Local Music Singles Roundup: October 2025
Local Music Reviews
You’ve just become the reader of the most uncommon of reviews, embarking on the strangest musical adventure of your lives. The genres chosen are unknown, but the talent is unmatched. Venture forward as you’re about to enter… SLUG’s Local Music Singles Roundup! (Insert The Twilight Zone theme.)
Lab Animals
“Camper Van”
Toilgek Records
Street: 05.23.2025
Lab Animals = Viagra Boys + 100 gecs x Foster The People’s “Helena Beat” music video
Now, I’ve never tested the treacherous practice of snake-charming. However, if those cobras were two-headed Hazard-Vipers and my pungi was powered by a car battery, I think it would sound close to “Camper Van.” It’s a clunky mix of bug-out hysteria that I wasn’t expecting in a local track… and yet, I can’t get enough of it. There’s a virtual, futuristic feel, cross-pollinating the emo rock DNA with ambient techno synths. The moody whine from The Professor’s vocals keeps listeners grounded, but this is no time to relax. The churning guitar riffs and ghostly distortion could crunch the Mojave down to whipped cottage cheese. Blending this with the changing dial of radio broadcast crackle is the type of post-cyberpunk sound that helps prepare you for whatever comes next, whether a night you’ll never forget or a world war you hope to forget. See you in the vault, boys! —Alton Barnhart
River Fuelling
Tanana Valley at 4.441 MHz
Self-Released
Street: 07.17.2025
River Fuelling = the radio part of “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd + bird noises
Noise — it’s all around you. You hear noise all day long, but do you ever listen to noise? If you’re listening to Tanana Valley at 4.441 MHz, then you’re most certainly listening to noise, as it is a collection of noises sampled from radio frequencies and recorded ambience in the rural Tanana Valley region of Alaska. No, never in my life have I said, “Gee, I wish I could hear Half-Life’s Combine radio chatter backdropped by birds,” but then again, I have never said that I don’t want that. I really couldn’t tell you with my whole chest what I think about this album because I don’t entirely know what I think. But I do think if you approach it with an open mind and 30 free minutes (this can be spent driving, or in my case, working), you may just be surprised by how much you like it. —Cam Elliott
cansisco
“between us”
Self-Released
Street: 06.27.2025
cansisco = Peach Pit + a-ha
Hearing cansisco ripping on the synth for the first time, I thought, “Did Tears for Fears and Cuco just create a sweet, meditative song baby?” The automatic feeling of nostalgia that cansisco constructs in their latest single “between us” makes it easy for the audience to get engrossed in their own thoughts, while continuously bopping their head to the catchy tune. There’s an ‘80s indie vibe that is balanced by a dream-pop ambiance, creating a unique melody that I can’t help grooving right along with. Although the lyrics are subtle, cansisco writes about the healing journey after falling in love, being left heartbroken, then coming to terms with entering a new phase of life. So it might be time to retire those self-help books, because a message of empowerment and self-growth can be found in the discography of this Utah pop group. —Heather Homewood
Lounge Monkey
“Fields of Indigo”
Green House
Street: 03.07.2025
Lounge Monkey = Sonic Youth + Pond
Lounge Monkey dipped their paws into the muck and the mire in this energizing, explorative jam. Most of the track is confidently uptempo, with fuzzy guitar yielding a distorted, wobbling tone layered by vocals that bring to mind a more self-assured Thom Yorke. Just shy of two minutes, they break it down, pivoting to a gentle guitar picking for a few bars while the drums slow up and light cymbal crashes accent the beat. They escalate again with a raging guitar solo and arrogant punk vocals to close us out. The ease with which they transition shows they know how to develop and connect divergent ideas. It’s an impressive feat for such a young group. Most of all, it’s listenable as hell, and while you can hear their inspirations, they’re clearly doing their own thing. They’ve also recently adopted this psychedelic-grunge sound, so believe me when I say: There’s more to come. —Kyle Forbush
Mitchee
“Buzzkill”
Self-Released
Street: 08.30.2024
Mitchee = Olivia Rodrigo + Shelly / Fiona Apple
How old is too old for angst? Even after I’ve moved out of my parents’ place, stopped wearing winged eyeliner every day and turned auto-caps back on my phone, I still have an unrelenting desire to roll my eyes at the world’s affinity for hope and joy. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hallmark of a buzzkill. It functions mainly (as TikTok therapists claim) as a trauma response and coping mechanism. Just like listening to dreary, depressing music for the sake of catharsis. Mitchee is able to encapsulate the feeling of crying on your bathroom floor over a boy who does not deserve the tears. It’s an empty locket you find in your mother’s jewelry box. It’s a bouquet of dried roses that lives in the back of your closet. In addition to capturing the moody essence of the inside of a femme’s heart, the recording quality is top-notch, and it’s massively impressive that the track is self-released. If you’re feeling as unheard, lost and scared as a puppy, Mitchee is here to let you know that you’re not alone and being a bitch is sometimes necessary. —Marzia Thomas
Willöh
“Better Off Dead”
Midnight Records
Street: 07.11.2025
Willöh = The Cramps + Nancy Sinatra
Fresh on the scene, the brand-new, all-female garage rock trio Willöh is bewitching in black lipstick and go-go boots. The band’s sophomore single “Better Off Dead” is a bluesy, crooning ode to a bygone era, using words like “debonaire” and referencing the Chelsea Hotel in ‘68. Their spooky, sexy aesthetic is dialed in; their powerhouse vocals and doo-wop harmonies are flawlessly executed. If you’ve ever wished that the Hex Girls would escape their Scooby-Doo direct-to-video prison and manifest in flesh and blood on a local stage, you’re in luck. “Better Off Dead” is a starkly different track from their debut release “Sick!” — a sassy punk anthem drawn from the lineage of ‘90s third-wave feminism, the granddaughter of Kathleen Hanna and Carrie Brownstein. With an aptitude for multiple genres, I hope to see the band lean into more rockabilly than riot grrrl. But regardless of the path they take, they’re Willöh, and they’re gonna put a spell on you! —Asha Pruitt
Read more Local Music Single Roundups here:
Local Music Singles Roundup: September 2025
Local Music Singles Roundup: August 2025
