Trace Amount

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: 10/24/25

There’s always so much music being released these days it’s hard to keep up with it all at times. Luckily, you all have me to sort through it all and deliver the good stuff! As always, this batch of bands and albums is quite the eclectic one. This New Music Friday has all sorts of rock, metal, hardcore, electronic, and indie. Do check out all these bands and if they are playing near you, go see them and support your scene! At the end of the day there is no scene if there are no people there! Enjoy these picks and remember to always, Listen Eclectically! – Brian

01) The Anti-Groupies- Pretty Vicious:
The Anti-Groupies are the real deal! I’ve been a fan for quite a bit now and it’s been a blast to watch their growth not just as a live band but as songwriters. Their debut album, Pretty Vicious, is out now and it’s a righteous slab of rock. It’s got the attitude and charisma of the 90’s, a fun playfulness that has a late 70’s early 80’s glam/punk rock vibe a la Blondie and Joan Jett and a style that is bombastic. The Anti-Groupies are one of those bands that will kick you in the teeth when you see them. The fun aspect of seeing this band is there along with the feeling of wanting to mosh. Give Pretty Vicious a spin!! And on November 15 come out to The Cobalt Presents show at Bar10 at Corbin Bowl and see The Anti-Groupies live for the Highwire Daze Magazine 35th Anniversary Show!


02) Au Jus- Very Well, Then:
I find myself at times being quite intrigued with what the kids are doing musically these days. It’s been fun to watch a new generation of kids get into the things I grew up on. Sometimes there are a few bands that can capture a certain artsy essence of that time. With that in mind, let me introduce you to Au Jus and their album, Very Well, Then. This album is very much in the 90’s alternative vein with that introspective touch to it. It’s got a sort of The Smashing Pumpkins vibe mixed with Blind Melon. So it’s sort of whimsical and spacey with some sprinkles of psychedelia and shoegaze. Give Very Well, Then a spin and see where it takes you! You can catch Au Jus live Saturday October 25 at The Cobalt Presents Show at Hotel Ziggy!!


03) The Barbarians Of California- Pseudo Intellectuals Are Hating On My Band (Pure Power):
Ever since I heard The Barbarians Of California I’ve been hooked. It’s been great to hear Aaron Bruno back in the hardcore realm of things. I grew up in the same area as Aaron and watching his old band Insurgence along with a slew of others like Counterveil, Homemade and others was a blast. So it’s been really fun and a bit nostalgic to have this band around. The Barbarians released a new song recently that also features Keith Buckley of Many Eyes/ex Every Time I Die. This is just one of those really fun sing along hardcore songs. It’s infectious! That’s the word I was trying to come up with. Enjoy this one!!


04) God Alone- The Beep Test:
I love when I get sent things that I have zero about and I just put it on and then it’s game on! That’s what happened when I checked out Cork, Ireland’s, God Alone and their album, The Beep Test. It’s this crazy amalgamation of math rock, hardcore, punk, electronics and dance. I know, what? But seriously it all works quite well. The experimental nature of the album leaves you really wanting to delve into it more and more. There is so much to unpack in a glorious way, like opening presents on your birthday. I don’t want to say too much of it will give away the fun. Just put this album on and dance your feet off!


05) Jet Black Iris- How Sweet Is The Taste Of Your Infection?:
A while back a band hit me up about playing a show with The Cobalt Presents. As I always do, I checked out the band and could definitely hear something I liked. So I booked them and DAMN! Jet Black Iris really captured my attention. Firstly, the sound of the band is chock full of things I love. There’s the 90’s quiet/loud vibe but more so in the Failure way, then you add in a really cool Post-Punk element a la Joy Division as well as Interpol (mainly their first 2 albums), and then a punk vibe that sits in that metallic/melodic spot. Put all that together and you really do have one hell of a sound and Jet Black Iris definitely takes flight! Their debut album, How Sweet Is The Taste Of Your Infection?, is ten songs of pure passion poured out onto tape (well the computer these days). Jet Black Iris has fast become one of my favorite new bands. Come see them live Saturday October 25 at The Cobalt Presents Show at Hotel Ziggy!!


06) Motherless- Do You Feel Safe?:
More often than not, I’m usually in a heavy music mood. Depending on my mood depends on the level of heavy. The other day I wanted something that was HARD! So I went through my list of things to check out and put on the album Do You Feel Safe? by Motherless. After listening the eight song album, I knew I found what I was looking for and I put it on again. Punishing! That’s what this album is. It’s Metal, its got Hardcore sprinkled all over as well as dashes of Black Metal, Sludge and Doom! Motherless features members of The Atlas Moth (if you haven’t heard their album Coma Noir, you really should) and Without Waves. This album is quite intense and like I said, punishing (in the best way possible)!


07) Puscifer- Self Evident:
I’ll admit, I haven’t been the biggest fan of Puscifer. There are songs I do like a lot but, for some reason it jus wasn’t connecting with me. Then a few months ago, I sat down to do some other work and put all the Puscifer albums on and found myself enjoying it a lot more than before. So when the news came out the other day that after five years, come February 6, 2026 via Alchemy Recordings, we will get a new Puscifer album called, Normal Isn’t. This new album is supposed to align more with the Post-Punk/Goth side of the bands collective influences. The first single “Self Evident” is just that, it’s dipped and swirled in post-punk. I’m sure Beavis and Butthead would be happy with one of the lyrics too!


08) Trace Amount Featuring Fatboi Sharif- Seeing God On The L Train:
Over the past few years, I’ve been interested in where all the electronic music is going. There are so many sub-genres to it now that it almost seems made up. There are certain ones though that I’ve taken a liking too. The apocalyptic/atmospheric soundscapes with what seems like post-industrial beats has caught my ear. One artist that I’ve really enjoyed that does this style is Trace Amount (aka Brandon Gallagher). I got to see Trace Amount a few years ago open for Greg Puciato’s solo tour and Brandon’s set was one of those that set a tone sort of foreshadowed the craziness of the night. This new track though is pretty rad in that the sparce sound accompanied by the vocal deliver of Fatboi Sharif makes this a trippy song!

Live Review: Greg Puciato at The El Rey Theater

Last November I had the pleasure of seeing the debut solo show for Greg Puciato. After that show was over, I knew that the next time he came through I had to go, it was one of “those shows.” Both his solo albums, Child Soldier: Creator Of God and Mirrorcell have yet to leave my musical rotation since they came out. Live these songs take on a whole new life and the end result is precisely why I had to go see Greg live again.

Before Greg though, there were three openers to get the night going. I arrived as the last 2 songs of Trace Amount’s set was ending. The mix of industrial and noise made for a very tension filled and intense performance. It’s really interesting to listen to Trace Amount and pick out certain little nuances in the programming.

Next up was Deaf Club who I was really stoked to see having been into their albums. Their set was on fire from the get go. One of the things that I really like most about Deaf Club is that while they are a punk band through and through, they add a more technical element to it with odd time signatures and interesting arrangements. Then when you add in a frontman like Justin Pearson, it’s the right recipe for chaos in the best way possible. During their set they did a cover of Nirvana’s “Tourette’s” with their drummer, the drummer from Escuela Grind and Ben Koller of Converge. It was pretty damn cool to see and hear and the topper was all three drummers were in total sync so that sound bellowing through the El Rey was thunderous!

Following Deaf Club was up and comers Escuela Grind. I wasn’t too familiar with them but, a friend of mine who I was there with was and he got super into it. The band combines grindcore, death metal and a bit of hardcore. Their energetic set was heavy and brutal and at the same time quite fun. Their “singer” had so much energy on stage at one point I was half expecting her to breakout into a full gymnastics routine with how much she was running and jumping. Solid set from this band and just the right amount of fire to get the crowd ready for what was to come next.

When Greg Puciato and band took the stage it was ON! From the moment they ripped into “Reality Spiral” you knew this was not going to be just any show. The way the set was constructed was absolutely pummeling in both the way that it was intense and pulled at your heart strings. When you have songs like “Do You Need Me To Remind You,” “Absence As A Presence,” and “Fire For Water,” all within minutes of each other, it still has me without the right words. As the set continued, the crowd got even more into it and the next thing I knew I was right up front for my favorite song “Never Wanted That.” I stayed up front for the rest of the night feeding off the energy that was permeating off stage and next to me. One of my other favorite moments was during the end of “Evacuation” Greg broke out part of INXS’s “Need You Tonight” which was totally rad. Ending the “set” for the evening was the always great “September City.” I believe the crowd was singing as loud if not louder than Greg by this point. This night was special in more ways that one. For the encore it was in the words on Larry David “pretty, pretty, pretty good.” Starting it off was Haex joining Greg for a remix version of The Black Queen’s “Secret Scream,” followed by A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel joining Greg for The Black Queen’s “The End Where We Start” which was absolutely great. Then you had Tyler Bates and Gil Sharone join the fun for “Now You’ve Really Done It” from a compilation for DC Comics. Then it was Ben Koller jumping on the stage for “Roach Hiss” which definitely got the crowd screaming along. And to end it all was an absolutely cool and different version of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s “One Of Us Is The Killer.” It was part acapella in the verses and straight up fire during the chorus parts. I also have to mention the band Greg had on this run. What a killer and tight band. Joining Greg was James Hammontree on guitar of Black Magnet (another band you should really check out), Nick Sadler of Daughters on guitar. It was really great to see Nick up there and hearing that monsterous tone he’s had for years. Jeff Geisser on bass manhandled the low end with such tenacity and finally Noah Taylor on drums right in the pocket!

This show was definitely one of those that I’ll remember for a long long time. Greg Puciato’s solo albums are some of the best releases in the past few years. If you haven’t listened to them, I highly suggest you get on top of that! It’s artists like Greg that give me hope for the musical future. The whole package was interesting and gave bands from different genres a different audience making for an eclectic show. I’m glad I went and had a great time and to go with a couple friends that I knew would enjoy it too made it all that much better. Plus getting to see some other friends out in the crowd was quite awesome. I’m kind of at a loss for words at the moment when it comes to how to properly describe this show. I will leave it at this (unless I have a total epiphany of what else to say), shows like this don’t happen all the time. When the chance comes to go see one of your favorite bands, go do it! Thank you to Greg, Deaf Club, Escuela Grind and Trace Amount for one hell of a great evening!

Greg Puciato Set List:

01) In This Hell You Find Yourself
02) Reality Spiral
03) Do You Need Me To Remind You
04) Absence As A Presence
05) Fire For Water
06) Don’t Wanna Deal
07) No More Lives To Go
08) Deep Set
09) Never Wanted That
10) Lowered
11) A Pair Of Questions
12) Creator Of God
13) Evacuation (w/ INXS’s “Need You Tonight”)
14) September City

Encore:
15) Silent Scream (Haex Remix)
16) The End Where We Start (with Billy Howerdel)
17) Now You’ve Really Done It (with Tyler Bates & Gil Sharone)
18) Roach Hiss (with Ben Koller)
19) One Of Us Is The Killer

Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy

Deaf Club:

Escuela Grind:

Greg Puciato:

Live Show Review: Greg Puciato at Don Quixote

There are certain bands/artists that over the years I’ve become rather enthralled by. One of which is Greg Puciato. I still remember the first time I heard Greg in The Dillinger Escape Plan and thinking that this voice and presence is something to really pay attention to. And that I did. Through the years, Greg has become one of my favorite lyricists, vocalists and performers. When it was announced that Greg was going to be putting out a solo release, needless to say I was excited. What we got in the course of two years are three releases has taken the best of what Greg does and melded it into one project. Child Soldier: Creator Of God, Fuck Content and Mirrorcell have been some of the best releases in the past years and I can only imagine what the next release will be. The live show debut that I attended was something else. It was everything I wanted and then some.

Taking the stage a few minutes after 11pm, the crowd roar was getting louder and then the oddest intro song started it all, Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and then things got started as “In this Hell You Find Yourself” went right into “Reality Spiral” with a go straight for the throat approach. From there it only kept cutting deep with “No More Lives To Go.” The first song Greg released as a solo artist “Fire For Water” was next and the crowd response from that song was overtaking you basically didn’t even get caught in the mini technical mishap. The recovery from that was impeccable and made the song go ever harder than it was. After that it was just an onslaught of songs that not only are stand outs on the albums but truly some of my favorite songs that are a part of these releases. Songs like “Deep Set,” “Do You Need Me To Remind You,” “Absence As A Presence,” and “Down When I’m Not” were just banger after banger, and Greg and the band were on fire at this point. Then the moment that brought it all together was when the next two songs were played. “Lowered” the first single off of Mirrorcell was performed with the additional vocals of Reba Meyers. What a performace. The way Greg’s and Reba’s voices match and play off each other is sublime. It was one of those moments that had everyone in the audience completely drawn into. My favorite song of the set was next and it hit me more than I thought it would. That song would be “Never Wanted That.” This song just hits me in a way that I can’t (and won’t get into at the moment) put into words at the moment. After that going into “All Waves To Nothing” really hit me in another way that gave me chills in a such a great way. Followed by a short “encore break,” the fun continued as “Creator Of God” was the perfect way to come back out. From there a surprise cover of the Carpenter Brut song “Imaginary Fire” was performed (Greg provides the vocals on this track). Then it went into another couple favorites of mine “A Pair Of Questions” and the ever awesome and explosive “Evacuation.” Ending the set and the night was the great “September City.” It was quite the perfect way to end this debut show.

Opening the night was Trace Amount. His mix of industrial and noise gave the night a bit of a nervous yet frenzied energy as to what was to come later on. It was interesting to see this live and see how physical the performance was. After Trace Amount was a band that I’ve been curious about live too, Gost. Gost brought in a more Industrial sound mixed with a bit of EDM that really got the crowd pumped up. Looking around the room and seeing people dance was quite fun to see. Both bands gave energetic performances and prepared the crowd with just enough of an excitement that when Greg and his band hit the stage, it all exploded into something spectacular.

For a debut show, despite the few technical issues, it was absolutely superb. Even the odd choice of venue added to the charm of the night. It’s really quite awesome to see someone that has inspired and influenced you putting it all out there under their own name and delivering material that is this damn good and then being able to put on a show that not only will stand out but left a lasting impression on those of us that have been so drawn into the work of the artist. The band that Greg put together for this show was outstanding. I will say that having Chris Hornbrook on drums is kind of a cheat code as he is just so damn good. And the way he plays fits Greg’s style so well, that it’s a perfect combination. Guitarists Nick Rowe and James Hammontree were great together and then holding down that low end was Jeff Geisser. I can’t wait for the next show! I left this show on such a high it took forever to come down from it. Even the long ass drive home I was still pumped from this night. Thank you Greg and company for a night that I won’t forget and for the songs that I have yet to stop listening to since they came out! I’m sure there is more that I could ramble on about but, I’d much rather leave it at this and say, when the time comes and Greg’s solo show rolls through your city, don’t hesitate to go see it. What a show!

Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy

SET LIST:

01) In This Hell You Find Yourself
02) Reality Spiral
03) No More Lives To Go
04) Fire For Water
05) Deep Set
06) Do You Need Me To Remind You
07) Absence As A Presence
08) Down When I’m Not
09) Lowered (with Reba Meyers)
10) Never Wanted That
11) All Waves To Nothing

ENCORE:

12) Creator Of God
13) Imaginary Fire (Carpenter Brut Cover)
14) A Pair Of Questions
15) Evacuation
16) September City (with “One Of Us Is The Killer tease”)

Bandcamp Friday: September Edition

Today is Bandcamp Friday (when they wave their fee for 24 hours) and why not showcase some great bands and their albums/singles that are out now! Check out these bands and show them some support!


Centershift:

https://centershift.bandcamp.com/

Don’t Panic:

https://dontpanictheband.bandcamp.com/

Arc Angles:

https://arcanglesla.bandcamp.com/

Greg Puciato:

https://gregpuciato.bandcamp.com/

If It Kills You:

https://ifitkillsyou.bandcamp.com/

Spirit In The Room:

https://spiritintheroom.bandcamp.com/

Trace Amount:

https://traceamountnyc.bandcamp.com/

Contranistas:

https://contranistas.bandcamp.com/

Duhkha:

https://duhkha.bandcamp.com/releases

Haunted Horses:

https://hauntedhorses.bandcamp.com/

Filth Is Eternal:

https://filthiseternal.bandcamp.com/

Deaf Club:

https://deafclub31g.bandcamp.com/

Thoughtcrimes:

https://purenoise.bandcamp.com/album/altered-pasts

Cowboy Destroy:

https://cowboydestroy.bandcamp.com/

Speed Of Light:

https://speedoflight.bandcamp.com/

In Parallel:

https://inparallelband.bandcamp.com/