAVY HALO - "Final Fall"

HEAVY HALO: NYC alt-industrial alchemists go acoustic on new single "Final Fall"

Brooklyn-based alt-industrial duo Heavy Halo have revealed their latest single, “Final Fall."

Stream the official music video, here: https://outburn.com/all-features/heavy-halo-final-fall/

Outburn Magazine reports: "Heavy Halo is a NYC-based duo mixing alt-rock and industrial elements. The new album Damaged Dream will be released July 25, 2025 on Silent Pendulum Records. While much of Heavy Halo's work has an alt-industrial vibe, in the spirit of artists such as Nine Inch Nails or HEALTH, the new single 'Final Fall' has a gentler acoustic sound, inspired by bands like Smashing Pumpkins."

Heavy Halo vocalist McKeever states: “When your future looks bleak and your past continues to wilt you from the inside you’re trapped in the prison of the present, desperately trying to hold it all together. Are you resigned to this nightmare, one long final descent into oblivion? Or will you awaken and escape the ground somehow? 'Final Fall' is the bruised and vulnerable closer of Damaged Dream that asks this eternal question.”

Pre-order Damaged Dream here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/collections/heavy-halo

Photo by Michelle LoBianco

Out today: BRONSON ARM - Casket Schwagg

Casket Schwagg, the sophomore album by Bronson Arm, is out today on Learning Curve Records.

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, Bronson Arm consists solely of baritone guitarist/vocalist Blake Bickel and drummer Garrett Yates. Ominous like Sonic Youth, explosive like Fugazi, the duo delivers austere anthems that swell with tension and burst with cathartic hooks. 

Casket Schwagg was mixed by Brandon Eggleston (Swans, Helmet). Across nine hard-rocking songs, Bickel and Yates fully mesmerize with a mix of martial rhythms, doomy tones, and euphoric melodies. 

Stream and buy the album, here: https://bronsonarm.bandcamp.com/album/casket-schwagg

"'Casket Schwagg' is a strong return which showcases Bronson Arm hitting their stride. The band finely fuses weight, rhythm, and tension into a compelling sound which grabs attention from the very first listen."
–Destroy//Exist

"Bronson Arm, the noise rock minimalists, have got a new album coming out called 'Casket Schwagg.'"
–Getting It Out

"Blake Bickel’s baritone guitar churns like a machine chewing gravel, Garrett Yates’ drums slam down with cold precision, and Bickel’s voice rises above, sharp and unyielding."
–Idioteq

"Kalamazoo noise duo Bronson Arm are ready to serve up some surprisingly catchy noise rock on their upcoming sophomore album 'Casket Schwagg'... Consisting of baritone guitarist and vocalist Blake Bickel and drummer Garrett Yates, the group packs a huge punch with just two members."
–New Noise

"Michigan’s Bronson Arm dazzled with their self titled debut only a year ago and are back with a bigger, bolder, and more aggressive beast on 'Casket Schwagg'... This is noise rock for those who love the genre but also for those who are adventurous and enjoy hearing something fresh and new."
–Nine Circles

"One of the things that makes me happy, when I'm listening to the album... I go, 'You know what this sounds like? This sounds like a Bronson Arm record.' It's a fresh set of songs, but it's a fresh set of songs by a band whose sound I like and I recognize."
–Whatever Comes Next 

Out today: TONGUECUTTER - Minnow

Minnow, the new album by Tonguecutter, is out today on Learning Curve Records.

The trio, based in Iggy Pop's hometown of Muskegon, Michigan, delivers intense and unorthodox punk-metal bangers – equal parts riot grrrl and thrash. Boasting jubilant riffage, prog tendencies, and almighty howling rage, DRI, Voivod, and Babes in Toyland are all valid reference points. Vocalist/guitarist Chantal Roeske is a formidable bandleader with a soaring voice and a propensity for odd time signatures, whose path in music began more than 30 years ago; Minnow puts her passion and talent on full display.

Stream the music video for "Big 'Ol Tree," a song which Roeske describes as "an ode to bodily autonomy for women," here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2xNvXlV95M

Stream the album, here:
https://www.scenepointblank.com/news/records/2025/05/01/spb-featured-stream-tonguecutter-minnow/

Buy the album, here: 

https://tonguecutter.bandcamp.com/album/minnow

"Blending the heavier side of grunge with powerful guitars and dynamic vocals, the band's sound is both intense and hard hitting, delivering an electrifying energy that demands attention."
–Destroy//Exist

"This album has been over 30 years in the making. Well, not literally... What I mean is, we don’t get to 'Minnow' by Tonguecutter without first going through Hole, DRI, maybe a little Soundgarden and Cave In, definitely a bit of Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill... For something to so expertly call back to memories and the past without getting lost in itself is praiseworthy alone – stack fierce and emblematic writing and performances on top of it and you have an album representing the best 2025 has to offer."
–Everything Is Noise

"[Tonguecutter] is a trio from Muskegon, MI, with a sound that is heavy and aggressive... A myriad of influences sneak into the songs, sometimes mixing up time signatures and drawing from thrash to riot grrrl to punk and noise rock."
–Scene Point Blank