Arriving as a standout group in the current American shoegaze renaissance, Phoenix four-piece

Glixen transcend all expectations of what the genre should currently look and sound like. The

band creates a profoundly heavy sonic experience with their music, paying respects to their

predecessors but resulting in something completely modern. An amalgamation of influences

like Björk, My Bloody Valentine, Godflesh, t.A.T.u, and Hum, their sound crawls with intensity

and introspection to contrast lead singer Aislinn Ritchie’s lulling vocals.

Ritchie began the project in 2020 enlisting guitarist Esteban Santana, drummer Keire Johnson,

and bassist Sonia Garcia. Their approach to music has landed them on expansive tours and

shows with rock music titans and contemporaries alike, supporting acts like Interpol, DIIV,

Narrow Head and Nothing. Glixen has released a steady stream of music since their inception,

with one EP and a handful of singles under their belt. She Only Said, was released last summer

with tastemaking Philly tape label Julia’s War Records, bringing them to the attention of the

national DIY scene. Working with producers like Jack Endino (Nirvana) and Sonny DiPerri (My

Bloody Valentine, DIIV) for recent releases, this year has seen them take their sound to the next

level, previewing a continuous sonic evolution.

Among the current wave of shoegaze revivalists, Fort Worth’s trauma ray rank as high as any at capturing its complexity, intensity, and expressive devastation. Since first making waves with a self-titled EP in 2018, the core songwriting duo of Uriel Avila and Jonathan Perez have expanded and refined the project’s vision and craft, culminating in their 12-track Dais debut, Chameleon. Rounded out by bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas, and guitarist Coleman Pruitt, the album both synthesizes and transcends its influences, a stormy fusion of downer hooks, apocalyptic beauty, and bulldozer riffs.

One of trauma ray’s greatest gifts is their ability to make doomy, sledgehammer heaviness sound like an ear-worm, without production tricks or gimmicks: "Riff, verse, chorus, three guitar parts – that’s all you need.” The result is the essence of what Perez wants for the band: " In general I never want to do things in the studio that we can’t play live, although it always sounds better live because the guitars are louder."

The name trauma ray was inspired by the German word for ‘daydream, or ‘dream state,’ in classic shoegaze fashion. Avila’s background in a devout Pentecostal community gives his lyrics about guilt, purgatory, and passing to the other side to an emotional authenticity that cuts through the music’s majestic volume.

This quality is particularly apparent on Chameleon's title track, a churning slab of amplifier worship, swirling chords, and heavenly, defeated vocals about not belonging, shape-shifting, and death ("A twisted face / Void of attention / An empty space / In your reflection"). For Perez, it’s the pinnacle of the band’s chemistry: "Musically it’s the song that best captures our shared tastes – heavy, catchy, pretty, all at the same time. It’s my favorite chorus, favorite lyrics, favorite song on the album."

Chameleon is a masterpiece of craft, balance, melody, lyricism, and gravity, flexing a fresh vision of loud-quiet-loud architectures and the vertigo depths of blasted harmonics. From Slowdive to Nothing to Hum and beyond, trauma ray absorb and expand on their influences, steadily carving their own terrain. Theirs is a rare and dedicated alchemy, which Perez acknowledges every time they play together: "None of us are taking any of this for granted. We’re so fortunate to be doing this thing that we all care so much about. As you get a little older, you realize that to get five people in the same room making music twice a week for six years straight is almost virtually impossible. To achieve what we’ve done is bewildering."

The band's live sets keep sharpening across increasingly adventurous American tours, stacking amps and turning heads show by show. With a busy performance schedule looming and new songs constantly germinating, trauma ray's cinematic tempest is a gathering storm only just taking flight.

Her New Knife is a shoegaze/alternative band based out of Philadelphia, PA. The group’s members include Edgar Atencio (guitar and vocals), Ben Kachler (guitar), Carolina Schooley (bass), and Elijah Ford (drums). The band’s recent EP, ‘chrome is lullaby’, captures a raw, vulnerable allure, offering fans of shoegaze and post-punk a profound connection to their unique sound. Their live performances are a mesmerizing experience, where
scraping guitars and relentless, machine-like drums create an atmosphere that is both intense and ephemeral. Each show is an oblique journey, drawing the audience into fleeting and intimate moments. Her New Knife is currently working on a debut LP, expected to release in late 2025.

Knifeplay is a band that eludes definition, existing somewhere between the nihilistic detachment of shoegaze and the emotional honesty of folk songwriting. Originally a solo bedroom recording project of Tj Strohmer’s, they’ve made a slow and careful shift into a collaborative, production focused, studio recorded band. Through their ever-expanding genre palette, range of fidelities, and long list of collaborators runs a unique current that ties everything together.

Informed by his experiences living in Philadelphia and their contrast with his rural southern Maryland upbringing, Strohmer’s sometimes straightforward, sometimes dreamlike, but always philosophical lyrics feature scenes of darkness from many different aspects of life. He deals with themes of death, drugs, heartbreak, abuse, and self-destruction, all expressed through a delicate vocal style, which, combined with the band’s lush orchestral instrumentation gives a beautiful lightness to the heavy subject matter.

Since their 2017 debut of home-recorded EPs, Knifeplay have earned a dedicated cult following through acclaimed debut album Pearlty (2019) and a lengthy B-Sides Compilation (2020), all either self-released or through small run tape labels. In 2021 they entered the studio with producer Jeff Zeigler, known for his work with Kurt Vile, Nothing, The War on Drugs, and more, first producing the Hurt Someone EP (Born Losers Records) before recording their upcoming sophomore full-length, Animal Drowning, to be released via Topshelf Records on October 19, 2022.