5 Charms 12.25

Holly and the Nice Lions - Dolores (Green Bay, WI; 2025)

They call me a witch
They don't know the half of it

Finally, another proper studio recording by one of Green Bay's longest-running garage punk bands! Holly and the Nice Lions have been performing all around Wisconsin for over a decade and Dolores is a step up in production, songwriting, and performing for the noisy trio. Singer/guitarist Holly Trasti writes about the pain and heartbreak of shitty relationships, but also the transcendence of sex and love. The songs range from sludgy doom pop to garage punk to indie grunge, all of them have the signature distorted and buzzing amps that Holly has been known for since their 2016 debut Your Favorite Ghost. Highlights of Dolores include "Husband Stitch," "(Do the) Black Hole," "Heavenly Bodies," "Get Nocturnal," and "Dolores." They play with the energy of a band that has been performing together for many years, with some nice melodic keyboard and guitar stuff that cuts through the grime. Check out their interview with Fox Cities Core where they talk about the record, then download a copy of it! Holly and the Nice Lions are:

Holly Trasti: Guitar, Vocals
Steven Spoerl: Bass, Keys
Travis Pashek: Drums, Percussion

Breakup Tour - Sorry for Your Loss (Milwaukee, WI; 2025)

the left brain's saying
"well, why doth she protest"
while the right brain's on google
pricing out electrolysis

Breakup Tour makes brainy indie pop about drifting in and out of adulthood-inspired malaise and angst. Growing up is not necessarily fun when there's no middle-class dream home/job/relationship/money that comes with it. Sure, some people thrive in the in-between spaces: van-lifers, baristas, MFA candidates, skateboarders. Then there's the hopelessly inept thirty-something of "Weezer Snuggie," who can't stay awake at work and can't sleep when they go to bed. The protagonist of "I'm in debt" explains "someday we won't have to worry about the choice between being ourselves or having a roof over our heads." In "(we still hate) the same shit!" our hero comments, "these days there’s not that much that we have in common / moved to the suburbs with your bureaucratic husband." Everything is hashtag relatable, even for those of us who are long out of that season of life, and feeling the malaise and angst of the next season. Breakup Tour bills itself as a "super group," and they sure play like it: tons of gooey guitar hooks, some tasteful screaming, lots of changes in vocalists, touches of accordion and keyboard, and of course the steady and creative drumming that ties it all together. This is a super fun record, hopefully they will play it out in 2026 so you can catch them live near you. Breakup Tour is:

Nat Otto: Drums
Sam Schrader: Vocals, Guitar
Dylan Harley Thomas: Vocals, Guitar
Amy Upthagrove: Vocals, Bass

Sapsucker - Pour Out Your Soul to an Empty Room (Madison, WI; 2025)

I grew up in Verona
Where the fuck is that???

Damn everyone. Sapsucker's home-recorded, debut record is full of well-crafted alternative rock songs. Think early 90s indie music. Guitar rock. Think of all the basement and living room shows you've been to. Sapsucker is music made for dancing, hugging, moshing, and being in community with other people who love music. Highlights include "Sparky," "Doctor Sunday," "Kathryn" and the achingly beautiful "Snowman Holiday," which is apt for this time of year. Also points for the album title, which is very relatable. Sapsucker plays jangly, poppy, sweetly earnest rock music for these cold and troubled times.

Tiny Voices - Reasons I Won't Change (Oshkosh, WI; 2025)

Post 6pm in winter
No daylight
the suns gone down

I first heard Oshkosh's Tiny Voices with their song "Minnesota? Wild" from their 2023 record Make Up Your Place and I was beyond excited to find out they were a Wisconsin band with clear influences from bands like Hot Mulligan, Arms Length and Origami Angel. "Sleep Dart" opens the new record with a cavernous echo that will resonate with anyone who has felt an emptiness they can’t fill. My personal favorite song on the album,"Yesterday", shows off what Tiny Voices does best, and meshes their emo sound with the drama of a villains ballad: key change included. Complex math rock guitar riffs paired with serene vocals bring comfort on even the coldest nights. Fairytale-like melodies followed by nostalgic drum breakdowns, knock down a fourth wall. The front man looses his composure before our ears, and the vulnerable lyrics drive us back to reality. "Gotta Blast!" is the last song you play at the bonfire, the embers that are keeping you warm before you say goodnight. The album is over, and the smoke begins to rise.

“I’ll miss you
Spilling tears
Into our coffee
In the break room”

Dryhouse Ruins - Dryhouse Ruins (Milwaukee, WI; 2025)

[ominous drones]

The world of experimental, instrumental, and improvisational music can be as grand as an empty factory or as personal as a one-room art gallery. Dryhouse Ruins improvises their entire practice AND setlist every time they play, which leads to a new experience every live performance. Ruins is a 4-piece band from Milwaukee that comes out of the indie folk, rock, and pop scenes. Jeff Mitchell, a finger-style folk/blues songwriter, and Damien Strigens were part of the original lineup of Field Report. Jim Warchol is an avant-garde composer and sometime member of Death Blues. And drummer Ben Derickson is most recently the percussive power behind Collections of Colonies of Bees. This project strips every pop impulse out of the players and together they create improvised post-rock music that writhes and swells. Much of the playing time of these four songs is guitar-based, with Derickson's drumming added at crucial moments. All of the songs reward patience and deep listening, as none are under 12 minutes. These four songs, performed this way, will never be played by the band again, so it's great to get a feel for the loose but compelling sounds they make when they are together. A unique and beautiful project by these Wisconsin musicians that comes highly recommended for your winter listening!