After a quiet start to the year, it felt like I was getting back on my feet this month. I went to my first live shows of the year. First, I caught one of my favorite local bands, SkyTigers, having a record release show. It was a blast hearing the new tunes in a live setting and it was a great incentive to venture out and brave the cold. SkyTigers were playing in support of Boston legends Tree, who are still going strong after all these years. The beauty of this show was that the venue and my home share the same bus line. It was a ten minute ride to and from. The little victories.
A couple days later, I made my way to the slightly larger TD Garden to watch Nine Inch Nails perform a near flawless set on their Peel It Back Tour. I was lucky enough to catch this tour last September in Brooklyn where they played two nights. While the sets were practically identical, there were moments that were unique to each night. On this particular night in Boston, Trent Reznor began the show alone sat at his piano on a small stage centered at the floor. Starting with a haunting rendition of “Something I Can Never Have”, the crowd got a chance to hear a deep cut with “Non-Entity”, a track made available on a tour sampler CD fifteen years ago.
Broken down into four acts, the tour starts with a stripped down section with members of the band slowly joining Reznor at the center stage. The main stage begins under wraps of a mesh tapestry showcasing visuals to highlight the band’s signature nihilistic sound. The final act shows the stage “peeled back” with nothing separating the band and audience. Here the band rips into their most popular tracks with an arena filled with a thick fog and blinding, pulsating lights. Sandwiched between the two main stage acts is a return to the center stage as tour opener Boys Noize joins Reznor and Atticus Ross as they are able to turn a major sports arena into a warehouse goth club with ease.
The inclusion of Boys Noize has provided a spark to NIN’s vast discography and has helped make the band sound as fresh as ever. After hearing a song like “She’s Gone Away” mixed with the instrumental to Noize’s “Girl Crush” makes me wanting not only want a collaboration album but I now want additional 90 minute set of remixes for my eyes and ears. We’ve been fortunately blessed so far with the releases of the Challengers Remixed and Tron Ares: Divergence soundtracks and fingers crossed we get some sort of an official release for their remixed version of “Closer”, which has easily become the highlight of the show every night on this tour.
In some sadder news, Brad Arnold, the vocalist for the band 3 Doors Down passed away this month from kidney cancer at the age of 47. While going through my retrospective project of revisiting singles that charted in 2001, I reacquainted myself to 3 Doors Down once again, since “Kryptonite” was a massive radio hit back then. Hearing this news of Arnold’s passing made me go back and re-listen to their first two albums, which I remembered liking quite a bit back then. Compared to the music from that early 2000’s post-grunge genre of that era, I had always found 3 Doors Down to be a cut above the rest.
Sure, “Kryptonite” and “Here Without You” were ubiquitous then and still saccharine now, but cuts like “Duck and Run” and “The Better Life”, off of the album of the same name, as well as “Ticket To Heaven” and “Going Down In Flames” from 2002’s Away From The Sun were all great rock radio songs. I’ll always have a soft spot for this band no matter what especially since their single “The Road I’m On” was a soundtrack to my life when I felt like my wheels were spinning and was feeling uninspired as a listless twenty year old. That song still hit me in my feelings listening to it on the night I learned of Arnold’s passing when I went on a little walk through my neighborhood.
Onto the albums!
Absolutely – Paracosm
A paracosm is described as a prolonged, detailed fantasy world and it’s a fitting title for the latest for the artist Absolutely. Paracosm is a delightful art-pop record that fills the room with a full lush instrumentation and fills your mind with vivid imagery. While listening to Paracosm, I felt like the album began to take off with the song “Helium” (pun sorta intended). The way the song shifted halfway through gave me a feeling of weightlessness that stopped me dead in my tracks. Absolutely (Abby-Lynn Keen, irl) masterfully weaves tales of whimsy and sorrow that deserves your full attention and imagination. My only drawback is that It feels like I’m doing this album a disservice as I am only to listen to it through headphones and not as an interactive visual experience.
Folk Physics – Artificial Light
The day I stumbled upon Folk Physics performing many years ago at the brewery up the street from me has been a pivotal point for me. In one of the few times in my life where I was speechless during a performance, I have made an effort to be more vocal and supportive of the talented local artists. In version 1.0 of this website, I reviewed the Folk Physics 2019 album Vanishing Point and it was one of my favorite listens of that year. Artificial Light continues on with that similar textured sound that feel alive. Tracks like “I Wish I Were A Hatter” and “Negative Relief” sound like a filmstrip from your childhood classroom was stuck by lightning and came to life. I want to be able to inject the groove of “Volcano Song” right into my veins and have my body pulsate at a moment’s notice. Artificial Light is an absolute delight to listen to while you soak in the beauty of the natural world or soak those dishes you said you’d wash last night and need to be whisked away.
Mandy, Indiana – Urgh
In ways that Nine Inch Nails made industrial more approachable to the masses and how Clipping gave audiences an entry point to more caustic hip hop, Mandy, Indiana and their latest offer Urgh is a diving board to help you cannonball yourself into the the black waters of noise rock. Mandy, Indiana may not exist on a map, but every track of Urgh comes from a real place. There is a pulse to Urgh that is uncertain and addicting and reveals itself more and more with every listen. The darkly enchanting “Cursive” will have you bouncing off the padded walls in no time and by the time you reach the end of “Magazine” you’ll discover that your body has lost all control and any semblance of hope, and my god it’s so freeing.
Rapper billy woods joins the band for the disorienting “Sicko!”, and while it might not have a death’s grip on you, it’s certainly not letting go and it doesn’t care if it ends up dragging you behind. The album’s closer “I’ll Ask Her” is the first time where vocalist Valentine Caulfield performs in English instead and it delivers like a sledgehammer. In a time where confronting rape culture is shockingly and disappointingly feeling less impactful, “I’ll Ask Her” is three and a half minutes of rage and it’s instantly the most powerful listen in 2026 so far. The importance and urgency is more palpable than ever.
I haven’t felt this way about an album that sounds like this since The Knife’s Silent Shout. I certainly hope this album and Mandy, Indiana have the same staying power.
Megadeth – Megadeth
[website // bandcamp // instagram]
Imagine my surprise when I saw that a Megadeth album debuted at the top of the charts in the year of our lord 2026. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to see what this was all about. I’ve never been much of an appreciator, let alone a fan of this band. I enjoyed 1997’s Cryptic Writings if only for it’s two radio rock singles “Trust” and “Almost Honest” and there was also the song “Crush ‘Em” that was featured on the World Championship Wrestling album/soundtrack WCW Mayhem that ripped. Beyond that, I never paid much attention to what the band was doing. I’m glad I gave Megadeth a spin, though. Frontman/Mastermind Dave Mustaine announced that this will be the final album as Megadeth and this album does indeed sound like a band’s final act. Instead of trying to sound like a pissed off twenty-something and landing flat, Mustaine snarls and broods sounds like the pissed off sixty-something he is and the result is quite enjoyable.
I felt that the album shined in the moments where the edge and sharpness dulled itself to reveal a tenderness worthy of a ride into the sunset. “The Last Note” is fitting in it’s epic nature as well as it’s moving fragility. Mustaine delivers the epilogue to a forty year career “So here’s my last will, my final testament, my final sneer/I came, I ruled, now I disappear”, as the album fades to black leaving me covered in goosebumps. It was beautiful. As the proverbial credits begin to roll, “Ride The Lightning” screams into your ears as a fitting curtain call and tip of the hat to his former life as a member of Metallica thus not only closing the circle but completely finishing the story. Take a bow, Dave Mustaine.
SkyTigers – Injustice For All
“Wanted to leave my legacy but you salted the earth and left this place a hellscape” shouts Brian Linehan on “Immortelvision”, the opening salvo on the latest effort for the punk/thrash metal outfit SkyTigers. Injustice For All condenses the state of the world over the last twenty five years within the same amount of minutes and is equal parts despondent, cynical, and cathartic. As I stated earlier, I was fortunate enough to catch SkyTigers as they played a show celebrating the release of the record. As one of the most hard-hitting bands in the area, they continue to not disappoint as what you hear on the album is played with the same intensity on stage. Guitarist Rochelle Ferguson is an absolute powerhouse and shines on Injustice For All. While it seems like the world is going to hell and it feels utterly hopeless out there, there’s solace having SkyTigers still proving aural molotov cocktails.
Starbenders – The Beast Goes On
[website // bandcamp // instagram]
Cinematic glam rock is like catnip to me and I was so happy to find a fresh batch when I listened to The Beast Goes On. Every track on the album is hard hitting and has melodies that are equal parts glitter and bitter. Front woman Kimi Shelter (amazing name, btw) gives a performance for the ages and gives this album some real knockout power. “Nothing Ever Changes” sounds like something from Wolf Alice’s playbook and is just bursting with infectious energy and blasting “Somebody Else” in my earbuds made me feel like I was in a movie montage from the early 90’s. Closing out The Beast Goes On is a silky cover of Bad Religion’s “21st Century (Digital Boy)” whose themes of vapid consumerism culture rings true today as it did over thirty years ago. Same as it ever was.
Sports – Sports
[website // bandcamp // instagram]
It’s never much fun trying to find out more about an artist and crashing into digital brick walls and dead ends in my searching efforts. I had already dealt with it earlier this article searching for more information about Absolutely and I was also getting absolutely nowhere with Sports. I searched “sports band” and I ended up learning about fitness trackers proving the saying correct as there’s no such things as failures just teaching opportunities. (just be sure to use code IMEANTTOLISTEN at checkout for 15% off). After comparing and contrasting some wearables to possibly help me track and fret over how I rest and recover, I did finally discover that Sports are a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based duo who have been making music for well over a decade.
Using a palette that runs the full gamut a dance pop band is, Sports can get downright chill-y with the cool “My Superstar” and “Don’t Forget About Me” both of which could calm your heart rate to get you in that restorative zone I’d just recently read so much about. “If You Want Me” is a toe-tapper that slickly uses a synth lead and by the end of the track I’m making a stank face to it worthy of Bernie Worell’s finest work. “Nice 2 Meet Myself (Bang Bang Bang)” explodes with the same resonance that I felt listening to Holy Ghost or Big Data and “I Can’t Cry” had a driving force behind it that will help me tackle these upcoming tempo runs on my half marathon training plan.
Telenova – THE WARNING
[website // bandcamp // instagram]
To me, it feels like Telenova are a throwback. Perhaps the sound made me nostalgic for simpler times of decades past (ie, being an aimless teen who didn’t know better). After hearing “THE DEEP” and catching some heavy The Knocks and Dragonette vibes, I wanted to check out more. This Australian band can sure make a mean hook and this whole album is just a blast to listen to. There are moments on THE WARNING that felt like the first times listening to Sneaker Pimps or Morcheeba (“PARALYSIS GHOSTS” and “HEARTBEATS” for two). The elements of alternative rock backed with a trip-hop beat made this album an instant favorite for me. “IN THE NAME OF YOUR LOVE” could be and should be a massive radio hit if there were any humans worth a god damn still left working in that industry.
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