5 Charms 02.26

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades - Living Room (Stevens Point, WI; 2026)

It ain't goin right
But it ain't goin wrong
It's sure not looking up
But it's far from a sinking stone

From their humble beginnings as college students at UW Stevens Point, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades have put out multiple albums, toured the US, and played with some of the best regional and national bluegrass acts in the country. It's been nearly 15 years of growth for HHG and their brand of Wiscountry--kinda bluegrass, kinda roots rock, heavy on the harmonies and harmonica. This sort of upbeat americana is all over the Wisconsin scene, with acoustic jam music from Milwaukee to Eau Claire and all points between. HHG is set apart by the sheer number of actual songs on the album. These aren't bluegrass covers, traditionals, or instrumental jams, these are actual songs with lyrics, most of them relating to the changing lives of the 5 members of HHG. When the band started, they all lived in a house in Stevens Point and recorded their first record in their living room. Now, scattered across the state, each with new life experiences, they reconvened in a living room to sing new stories. All five members contribute writing, so there is a good variety from slow nostalgic tunes like "Wisconsin Moon" and "Red Bridge," to polka-core barn-burners like "Crustacean Invasion." It's a talented crew of musicians, with especially tender melodies by fiddle player Collin Mettelka and of course the emotional bass playing of Samual Odin (who also plays with Long Mama). Check out Living Room on all physical formats: CD, cassette, and vinyl!

Adam Greuel – Vocals and Guitar
Davey Lynch – Vocals, Harmonica and Accordion
Sam Odin – Bass and vocals
Russell Pedersen – Vocals and Banjo
Collin Mettelka – Vocals and Fiddle

Johanna Rose - Chain Smoking Below Sea Level (Milwaukee, WI/New Orleans, LA; 2026)

And the rain keeps coming
Up and down
And I keep running from
Town to town

In the grimy, hop-scented venues of Milwaukee's east side, Johanna Rose was known for her singing and bass playing with bands like Nickel and Rose, B8der, and New Boyz Club. These acts, along with her connections to a who's who of Milwaukee indie and folk artists, will forever endear her to the hearts of the Wisconsin scene. But her new album, Chain Smoking Below Sea Level, sonically injects the blood and beauty of New Orleans street jazz into her visionary folk punk songs. Her voice is champagned gravel. The thump of her bass garottes Fascists. Accompanied by renowned trombone, sax, and guitar players, this live-recorded album is one of the most life-affirming pieces of art you've heard this year so far. You probably haven't heard a trombone solo like the one in "Real One," a love song that proudly declares "I'll be the real one / for the wrong one / until the right one comes along." You certainly haven't heard a guitar solo like the one in "Tuba in the Sand," where Django-inspired acoustic guitar and klezmer-esque tuba collide with clarinet and smashed piano keys. Flail Records is putting out the CD and vinyl, so grab a copy of this one and check out Rose on tour somewhere near you this year.

Wristwatch - III (Madison, WI; 2026)

We got out
Before our heart filled with doubt

More garage punk from Madison. There are deep relationships between all of the local punk bands, and Bobby Hussy is a key player in the recent history of the genre. Wristwatch took a break for a bit, last releasing a record 3 years ago while Hussy took over Atwood neighborhood record store MadCity Music Exchange and continued to play locally with his other band Whippets and put out music for his No Coast label... he's a busy guy. Alternatively, this is pretty straight forward, play fast and loud punk rock. "III" takes songs from the Wristwatch catalog and applies their 4-piece live band to them, remaking former solo and duo tunes into angry bursts of pissed off pop songs. Through mostly two or three-minute tracks (although the guitar solo in "Floor" is longer than most of the other songs on the record), Wristwatch takes on apathy, depression, small towns, regrets. It's very midwestern punk, but so are we, so it's all good. When Hussy sings, "Never had the power / never count the hours," we get it. This is a fun and noisy record, so go grab it while you can. Wristwatch is:

Guitar/Vocals - Bobby Hussy
Bass/Backing Vocals - Tyler Spatz
Guitar - Ben Dederich
Drums - Eric Hartz

Whitty Remarks - Paltry Sum EP (Milwaukee, WI; 2026)

She could save us all
With one plot, I know.
Independent of
Every bulb and row.

Travis and Ashelee Whitty's previous project, Golden Coins, was a mid-00s blog band fever dream of bloops and loops, experimental pop songs that sometimes involved the live playing of a gameboy. It was a less cynical era! Over a decade later, the Whittys return with Whitty Remarks, a full band indie project that is more rock-forward than anything they have previously produced. And you know what? It's really good! Paltry Sum, their second EP under this name, has the Whittys enlisting a variety of scene superstars from bands like Field Report, Sat. Nite Duets, and Asumaya to help create a narrative about family history. Like last year's Nary a Care, Paltry Sum mixes lyric-based songs with some droning instrumentals. "Song for Delores" is the centerpiece of the record, a rumination on family by way of tending a garden. It's a sweet tune, with hushed guy/girl unison vocals and live drums. Also included is an acoustic version of the song, which relies on some nice piano work by Peter Vartanian. Over the course of the past two years, the Whittys have reentered the Milwaukee music world and brought two really strong collections of songs with them. Whitty Remarks is:

Travis Whitty – Guitar/Vox/Synth
Ashlee Whitty – Vox
With:
Christopher Porterfield, Barry Paul Clark, Luke Bassuener, Peter Vartanian, and Stephen Strupp

Wooden Ducks - Jacob's Ladder (Madison, WI; 2026)

Please close your eyes, dream of Christ,
and be reborn,
That tomorrow's so beautiful
Tomorrow makes me want to cry

The first full band release by Madison post-rock project Wooden Ducks is an 8-minute slowcore/post-punk/goth love poem to G-d. Does that make it Christian rock? Frontwoman/songwriter Samantha Seguin described her experience recording the song: "she saw stairs climbing out of her eyes, into the stars." Whatever else this is, Wooden Ducks is visionary music. You don't have to believe in the lyrics in order to believe in the sentiment. Rebirth, longing for peace, longing for refuge. Droning synth and keys are accompanied by bass, guitar, and the steady drums of Ava Antoine (Positive/Negative). "Wigeons, Scoters, Pintails, Ruddy duck in flight / They fly about lake Mendota late last night," Seguin sings, placing the song in a very specific place. It's not an abstract plea, it's a devotional psalm to a queer and ineffable hope. The b-side is a 12-minute solo drone track, which is also a version of Wooden Ducks. This young band plays out quite a bit and continues to evolve, so the next version of Wooden Ducks may sound very different. This is an inspiring beginning to an intriguing voice in experimental music. Wooden Ducks is:

Samantha Seguin - Vocals, Keys, Field Recordings, and Synths
Ava Antonie - Percussion, Field Recordings, and Chimes
Tobie Seguin - Bass and Electric Guitar Feedback