Here’s their track “A Hole in the Ground” from this past summer’s Summerfest performance. I didn’t shoot this video but we were at that show (possibly standing next to the person who filmed it) and it was hot and very very fun.

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The Quilz’s “Are You Still Out Tonight?” is electro-dream pop, shimmery bright with a few dark-edged touches and nods to the early 80’s Euro-synthpop sound. The Xposed 4Heads version of the track has a driving beat and bass background, making it way less dreamy and much more urgent, but keeps the synthpop vibe. Xposed 4Heads are heavily influenced by Devo so their “Ultra Cloud” absolutely has that keyboard/guitar 80’s dancey space geek mood. The Quliz’s remix sounds pretty similar to the original, with maybe a bit more emphasis on the bleep-bloop synths plus an intro that maybe had some Duran nods (always a good thing). Both bands are fun to see live – I don’t remember if they’ve done a joint show but it would be a good one.

While neither of these songs is on this video, here’s a bit of The Quilz performance from last week filmed by man-about-Milwaukee Juan:

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They played most of the tracks during their set, including some of my favorites from the album. The opener “Your Uncertain Shadow” (its video a love letter to Milwaukee from Waldoch who is – both in the video and in real life – a true man about town. In fact, I’m fairly certain the tunnel he walks through at one point is at the end of our street), “Crown” (a seething nod to he-who-shall-not-be-named at the show), the heartbreaking and anthemic “Nobody’s Ghost,” the excellent rocker “Diet Suicide” (on the LP singer Liv Mueller from The Lovelies joins on vocals) and the jaw-dropping “The Ring of Brightest Angels, Around Heaven.” While the 80’s and 90’s influences are strong (even if I couldn’t hear them, we’ve seen Waldoch at a ton of shows like Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Love and Rockets and The Cure: Waldoch is a Cure megafan), Everybody Swoons is not steeped in nostalgia, rather it feels very modern both in the songwriting and production. You can watch/listen to the entire set in video linked below the video for “Your Uncertain Shadow.”

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But I really want to highlight “O Holy Night” by Heart of Black. I’m so thrilled to finally have something tangible by this band (who I’ve never seen perform but that’s on me – they play out all the time in the greater Milwaukee area). Heart of Black play heavy rock/alternative dance, a mix of covers (influences include Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails) and originals (their song “Down” won the WAMI award for Best Video of 2024 – it is alt-metal and NOT Christmasy). We met Heart of Blacks’ singer Marcus in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain in one of the most random, kismet experiences ever. We had just arrived at our hotel, located right on the Mediterranean, and were hanging out on the patio waiting for our room to be ready for check-in. The couple next to our table leaned over and asked “Are you from Milwaukee?” We thought it was our accent! But no, they noticed Joe’s WMSE shoulder bag. Turns out they were from ‘Tosa and Marcus is huge Duran Duran fan and they were in Ibiza for the Duran three-day festival, same as us. We ended up seeing him and his wife (whose name now escapes me) on and off for the remainder of our time there, including the nail-biting final festival evening where we essentially had to dodge the law to secure a last-second shared ride to the Duran concert from our hotel. The topping was the next morning when our connecting flight to Madrid was running very late and we had to sprint at top speed through the Madrid airport to catch our international flight home. We just made it, gasping, sweating, onto the plane and there, towards the front, were Marcus and wife applauding our dramatic arrival onto the plane. I haven’t seen them since but am enjoying the heck out of their over-the-top last track on Seasons for the Smile – which feels almost as epic as that Ibiza weekend.

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Reel Time Canvas is lush, emo and shoe-gazey; on the forefront of the emo-scene that was somewhat centered in Milwaukee in the in early aughts. I missed out on that scene completely (I was listening to much harder stuff) but friends who were into it tell me it was particularly vibrant. I found a couple of  reviews of Reel Time Canvas on the Free Music Archive site which are wonderful but also hilarious especially if you know the band personally: “Camden’s first full-length album wins my (non-existant) award for the most gorgeous rock album ever, and I’m not talking album art. I raved about Camden’s previous EP for the most amazing emo-style rock it contained. But here, I have to feel Camden have gone beyond emo’s boundaries and into something that’s completely new and all their own. The first thing you’re going to notice about Camden is their singer. He must have been classically trained, and it’s almost opera-style, soaring to higher notes than you would have thought possible and always quite beautiful. The rest of the rock combines elements from the modern, post-hardcore rock with a sort of lofty, atmospheric rock reminiscent of 80′s Ride. It’s complex and changing throughout, slowing and speeding, changing up the times, at times soft and barely heard at others in your face and aggressive. But it’s never pretentious, and that’s what makes it so downright glorious.” And this from another reviewer: “…imagine you are stuck in an elevator with Morrissey, Braid’s Robert Nanna and Shudder To Think’s Craig Wedren. Say they had all showered and used deodorant and Morrissey was being a sissy for once in his life. And let’s say, for the sake of argument they decided to record a record capturing this experience of uncomfortable solitude. The result I am sure would be similar to Camden’s Reel Time Canvas.” My top two tracks are the opener “Mike, Who is Diary?” and the almost-grunge “Not Without Your Blessing.”

Here’s a photo of me and BJ from 2023 at his graduation from the yoga teacher training I co-direct.

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I think there’s a hidden track on the album – though I couldn’t actually find it (or it’s only on the CD version): “Self Control” by Raf (1984), a song that “started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.” (Wiki). Weirdly the playlist I chose for this morning’s class was Reflex v. Control which has the Laura Branigan cover of “Self Control” (also 1984, #4 US, #5 UK) – I did not know that it would appear on today’s vinyl pull, especially because it is not listed on the record except for in the liner notes for writing credits. (Speaking of credits, I love that two neighborhood dudes are thanked: Dillon from RushMor Records and Chris from Vanguard/Wiggle Room). Next time I run into Martin I’ll have to ask him about “Self Control” – I can’t find a link anywhere for Diamond Life’s version.

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Gallery Night at Cactus Club, 2018(?)

Gallery Night at Cactus Club, 2018(?)

Just three short songs: the dark “One By One,” which sounds a lot like another current Milwaukee band, Convert, with whom I think they played a show at Cactus, maybe pre-pandemic; “S.O.S.” which is jangularly intense, and the menacing “Got a Gun.” I’ve been sitting on this 7″ (plus their other two releases) forever. Hollywood is spinning records tonight at the new bar in Bay View that he co-owns; it’s a Repo Man theme and the energy of this EP is similarish to the Repo Man vibe.

Gallery Night at Cactus Club date unknown

Good luck finding anything by Gallery Night! I did track down one video by local label Dusty Medical on YouTube from a show in 2015 at Cactus. Not sure if I was at this one or not.

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