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.

Dogs On Acid are resurrected for the 10th anniversary re-issue of their self-titled LP (Lauren Records). The band was born in Philadelphia in 2014 following the abrupt end of DIY legends Algernon Cadwallader. Peter Helmis and Joe Reinhart, unready to call it quits, saw an opportunity for growth they both desired. The dudes were noodled out and hungry for something they could sink their teeth into. They wanted to bang their heads and downstroke power chords till they puked. Helmis swapped out bass for guitar and began writing in a new direction. This serendipitously aligned with the return of Algernon’s original drummer, Nicholas Tazza. To fill out the new sound, the band recruited long time friend and nasty dude, Nate Dionne. They played heavy, they played fast, they mixed lush chords with jangly discordant ones. All while seemingly unable to write an uncatchy tune. Homage was paid to many of their indie rock heroes yet impact upon listening leaves a mark that’s all their own. Lyrically the album lurks in the shadows of a broken heart but is evident in its forceful, sometimes anthemic delivery, that Helmis’ aim is on redemption by singing through it rather than wallowing in it. The band toured the US, the UK, and in 2016, played their final shows in Japan before moving on to other projects. After an extended two year reunion with Algernon Cadwallader in ’22, the three shared members of the bands still weren’t sick of each other and hatched a plan to get Dogs On Acid back together for this historic occasion. Originally released on Jade Tree Records in 2015 the band’s sole LP is finally back in print and available now from Lauren Records. Catch them this summer in select cities playing their first shows in nearly a decade.

Whispers is Nitisart “Mike” Chaiburi - Vocals, Kitti “Ole” Suwan - Guitar, Weerayuth ”Neung” Klibpratum - Guitar, Tanin “Get” Meemongkol - Bass, Piyawut “Es” Thongprakob - Drums

Self-designated as “Bangkok Evilcore” Whispers, based out of Thailand, are bringing an immense sound to modern metallic hardcore. Originally formed in 2014, the band picked up steam in 2021 with the release of their Narok Bon Din EP grabbing international attention. Now Whispers join the growing roster of pivotal heavy music label Flatspot Records for the release of Yom Ma Lok.

Hitting the studio in Spring 2024, Whispers set out to make a heavy, intense record that connects on an emotional level. The band worked with Suchai at Sixthirty Recording Studio in Bangkok to hone in on their sound, before sending the EP to Andy Nelson at BrickTop Recording for mixing and Brad Boatright at Audiosiege mastered it. Influence from bands like All Out War and Merauder comes through across the seven songs, giving a tough as nails delivery packed with menacing riffs. Thematically, Yom Ma Lok addresses realism and human nature through a global perspective.

Yom Ma Lok opens with the aptly titled, instrumental “Bangkok Evilcore” before diving into the crushing “A Choice To Survive.” A hostile delivery is juxtaposed by lyrics of self-reliance based on proverbs from Buddhism. Speed’s Jem Siow, who also assisted with lyric translations on the album, guest features at the 2:50 mark of the song amidst a crushing breakdown. Lead single “Retribution” exemplifies the band’s ability to deliver a grappling hardcore song made for the mosh-pit while showcasing a knack for serious guitar writing. The guest features on the EP continue as Shaun Alexander of Despize and Stephen Bessac of Kickback lend their vocals to “Wisenheimer” and “Yom Ma Lok” respectively. Closing out with the title track, which translates to “world of death people” or “underworld” in Thai, Whispers conjures the feeling of descending into hell and leaves the listener with a stark impression.

Over the years, Whispers has brought their menacing live show across Southeast Asia, Japan, and Europe, and will return to the latter this fall on the Flatspot World tour. With the release of Yom Ma Lok, Whispers are setting out to spread the message and sound of Asian hardcore far and wide.

Portraits Of Past prefers to be called a hardcore band, though many other adjectives and sub-genres have been leveled at them over the 30 years since these five childhood friends initially called it quits.

After many years of pent-up demand from listeners old and new, the darkly melodic, explosive, and reluctantly “legendary” five-piece originally from the San Francisco Bay Area is back for Summer 2025 to support a vinyl reissue of their classic 1996 self-titled album. This time around, showgoers can also expect the live debut of tracks from the 2009 Cypress Dust Witch EP.

Joyer formed in New Jersey in 2017, and after releasing two self-recorded demo collections, they released their first studio album, Sun Into Flies, in 2020, followed by Perfect Gray in 2021. Now based in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the duo of multi-instrumentalist brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan are constantly evolving their sound. Their latest album, Night Songs, examines the allure of night and its ability to shapeshift from a mirror for our innermost demons to a shield from the demands of daily drudgery. It marks a departure from their hushed slowcore beginnings and displays a more expansive sound—from blowtorched shoegaze guitars and poppier vocals to melancholy synths and pastoral lap steel. Fittingly, their detour into twistier, heavier territory coincides with the depraved nature of nighttime activities, and their foray into a more hi-fi, pop-forward direction aligns with the stark clarity that pitch-black skies provide. Their devilish distortion also functions as a cathartic foil to their quiet, real-life demeanors, and was informed by their live shows, which increasingly featured gnarlier versions of past Joyer songs. Following the success of Night Songs the band has embarked on various country-wide tours, sharing bills with other up-and-coming acts as well as prominent indie rock artists such as Wishy, Feeble Little Horse, Horse Jumper of Love, Lowertown, and Babehoven.

Likened to a soft summer rain, she’s green is a Minneapolis-based dream-inducer composed of vocalist Zofia Smith, guitarists Liam Armstrong and Raines Lucas, bassist Teddy Nordvold, and drummer Kevin Seebeck. The band has played many shows throughout the Midwest and East Coast, sharing bills with acts such as Hotline TNT, Glixen, Friko, and more. The Star Tribune recommends bringing “earplugs and maybe a tissue for their set.” They initially received recognition through their first two released singles, “river” and “smile again”, both recorded and mixed at home. A raw emotional intensity shines through their honest and explorative songwriting process. After the release of their debut EP Wisteria, they were named one of First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2023. In April of 2024, they got the most votes from industry professionals for MPR station The Current’s first annual Scouting Report Poll of the top rising artists in Minnesota.

Formed in 2020 in Dearborn, Michigan, Prostitute is an experimental post-punk and Arab rock band. Born out of the isolation of the COVID-19 lockdown, the band’s debut album, Attempted Martyr, was written in the midst of global and personal turmoil, capturing the zeitgeist of a world unraveling. A loose concept record, it chronicles the rise and fall of a doomed zealot whose pursuit of holy vengeance spirals into a psychotic orgy of violence, greed, and lust.

The band was initially formed by Moe Kazra who enlisted childhood friends Andrew Kaster and Dylan Zaranski, with Ross Babinski and Bret Wall later completing the lineup. Together, they self-funded the album, working with legendary engineer Chris Koltay to shape a sound that’s both abrasive and hypnotic—an unrelenting blend of warped guitars, primitive basslines, frenzied drumming, and corrosive synthesizers, interwoven with samples from diverse cultures, ranging from African to Middle Eastern and East Asian influences.

Tracks like “All Hail” (inspired by the 1977 Hanafi Siege of Washington D.C.) immerses listeners in a volatile, hostage-like environment. “Judge” channels Milton’s Satan in a chilling rallying cry, while “Body Meat” grapples with religious desperation and the tenuous boundary between faith and madness. Khachab and Kaster’s lyrics have been described by Pitchfork as “disturbingly poetic” with the ability to “lacerate with image alone.” Crude sloganeering and scenes of horrific violence are juxtaposed with literary allusion and Islamic symbolism, creating what the band calls a “theatricalization of terrorism.” Through this lens, they examine and critique the xenophobic stereotypes targeted at Arabs, distorting them into grotesque caricatures.

Over the past four years, Prostitute has established a reputation for their punishing, high-energy performances. The band’s live shows, described as “dangerous” and “volatile”, finds Moe delivering politically charged sermons atop a deafening bacchanal of sound. In 2023, Prostitute performed at the re-opening of the iconic UFO Bar in Detroit, followed by a series of benefit concerts for Palestine, Lebanon, and Sudan. These performances solidified their growing presence, leading to invites to play at No Rest Fest and New Colossus Festival.

As Prostitute continues work on their sophomore album, they are delving deeper into electronic and Arabic dance influences, drawing inspiration from the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Their sound continues to evolve, with new tracks incorporating dabke rhythms, Arabesque melodicism, and industrial synth textures, all while retaining the same anarchic energy that defines their unique sound.