I'd like to dedicate this month's email to the memory of Steve Jones. He played in some fantastic bands, most notably The Dry Heathens. Steve was also a co-founder of Churchkey Records, the Durham-based label which released a magnificent catalog of albums by Hammer No More the Fingers, Tooth, Shirlette Ammons, Spider Bags, and more. On top of all that, he was an absolute delight of a person to be around.

I am fairly certain the first time I met Steve was back in 2009, when I was still in school and helping a classmate with a film project for the Troika Music Festival. Steve was one of many people in that Durham scene who made me feel welcome during a time I was still kind of figuring out who I was and where I belonged. It was always a treat to watch him play bass, chat over some Bojangles at "¡Que Viva!," the annual Churchkey Hopscotch Day Party, or randomly bump into him at a local show.

Life is short and so much of its beauty comes from the people we surround ourselves with. Cherish that time you have with your community. If you don't have a community, find one - or build one! Got to a local show. Start a band. Play a local show. Book a local show. Make weird art. Write a blog or a zine. Start a radio show. Spend time with your friends and family. Don't let the horrors of life keep you from living it.

Quarterly Oversights

There were some records that came out between January and March of this year that I didn't hear until after I put together the monthly playlists. These are records that, had I heard them in time, would very much be on said playlists.

January:

Undulathund - Undulathund [Jazzy Heavy Psych]

February

Landowner - Assumption [Post-Punk]

March:

MEMORIALS - All Clouds Bring Not Rain [Psych-Folk]

Reese McHenry - Forever [Garage Rock]

SERPENT - Absolutisme Zen [Post-Hardcore]

April 2026 Monthly Report Playlist:

As with every monthly report, this playlist is a reflection of music released during the past month that ended up in my heavy rotation. Some monthly playlists are a bit more sonically diverse than others. This is not one of those as most of the new albums I listened to this month were psych & noise rock oriented (or some tangential shade of genre therein). Not a lot of jazz or folk on this one. Maybe next month? Maybe not? If something caught your ear last month, please let me know what it was! It might end up in the next Quarterly Oversights.

Click here to listen while you read along below.

Palmar de Troya - III [Post-Punk]

If you liked the Izzy & The Black Trees record that came out earlier this year, you'll probably enjoy this album, too.

Persimmon - Ad Nauseam [Doomy Emogaze?]

Raleigh's Persimmon released this EP and then promptly broke up. I like a band that is hard to pigeonhole and this release felt like they were finding their sound.

Population II - Gimmicks [Psych]

Montreal psych band goes a bit synthy on this EP.

White Canyon & The 5th Dimension - IV [Psychedelic Rock]

A Global Garage find from way back when, this Brazilian duo is back with another solid psych rock release. Vibey, jangly, kinda Krauty. A bit fuzzier and darker than something like Khurangbin or BALTVS, but if those bands or general Levitation fare catch your fancy, you'll probably dig it. And - if you do - take a dive into their back catalog 'cuz there's more where that came from.

Object Hours - Solved by Walking Hours [Instrumental Psych Rock/Krautrock]

This NC supergroup - featuring Nora Rogers (Solar Halos, Curtains of Night), Jenny Waters (Work Clothes) and Harrison Haynes (Les Savy Fav) - is back with another sonic journey. This flavor of psych rock is fuzzy and hypnotic. Enjoy the ride.

Crippled Black Phoenix - Sceaduhelm [Progressive Rock]

I've been following CPB since I first grabbed their 200 Tons of Bad Luck compilation from a bin while interning at Red Eye Distribution back in 2009. CPB is another band that's a bit hard to pigeonhole. Some post-rock, some prog rock, some "dark rock." The band's based in the UK, but one of the cool things about this album is that two songs feature vocals from Justin Storms of hometown heroes Wailin Storms. Always cool when NC musicians show up in unexpected - but fitting - places.

Gnod - Chronicles of Gnowt (Vol. 1) [Psych Drone]

I feel like it's safe to say no Gnod album sounds like any other. On this album - the first of an upcoming trilogy - not a single song sounds like the other. I selected "Shadow Mirror" for this playlist because it reminds me of US Christmas. Outside of that track, there's a lot of drone and psych on the record. If you like Earth, "All Tunnel No Light" will probably appeal to you. Very vibey. Gnod keeps me on my toes and I like that about them.

Sunbearer - Uktena [Doom Metal]

Listening to Uktena you can tell this Asheville, NC band put a lot of thought into the album's construction and production. It's well structured, captivating doom that fans of Electric Wizard and Monolord will likely enjoy.

The Shits - Diet of Worms [Noise Rock]

One of my favorite albums of the year. Unrelenting, punky noise rock. Really fits the mood of the times. If you like Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine-era Gnod, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (AKA Pigs x7), or some early Brutalism-era IDLES, you'll probably get sucked into this one, too.

In case you missed them, check out the January, February, and March 2026 mixtapes as well.

Shows of Note (for those in central NC)

Mid-June's gonna be busy.

5/15-16 - Bull City Metal Fest (@ Stanczyks)

5/29 - Zealotrous's final show (@ Local 506)

6/11 - BALTVS (@ Cat's Cradle)

6/12 - MAKE album release show w/ Tooth & Nathan Bowles (@ Cats Cradle Back Room)

6/13 - Long Relief / Cor de Lux / Chicken Ranch Roadshow (@ Kings)

6/17 - Playboy Manbaby (@ Local 506)

6/21 - Gozu / Restless Spirit / Crystal Spiders / Archaos (@ Chapel of Bones)

6/25 - Slow Teeth (@ Rubies on Five Points)

7/17 - Wailin Storms album release show (@ Stanczyks)

7/19 - Slumbering Sun (@ The Pinhook)

8/5 - The Body / BIG|BRAVE (@ The Pinhook)

Someone recently put together a website to aggregate all local Triangle shows. Not everything is up there yet, but there are way more venues now than when I last looked so the creator seems receptive to feedback. Very mobile friendly, too. Bookmark that shit.

Global Garage on WHUP FM

This Sunday (5/10) we have a "Dealer's Choice" (lots of new music, some old, no general theme) show, next Sunday we'll have a "Spring Vibes" playlist followed by another "Dealer's Choice." We're aiming to end the month with a spoken word/experimental/poetry-focused themed episode.

WHUP just had the spring "fundathon." If you want to donate to community radio or become a sustainer, you can certainly do so outside of the "fundathon" weeks. There are a bunch of other amazing radio shows on this station worth tuning in to!

Listen live to Global Garage on WHUP every Sunday from 1pm-3pm EST or stream episode archives for two weeks on the WHUP website.

Let's Make A Mixtape Podcast

Targeting September release for Season 3.

Doomsday Profit

Shows are going to be infrequent this year, so catch 'em while you can. We're hard at work on writing so you can be certain new songs will sneak into upcoming setlists.

6/19 - Stanczyks - Durham (With Weight Shift, StormToker, Crop) [Tickets]

8/28 - TBA (Durham, save the date)

Bite Back!

Thanks for making it this far. I'd love feedback if you have any, please let me know what you think! What would you like to see more of? Less of? What albums did you love so far this year that I've totally missed? What albums are you looking forward to? What shows are you looking forward to?

Until next month. Keep those ears open, keep those minds open, and keep those borders open.

-Ryan