5 Charms 09.26

Mantis - You Get Lost (Eau Claire, WI; 2026)

[ominous guitar picking]

Songwriter/guitarist Scott Burton builds melodies and riffs from his finger-picked electric guitar lines, which slowly expand to become curtains of sound filtering light onto the floor of your living room while the dog sleeps in his chair. Accompanied by drummer Sean Carey (Bizhiki, Bon Iver, S. Carey) and the stately upright bass playing of Jeremy Boettcher, Mantis is a revelatory expression of joy and trouble. Butterfly drones, snare cicada rattle, bowed bass like beetles crawling in a cornfield. This is labeled "experimental" and "jazz," but it lacks the academic winks and headaches of those genres. It's organic music, the creation of three people who know the skin of their instruments like their own teeth, but there is a shine to the sound. Sure, there might be some complicated rhythms, and it might be wholly improvised the way candlelight is improvised, but this is just a collection of wordless prayers and breathe. You feel it with your ears and your heart.

Cause and Control - Locus of Control (Madison, WI; 2026)

No one taught me to
Sweep up the ashes, time to move on

Another meticulously produced record by Madison's Isaac deBroux-Slone (Disq), Cause and Control create intricate, post-psych indie rock, kinda sleezy, kinda sweet, heavy on the guitars. "Same Mistakes" opens with weird dissonance as guitar and bass play off of each other before singer Griffin Beronio jumps in with his measured vocals. The song showcases what Cause and Control have become known for in the Madison scene--exuberant and technical musicianship mixed with punk energy. "Paved" continues this by putting a poppy hook over the top of some jazzy chords and auxiliary percussion. "Don't Believe" provides another showcase for the drumming of Scott Lonzaga who anchors the rhythm section while Beronio screams over the stuttering groove. This is a really fun record, a bunch of punk songs from people who have fun playing music for people who want to have fun listening to music, which is not always the case in the indie scene.

Slow Pulp - Melodie (Madison, WI/Chicago, IL; 2026)

Did I fuck it up again?
Maybe leave it to a better man
Who can tell himself this is how it's supposed to be

Although they've lived in Chicago since 2018, all four band members met in Madison and started the band in the Madison scene. Moving to the big city got them signed to major label Anti- and put them on national tours with Death Cab for Cutie and The Pixies. The first three singles are out now for the new record that releases on 9/18. Slow Pulp writes really nice indie/bedroom rock songs. Verging on shoegaze, especially lead single "Better Man" with its crushing intro layering of guitars, drums, and keys, the songs have a nice push and pull between quiet and loud, always allowing lots of space for singer Emily Massey's reverbed and layered vocals. "Not for Nothing" is a keyboard-based tune that is so sincere it makes you feel like you stumbled onto Massey's practice space some smokey and quiet weeknight. "Spill" closes out the singles, a mid-tempo tune that flirts with dream pop territory: feedback hovering on the edges, drones rising and falling. These are dense pop songs, full of the assured emotion and creativity of a band that has played together for over a decade. I can't wait to hear the rest of the record. Slow Pulp headlines a hometown show at The Sylvee on November 21, with fellow break-out local indie guitar pop artist Graham Hunt.

Charlie Koz - Reverie (Madison, WI; 2026)

But I miss the taste of cigarettes I miss the smell of rain
I walked you to the corner store you called me Charlemagne

Inspired by and dedicated to his late grandmother, who is pictured on the album cover, Charlie Koz has produced a charming and subtle indie folk album that is as gossamer as its title. Reverie is Koz's second solo album, applying the same care and attention to acoustic detail that he brought to LINE's recent The Woodside Sessions EP. He moves between vocal and instrumental pieces, switching out piano for gently plucked banjo, trading singing duties with Efrat Koppel to give texture to the full album. In a record of mostly quiet folk songs, the poppy "Reverie," with electronic elements and slinking bassline, provides a nice change of pace. "Your Love Feels Like Laughter" is another full-band song, but with a very different feel than "Reverie." One of the joys of this album is that in spite of the variety of songs, from solo piano tunes to a cowboy ballad, you can hear Koz's artistic voice in each. I recommend picking this one up and listening as an album, which almost plays like a mixtape. Perfect for a fall road trip.

Rucksack Revolution - Polish Flats and Watercress (Stevens Point, WI / Appleton, WI; 2026)

Did I tell you 'bout the time
I turned into someone brand new?

Rucksack Revolution is a traditional folk/songwriter duet album between Adam Gruel (Space Burritos, Horseshoes and Handgrenades) and Sarah Vos (Dead Horses). Their vocals blend perfectly, he with his western Wiscountry twang and she with her eastern Wiscountry drawl, and there is a bit of the Gillian Welch/David Rawlings aspect to their trading off of acoustic guitar picking and soloing. This is truly an album of duets; the artists could very well be sitting together in a living room somewhere with mics set up to capture the spontaneity and excitement of two songwriters working together. Occasional jams come through, particularly on Vos's "Better Way" and "Long Time," but most of the songs are quiet observations on change, hope, and feeling a sense of belonging. It's a nice acoustic album by two of Wisconsin's most respected contemporary folk songwriters.