i think you should start a band

plus the week's best new music

I mean it: I think you should start a band.

I don't mean become a DJ. I don't mean become a producer. I don't mean be a solo artist. I mean find one to three like-minded friends – they don't even have to be good musicians, maybe it’s ideal if they’re not – and start a band.

Write four songs, and book a debut show in the smallest room you can find as soon as possible. Invite all your friends who have never gone to a small show to your small show.

Embrace the weird songs that you write and share them before they’re ready. Make music with your deeply unqualified friends, and text demos wildly. Use your voice memo app more than Instagram.

Play in a weird space that bands are maybe not supposed to play in. Share the stage with bands you can find from your neighborhood, people who may believe in wacky fringe ass shit but totally rip.

Around New Years I saw a bunch of atheleisured-up adults milling about at 10am, clearly dressed for their inaugural Run Club. I immediately thought: these dorks should start a band.

They don’t tell you the best part of the band is the constant bits. The cure to male loneliness? A group chat with your band where you share stupid shit, argue about setlists, song titles, and figure out who can get childcare covered to track your EP over the weekend. A band is a conspiracy that allows you to be a slightly bolder version of yourself, or at least, gives you cover to drink 2-5 beers on a Wednesday with your friends who would be hard to get out of the house otherwise.

I've been in good bands, but more often than not I've been in bad bands, and those were just as important to me. I'm not trying to get all Hannibal Buress here – if the big lesson post-Trump is post less and “create community” more, a band is an awfully good way to start to create a community around something that isn't your job or a political identity. Get in a tiny room, start realizing your art is already good enough, get onstage with people who might see a far more radical future than you.

I think you should start a band.

On to the week’s best! Like every year, I’ve cleared out my playlist so it’s just the fresh tracks from 2025. You can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!

Ela Minus – QQQQ

I loved Ela Minus' debut album acts of rebellion from 2020, so I was thrilled to find out about her next LP DÍA coming out this Friday on Domino. "QQQQ" is a bitcrushed dream, somehow finding a foot in post-Brat lossy MP3-crunched bangers and Stereolab futurist nostagia. The 4/4 drop isn’t a surprise – but honestly that makes it even better.

Horsegirl – Switch Over

I will forever be a sucker for papery, insouciant post-punk-pop; "Switched Over" won me over before the vocal hooks could sink their teeth in.

Fust – Spangled

"Spangled" hits the a sweet spot between MJ Lenderman and Zach Bryan – it's less wink-wink than the former, and less bro-ate laureate than the latter. That said, Fust share both artist's ability to defly sketch out the details of a life spent in weird jobs, bad apartments, and shitty bars – y’know, America.

Ethel Cain – Punish

A lot has been said about Ethel Cain’s pivot to droney weirdness on her new LP Perverts (Pervert’s Winter, baby!!) but not enough has been said about the ghostly, drawn-out tracks between her ambient missives. “Punish” finds a sweet spot between Lana Del Rey and Grouper, and “Vacillator” shares a ton of DNA with Songs:Ohia. Trigger warning if your SAD is acting up, but there’s nothing more January than realizing the darkness might be all we have.

Lambrini Girls – Filthy Rich Nepo Baby

We are very pro-Nepo Baby Anthem here at the Unskippables, and “Filthy Rich Nepo Baby” is a particularly hilarious entry from the UK’s Lambrini Girls, who claim to make “party music for gay angry sluts.” The song had me at the first line’s broken rhyme ending, but the zingers and hits keep coming - rarely is something this funny this visceral.

throwback

Mike & The Censations – Nothing I Can Do

This one caught me at a café the other week, and it took half a dozen listens to realize it’s the sample behind Nico Jaar’s “What My Last Girl Put Me Through.” Though Jaar’s flip is excellent, the original might be even sleeker and more heartbreaking.