5 Charms 10.26

Gash - at least you know what you're laughing at (Eau Claire, WI; 2026)

A big empty house and it smells like a coffin

I'm just going to say "Spirit of the Beehive" one time. There, I said it. Gash creates experimental indie rock music with all kinds of strange studio wackery. Tape-delayed acoustic guitars, found sounds, fuzzed out electronics, glitched samples, lo-fi drumming. 8 tracks, most of which don't contain lyrics, none of which are long enough for, nor do they have the structure to be considered, pop music. Of the songs on at least you know..., "Holiday Time" sort of has a verse and chorus structure, "Risking Heaven" sort of has lyrics, and "Eyelids" is pretty much a slowcore song. But it's all of the fun stuff draped around the songs that makes this an exciting album to listen to. In fact, it's so good, I'm going to listen to it again. And I'll probably order the tape. If you enjoy weird energy and pieces of art songs doled out like Halloween candy, you'll love this album.

Humbird - Morning When it Comes (Eau Claire, WI/Minneapolis, MN; 2026)

Glory Be to the winged thing
To the feathers and fur
To the claws and the birds

Humbird, the roots pop band led by singer/songwriter Siri Undlin, began as a solo project back before COVID. She released the excellent Pharmakon in 2019, then a series of singles, all very squarely in the "indie folk" realm. With 2024's noisy Right On, Undlin found some perfect collaborators in the form of bass player Pat Keen and percussionist/producer Shane Leonard. Her newest collection, Morning When it Comes, is a continuation of her sunny pop songwriting, with a return to the more acoustic-based production of her earlier records. The album opens with "Daughter of Empire" and "Make Believe," both strong contenders for some of Undlin's best pop tunes. "Hey Big Dipper" is a beautiful, nylon-string and pedal steel lullaby. The album has a nice assortment of melancholy tunes, including "February" and "Blood Moon," both previously released as singles. Songs have light touches of piano, pedal steel, bass, but all revolve around Undlin's vocals, often harmonizing with herself, and acoustic guitar. Final song "Morning When it Comes" is a somber prayer to the living world for protection and guidance in a dark world. Most recently playing as a three-piece rock band, Humbird is embarking on a solo tour soon. Pick up the album and check them out live if you can!

Ellie Jackson - Stay Soft (Milwaukee, WI; 2026)

I forgot how we first met--
Was it building pipe bombs or marijuana cigarettes?

After years of playing shows off the strength of a few singles, Milwaukee songwriter Ellie Jackson has finally released her debut full length. And it goes like this: BANG POW CRASH. "Stay Soft" bursts out of the speakers with guitar feedback crackling all over Jackson's clear but laid-back vocals. "Time is like Taffy" repeats the trick, "1000 Head of Garlic" multiplies it. On "Skin," she croons, "If I ever choose to stay the same / take me outside and read me anything," and a major theme of the album seems to be growth and questioning how much of change is becoming a new person vs. learning to love yourself in a new way. A lot of what Jackson does melodically reminds me of fellow visionary Milwaukee artist Caley Conway, but there's also shades of Mitski at her most artful and raucous. The digital album has been out for a few weeks, and of course I'm obsessing over the sounds without knowing for sure who Jackson's collaborators are--probably Conway's backing vocals, pedal steel by Will Hansen, bass likely from Barry Clark. It's a good, loud, indie Americana record from start to finish. Catch Jackson and her band on tour this fall.

Killer High Life - Found Dead (Milwaukee, WI; 2026)

Fuck you,
fuck her,
and fuck all your shitty friends

After spending the morning with Humbird, Killer High Life's 4-song EP sounds like a blender in traffic, a scrambled signal devolving into fuzz, dirt, and breaking glass. It's a nice palette cleanser! "Fisticuffs" is elegantly titled, pummels you with its caustic attitude. The sludgy "Jerk Chicken Rub" smears along for almost 5 minutes before "Vertebrae" launches into a grunge punk maelstrom with acoustic guitar and shrieking. The band continues in a vaguely 90s alt rock direction with "Kittens and Puppies," quite possibly the group's closing statement. The album art and promotion for the EP consist of the band members going missing, then found dead. Lead singer/guitarist Brennan Deshotel recently started a PhD in engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, so maybe the band is on hiatus for a while. Either way, this is a great 4-song collection from a band that has called Milwaukee's DIY scene its home for a few years.

Able Baker - Able Baker (Madison, WI/Chicago, IL; 2026)

over a dark cloud
pink horizon leveled the town
are your ears ringing loud?
cause I’d die if the secret got out

Sort of odd that a band that's been releasing consistently great music for a decade has just released what they consider their debut album. Tim Anderson, the songwriter/guitarist behind Able Baker (no relation), began his musical journey in Madison, growing the scene alongside artists like Combat Naps, Disq, Graham Hunt, and Dear Mr. Watterson. All of them have a vaguely midwest-by-way-of-pacific-northwest emo/slowcore indie sound. That is--the sound of guitars in garages in the mid to late 90s. And sad guys singing songs. Able Baker does it better than many, capturing the tricky vocal melodies of Pedro the Lion and Elliot Smith and stringing them over crunchy guitars like Christmas lights. This version of Able Baker writes and performs out of Chicago, although the album was produced and engineered with Isaac deBroux-Slone and Logan Severson, both of Disq. What does it all mean? Just that this is really really good indie rock music, slacker vocals and acrobatic guitar solos. Chill, sad music for autumn.