Space Ballroom Weekly Round up: 8 shows announced including Mark Mulcahy
Space Ballroom announced Stephen Brodsky, Mark Mulcahy, Sun Kil Moon, Tripping Daisy, Fruit Bats with Minor Moon, Brooks Nielsen, Billy Raffoul and Post Animal this week. Tickets are on sale now via spaceballroom.com
Stephen Brodsky
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
May 25, 2025
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Stephen Brodsky
Mark Mulcahy
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
June 19, 2025
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Mark Mulcahy
Mark Mulcahy is a singer from Springfield. He has released several albums and performs in the US and Europe. Mark composed the music for the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete with the TV band, Polaris. He has released several solo records, and made albums with the band Miracle Legion and more recently Birdfeeder. He has written music for the films Management, Spring Forward, The Crush, and A Matter of Degrees. Mr. Mulcahy is featured in the Nick Hornby essay collection, Songbook. and been featured in Rolling Stone,The NY Times, Mojo and many others. He has collaborated on operas with Ben Katchor.
Sun Kil Moon
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
June 20, 2025
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Sun Kil Moon
Sun Kil Moon All The Artists was released on Caldo Verde Records March 28, 2025. The album was recorded in Highland Park, Los Angeles 2023/2024. Music by David Stagno. Words/vocals by Mark Kozelek.
Sun Kil Moon Quiet Beach House Nights was released on Caldo Verde Records, digitally, outside of North America, August 2023. Several singles including ‘Raging Bull’s Jaw’ and ‘Damian’ have been released as singles in the USA since 2022. The album was released on both CD and vinyl within the USA in 2024. Mark has toured in support of the album in both Europe and the USA throughout 2023 and 2024. Sun Kil Moon has also released various singles, worldwide, including ‘Been on Echinacea,’ ‘Santa Ana,’ and ‘All The Artists Live in L.A.’
Sun kil Moon featuring Amoeba was released outside of North America, September 2024. The album has been released on both CD and vinyl October, 2024. Sun Kil Moon featuring Amoeba is a collaboration between Hungarian band Amoeba and singer Mark Kozelek, recorded in Hungary in 2022 and 2023. The single ‘Mindy’ and ‘Hungarian Lullaby’ have been releases as singles in the USA.
Mark is contributor to substack, releasing photography, music, and writing, on the first of each month.
Sun Ki Moon Welcome to Sparks, Nevada, was released January 7, 2021. The album is about Mark’s life and times throughout the first half of 2020. Shortly after, Mark released, Lunch in the Park. The album picks up where “Sparks” left off, detailing his summer, fall and winter of 2020.
In December of 2019, Mark Kozelek and actor Kevin Corrigan released a Christmas EP entitled, The Christmas EP. Kevin and Mark also released the two collaborative books The Panther and The Honey Badger and Zhao Tao. Mark also released a book of photography in late 2019 called 500 Payphones. The book has eight-years’ worth of photos taken by Mark between the years of 2012 and 2019 and captures the decline of the payphone.
In April 4, 2020, Mark released a spoken word album entitled All the Best Isaac Hayes – a concept album about his September 2019 tour throughout Canada and The United States.
On January 20, 2020, Mark Kozekek with Ben Boye and Jim White 2 was released. Gia Margaret interviewed Mark about the album at sunkilmoon.com. The album was reviewed favorably by Needledrop.
On October 11, 2019, Caldo Verde Records released the collaborative album Mark Kozelek and Petra Haden, Joey Always Smiled. Longtime friend and collaborator Alan Sparhawk interviewed Mark about the album for Talkhouse.
Sun Kil Moon’s I Also Want To Die In New Orleans, was released March 1, 2019, on Caldo Verde Records. The album features Mark on guitar and vocals, Donny McCaslin on Saxophone, and Jim White on drums. An interview with Mark about the album by director Josh Boone and can be found at Talkhouse. Mark will be touring in support of the album throughout 2019, both solo and with Sun Kil Moon, in the USA, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
On November 1, 2018, Mark released Sun Kil Moon’s This Is My Dinner, an album written during a November 2017 European tour. The album details Mark’s experiences during that tour and his history with touring Europe since the early 1990s. Actor Aidan Gillen interviewed Mark about the album for www.sunkilmoon.com.
On May 11, 2018, Mark Kozelek released his self titled album, Mark Kozelek, on Caldo Verde/Rough Trade. The 88- minute, double CD was recorded in San Francisco hotels and studios between May 2017 and January 2018.
On October 6, 2017, Caldo Verde Records released Mark Kozelek’s collaborative album Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White. The album was streamed on Kozelek’s website before its release date, accompanied by an interview with Mark by Tony Visconti. Other collaborations released in 2017 have included Jesu/Sun Kil Moon 30 Seconds To The Decline Of Planet Earth, and Yellow Kitchen, Mark’s collaboration with Parquet Court’s Sean Yeaton.
Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys of Blood was released by Mark Kozelek’s Sun Kil Moon on February 24, 2017. The double album was recorded in 2016 with drummer Steve Shelley. Sun Kil Moon has supported the album this year with a tour in Australia and New Zealand and will also tour Europe and The USA. The album received positive reviews world wide including Rolling Stone, The London Sunday Times and Rockdelux.
In addition to these releases, Mark also released the Night Talks solo EP as a free giveaway for direct purchases through Caldo Verde Records.
On May 27, 2016, Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites was released through Caldo Verde Records. The album features guest singers Mimi Parker, Minnie Driver, Mike Patton, Will Oldham, and Rachel Goswell. The album includes favorite songs of Mark’s friends and loved ones.
On January 2016, Mark’s collaboration with Justin Broadrick entitled Jesu/Sun Kil Moon was released via Caldo Verde/Rough Trade Records, to positive reviews. The band promoted the album with live shows in Europe, USA and Japan and will tour again in September and November of this year.
Universal Themes was the 7th full length Sun Kil Moon Album, released in 2015. The album received some of Kozelek’s best reviews including a 9 out of 10 in Uncut Magazine and an A- at Consequence Of Sound. In 2015 Mark also released a free EP entitled Down In The Willow Garden as well as a spoken word album entitled Dreams Of Childhood with Argentine actor Nicolas Pauls. Kozelek’s music is also featured extensively in the Paulo Sorrentino film Youth.
Benji was the sixth full length record by Mark Kozelek’s Sun Kil Moon. The album was released February 11, 2014 and features guest musicians Steve Shelley, Will Oldham and Owen Ashworth. On August 20 of 2013, Mark Kozelek’s Caldo Verde Records released Mark Kozelek & Desertshore, the third record from Mark Kozelek and Phil Carney’s side project, Desertshore. 2013 also saw the release of Mark Kozelek Like Rats, 2 live albums, and the Mark Kozelek and Jimmy Lavalle’s collaboration, Perils From The Sea. Both Mark Kozelek & Desertshore and Perils From The Sea made Uncut’s top 100 best albums of the year. In 2012, Mark Kozelek released an 18 track album under his Sun Kil Moon moniker, entitled Among The Leaves. Mark toured solo in support of the album and made his debit TV appearance on Fallon performing with The Roots.
In August of 2011, the film Mark Kozelek: On Tour was released via Caldo Verde Records. The film follows Mark on two different tours in support of the Sun Kil Moon release, Admiral Fell Promises, released in 2010. The album was played entirely by Mark Kozelek on nylon string guitar and includes 10 original songs. A limited EP entitled I’ll Be There coincided with the release. The 4 song EP includes 1 out-take and 3 covers, including the Jackson’s ‘I’ll Be There.’ On November 22, 2011, Desertshore’s second album was released. Mark Kozelek contributed vocals to 6 of the album’s 10 tracks.
In May of 2009 Caldo Verde released Mark Kozelek: Lost Verses – Live. The album was recorded in intimate, seated venues throughout the US and Europe in 2007 and 2008. This 14 song ‘best of’ collection features Red House Painters classic ‘Katy Song’ as well as several picks from the Sun Kil Moon catalog including ‘Carry Me Ohio’, ‘Lucky Man,’ and ‘Lost Verses.’
Tripping Daisy
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
July 14, 2025
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Tripping Daisy
Tripping Daisy emerged from Dallas, Texas in 1990, quickly establishing themselves as one of the most dynamic and innovative forces in the alternative and psychedelic rock scenes. With original members Tim DeLaughter on vocals and guitar, Mark Pirro on bass, Wes Berggren on guitar, and Bryan Wakeland on drums, the band carved out a distinctive sound that resonated with fans and critics alike.
Their debut album, Bill (1992), made an immediate impact by selling over 20,000 copies locally and catching the attention of major labels. This early success paved the way for their breakthrough with I Am an Elastic Firecracker(1995). Featuring the hit single “I Got a Girl,” which went Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Canada, the album firmly established Tripping Daisy’s reputation for delivering infectious, boundary-pushing music.
The band continued to evolve with Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb (1998), an album that has since achieved cult status thanks to its experimental edge and innovative production. Their self-titled album, Tripping Daisy (2000), stands as a poignant capstone to their original run, marking the legacy of their groundbreaking work even in the wake of founding member Wes Berggren’s untimely passing.
Over the years, Tripping Daisy’s music has not only captivated audiences in concert but has also made its mark on popular culture—featured in films such as The Craft, Basquiat, and Saturday Morning Cartoons, and on television through appearances on Beavis and Butt-Head and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Their energetic live performances and enduring stage presence have left a lasting impression across North America and beyond.
Now, as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of I Am an Elastic Firecracker with an Anniversary Tour in 2025, Tripping Daisy continues to honor their storied past while forging a path toward the future with new recordings and fresh energy. Frontman Tim DeLaughter’s creative journey also extends into his work with The Polyphonic Spree—a project that has further underscored his innovative vision and contributed to memorable collaborations with music legends.
Hailing from Dallas and proudly signed to Good Records, Tripping Daisy remains a vital and inspiring chapter in the history of alternative rock, continuously inviting new generations to experience the magic of their music.
Fruit Bats with Minor Moon
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
August 14, 2025
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Fruit Bats
Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long.
“There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter.
As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window.
“It weighs heavily on me—the notion of place,” Johnson says. “The places I’ve been and the places I want to go.”
A sense of place is a unifying theme he’s revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project’s origins in the late ’90s as a vehicle for Johnson’s lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It’s a loose song structure that navigates what he calls “the geography of the heart.”
“The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another,” says Johnson. “There are roads and rivers between these songs.”
Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart. Self-produced by Johnson—a first for Fruit Bats—with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it’s Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length release. The album finds the project in the middle of a people-powered climb leading to the biggest shows, loudest accolades, and most enthusiastic new fans in Fruit Bats history! It’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for this mid-career resurgence. But after two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has clearly seeped into Johnson’s already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band.
A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of Johnson’s creative vision to date. It’s a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who’s constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms—from the obvious to the obscure.
Lead single “Rushin’ River Valley” is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson’s wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there’s the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad “We Used to Live Here,” which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful “It All Comes Back” is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson’s production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it’s a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life.
“We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let’s take it easy on ourselves, okay?” sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song’s opening lines. It’s the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.
Minor Moon
At the heart of Minor Moon’s open-ended and knotty country rock songs is an undeniably inviting lightness. While the Chicago-based songwriter and bandleader Sam Cantor writes impressionistic songs about the end of the world, they’re wrapped in such a warm blanket of lush guitars and pastoral twang that they always leave a hopeful spark. On their latest LP, The Light Up Waltz, Cantor sings of the fantastical in magical traveling bands, swaying bridges, and aquamarine metamorphoses. Still, he’s concerned with fundamentally human questions about who we are and how we reinvent ourselves when everything crumbles around us.
While the 2021 release of Minor Moon’s third LP Tethers coincided with a transitional period in Cantor’s life, The Light Up Waltz materialized during a time of unprecedented personal stability and creativity. He immersed himself in Chicago’s immensely collaborative music community performing live with V.V. Lightbody, Andrew Sa, Half Gringa, and more. “I was finding a more vibrant way of being myself in the world and relating to other people,” he says. “I took my approach to guitar more seriously. I started playing with a lot more bands and playing a lot more of other people’s music.”
The Light Up Waltz juxtaposes this buoyant and communal musical approach with lyrics that often sound like a post-apocalyptic fever dream. The first side follows a narrator who flees a decaying world and ends up somewhere stranger, freer and more open-ended. Take the rollicking “I Could See It Coming,” where Cantor sings, “But before we crossed on / I buried our gods / in an empty old playground in the sandbox / Where I could see it coming.” He explains, “What was resonating to me while writing was this contradictory feeling of personal transformation in the midst of pretty intense societal disarray. I became very focused on how everything eventually collapses and the songs became kind of a collection of folktales about a world after collapse.” It’s heady stuff on paper but allowing these 10 songs to unfold and unwind is an evocative experience.
Even with the post-dystopian narrative context, joy permeates throughout the album. Lead single “The Light Up Waltz” conjures the enduring warmth of an old memory over an intimate and ambling country arrangement: “And the last band played The Light Up Waltz / with all the glowing snow, The Light Up Waltz,” Elsewhere, “Miriam Underwater” tells a bittersweet but affirming love story of one partner’s irrevocable transformation. “I know you love me and you know I cannot follow / There’s something nothing but the water can give,” sings Cantor. The track simmers with interlocking guitar riffs and wah-tinged psychedelia. “I love the performance that we got out of it,” says Cantor. “It’s a really good reflection of the band’s energy and the production is very playful.”
Cantor produced The Light Up Waltz, which was mixed with Dave Vettraino, and he’s joined by a new backing band of bassist Jason Ashworth, pedal steel player Max Subar, drummer and percussionist Sam Subar, and guitarist Chet Zenor. Minor Moon has been consistently one of
Chicago’s most thrilling live acts and here, the freewheeling immediacy of their stage show comes first. At its best, The Light Up Waltz finds the band settling into a stargazing groove and never letting up. It’s persistently disarming and danceable.
The band is joined by a rotating cast of Chicago collaborators including V.V. Lightbody, Sima Cunningham, Dustin Laurenzi, Elizabeth Moen, Macie Stewart, Hunter Diamond, Lia Kohl, and Andrew Sa, creating an ornate and lively context for these songs to live and grow. “I was feeling really connected to a lot of musicians that I look up to after being here for seven years,” says Cantor. “I took building musical community and camaraderie by playing with people more seriously than ever for this album.”
There’s an enveloping sense of rejuvenation throughout The Light Up Waltz. On “Under Beyond,” Cantor optimistically sings, “Look now we’re carvin’ it out / Pickin’ through the ruins layering the underground.” It’s all you can do when things fall apart: slowly pick up the pieces and build them back for something better.
“This is the kind of record that I’ve been writing towards from a personal spiritual perspective as well as a musical perspective for a long time,” says Cantor. “This feels like a culmination for Minor Moon.”
Brooks Nielsen
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
September 16, 2025
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Brooks Nielsen
Brooks Nielsen, celebrated frontman of The Growlers and now a critically acclaimed solo artist, has firmly established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in independent music. As the frontman and creative force behind The Growlers, Nielsen helped define and popularize the Beach Goth movement—a genre-blurring, countercultural wave that left an indelible mark on modern rock. Over more than a decade, The Growlers built a fiercely dedicated international following, performed at major festivals, and sold out venues around the world. Their celebrated discography and electrifying live shows cemented them as one of the most influential underground bands of the 21st century.
In addition to their music, The Growlers also founded and curated the Beach Goth Festival, a groundbreaking event that brought together a wildly eclectic mix of artists—from Patti Smith and Bon Iver to Doja Cat and Mac DeMarco—making it a defining moment in the cultural landscape of the 2010s.
Now, as a solo artist, Nielsen continues to push boundaries with the same fearless spirit. Since launching his solo career in 2022, he’s released four records—three of them in 2024 alone. His latest, A Ride I’m Waiting For, features the haunting duet “Without Eyes” with Sierra Ferrell and has been praised for its cinematic scope and emotional depth.
On stage, Nielsen delivers an experience unlike anything else. Backed by a powerhouse band—Growlers drummer Richard Gowen, keyboardist Cole Riddle, and guitarists J.D. Carrera and Elyadeen Anbar—Brooks crafts a set each night that’s entirely its own. Drawing from his extensive solo catalog, deep cuts, Growlers classics, and unreleased material, his shows are long, loose, and alive. With no opening acts and performances stretching two and sometimes three hours, fans are invited into a world that feels as spontaneous as it does deeply curated.
This Fall 2025 run is Brooks’s most ambitious solo tour to date, featuring first-ever solo plays in small towns, Aspen and Fort Collins, CO; Carrboro and Asheville, NC; Madison, WI; Ferndale, MI; New Haven, CT; St. Louis, MO; Boise, ID; Tulsa, OK; and Nashville, TN. There’s also a rare and intimate upstate New York show at the newly revived Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock—a venue rich with music history. In New York City, Nielsen will headline the legendary Webster Hall for the first time, marking his
biggest solo show in the city yet—and in Chicago, he’ll play the iconic Metro, a rite of passage for generations of boundary-pushing artists.
The 28-date tour wraps with the now-iconic Helloween shows at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on October 30 and 31—two surreal, sweat-soaked nights that have instantly become a rite of passage for Nielsen’s most devoted fans. Every year, Beach Rats from across the country—and around the world—make the journey for this once-a-year celebration of the strange and the sacred. It’s more than just a show: it’s a Mecca for the hardcore fanbase, a chance to mix with fellow travelers, share stories from the past, and revel in a night of music, mystery, and magic. If you know, you go.
Billy Raffoul
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
October 17, 2025
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Billy Raffoul
Nothing travels quite like music does. No spaceship, airplane, or automobile will ever match the speed of a song’s seeming hyper-jump from one place to the next. It might hop from the speakers of a pub in Germany to an outdoor gathering in Africa and back to a party in Ontario, Canada. Telling universal stories soundtracked by unshakable melodies, Billy Raffoul strikes an intimate chord, tapping into the feelings and experiences we all share no matter where we call home. This relatability has consistently engaged listeners, yielding hundreds of millions of streams and sold-out shows around the globe for the award-winning Ontario singer, songwriter, and producer.
Now, he makes his closest connection yet on his forthcoming self-titled album, Billy Raffoul.
“This is a very intentional record,” he says. “I went on tour to South Africa last year, and it was amazing to see how some love songs resonated with people on the other side of the world. Afterward, I was thinking, ‘I want to make an album full of these songs that have resonated with people on the other side of the world.’ Musically, I wanted to explore more of the planet. I’ve been able to showcase every part of myself in each song.”
Billy naturally absorbed a lifelong passion for music from his old man, Jody Raffoul, who shined as a singer-songwriter himself. Perfecting his songcraft and voice, he dropped music at a prolific pace, including the 1975 EP, The Running WildEP, Live in June, and the full-length LP, A Few More Hours at YYZ. Among many highlights, “Acoustic” eclipsed 87.3 million-plus Spotify streams, and “Easy Tiger” reeled in 25.7 million Spotify streams. He continued to progress with For All These Years, featuring “Better,” “I Wish You Were Here,” and “Bliss.” The album received acclaim from Philthy Mag, The Bluegrass Situation, Fifteen Questions, and The Indy Review, who raved, “Let your brain and heart take the journey that is For All These Years.” He notably performed alongside Kings of Leon, Phoenix, Kaleo, X Ambassadors, American Authors, and NEEDTOBREATHE, in addition to collaborating with Amistat, Katelyn Tarver, and JJ Wilde. Plus, he garnered the 2021 SOCAN Songwriting Prize for “Western Skies” and the 2023 INDIES “Song of the Year” for “We Could Get High.”
Concluding 2023, Billy canvased South Africa on tour. The experience affirmed the boundary-breaking power of music. Upon his return, he initially penned ideas at home before decamping to Los Angeles, where he worked with producer Davis Naish. “The music happened naturally,” he notes. “I was definitely following my instincts.”
The opener and single “Homebody” hinges on this organic approach. Delicately plucked acoustic guitar tiptoes beneath his breathy vocals. Out of the stillness, he offers up an invitation, “Why don’t we stay put?”
“It’s the idea of staying home and having a house party alone with your significant other,” he reveals. “It’s really all you need. I was in my basement, and the idea finally clicked for me.”
Loose strumming underlines “Slow” as blissful harmonies take hold, and he assures, “Baby, all I want to do is take it slow.” He elaborates, “It’s another simple love song. I mentioned my old Jetta and anyone who has seen me live over the last 10 years has heard about my first car. I recently sold it for parts but referenced the car in the chorus. It’s a love song about literally taking it slow and driving around the country in my car.”
Then, there’s “How About A Drink.” Piano resounds over airy chords as he asks, “How about a drink? Would that be alright?”
“I wrote that one with my brother in the basement,” he recalls. “He helped me finish it, and it’s one of the songs I’m most excited about.”
Nimbly picked acoustic guitar brushes up against Billy’s staggering high register on “Never Be Without Love.” Stretching his range, Billy flaunts his sky-high falsetto. “It’s about someone who has found the right thing after going through a bunch of the wrong things,” he reveals. “It’s a happy turn on a sad subject.”
On “Forever Yours,” his airy vocals practically glide over a bed of strings. He didn’t hide his ambition with this tender ballad. “I knew I wanted to write a wedding song,” he proclaims. “I’ve heard stories of my other songs being played at weddings, even though that wasn’t the intention. So, I wanted to write a song exactly for weddings.”
Sunny whistling matches the playful intonation of “Something New,” uplifted even higher by an upbeat rhythm. He flexes his soulful side on the refrain, “I can’t dance, but I’ll dance with you.”
“I actually wrote it on ukulele in Hawaii,” he reminisces. “I always try to travel with an instrument. It’s just purely fun and happy.”
Then, there’s “The Woman Who Raised Me.” He pays homage to Mom by recounting childhood memories with true reverence. He graciously marvels at her impact, “When you’re gone, you will never leave,” going on to say, “For as long as I’m here, you’ll be the woman who raised me.”
“This one is directly for my mother,” he smiles. “I just wanted a tribute for her. It has a bunch of snapshots of memories from growing up. I wanted to give this to her now. She loves the song, which is all that matters.”
“Fit Together” depicts an unconventional love story set to a mellow drumbeat and head-nodding riff. It culminates on a clever chorus, “If I wasn’t broke, how would we fit together?”
“It’s the idea you’re only able to find the right person or right thing because of what you’ve gone through,” he says. “The concept is really just two busted-up people kind of filling in each other’s cracks.”
He composed “Spare Parts” as the first cut for the record. Once again, he explores how the best relationship will be greater than the sum of its parts. He sings, “I got spare parts that you can use, and maybe we don’t have to be alone for any longer.”
“It’s definitely more rocking,” he exclaims. “It’s about another relationship or something you’ve been through, but it’s a little more anthemic.”
In the end, you can always count on Billy to wear his heart on his sleeve.
“At the heart of it, this record is a bunch of love songs,” he concludes. “Paul McCartney once sang, ‘Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs and what’s wrong with that?’ I’m still just trying to write the next best song. I really pushed myself as a writer more than ever. I’m so proud of it.”
Post Animal
Space Ballroom • 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden, CT 06514
November 5, 2025
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Post Animal
When Post Animal stepped into the studio for their new album, it was the first time all six original members were in the studio together for nearly a decade. Three band members had recently relocated away from Chicago, not to mention Joe Keery having left the band in 2017 to focus on acting. In the end they started right back up at the beginning, rediscovering that uncompromising closeness of connection they all shared from those endless hours spent in practice spaces and the late-night diner runs that follow. Prolonged stretches of time together not only reinforced the strength of their friendship—it reinvigorated their music. “If you want to get one hour of good painting in, you have to have four hours of uninterrupted time,” David Lynch once said. The product of a few straight weeks together, IRON (due July 25th) not only finds them reunited with Keery but is the embodiment of 30 days of camaraderie and unbound musical exploration, their renewed connection ironclad.
After 2022’s sublime Love Gibberish, their first independent record, Post Animal found themselves sunk deeper into their work than ever before. They toured extensively, both on their own and with UK psych band Temples. By the time things settled down, guitarist Javi Reyes and drummer Wesley Toledo were back home in Chicago, while guitarist Matt Williams moved to Los Angeles, bassist Dalton Allison decamped for Ithaca, and multi-instrumentalist Jake Hirshland relocated to Brooklyn. “There was some burnout happening,” Allison says.
But then Keery showed up at a New York tour stop, and the idea was hatched that they cut another record—all six band members together again, for the first time since 2017’s When I Think of You in a Castle. “That was near the start of Stranger Things, and now with it kind of coming to an end in my own life, we all felt it’d be great to do something like that again,” Keery says. “It was a labor of love.” The group focused on the experience and ignored any pressure. “We all agreed that even if we went and just hung out, we’d be happy with it,” Toledo says. “There was a real positivity and optimism among us.” They would set up camp at the Indiana home of their friends, tucked into some woodlands.
The creativity driven by comfort is apparent from the opening instrumental track; “Malcolm’s Cooking” was recorded in part on a balcony overlooking the foliage, complete with the humid wind, insect whirring, and euphorically clinking bottles. Lead single “Last Goodbye” follows, a slow-loping look at the end of a relationship, a point in time somehow both uneasy and familiar. There’s a vintage AM radio glow to follow-up “Pie in the Sky”, a giddy-up bass and thumping percussion giving way to layered harmony. “Make me wanna sell my soul for just a bit of your shine/ How am I gonna fill this hole, if your heart ain’t mine?” they sigh in a fit of honest, unadorned adoration.
“This record felt like a revitalization of our friendships and our band,” Hirshland says. “We always work collaboratively, but it’s amazing how reintroducing Joe into the mix brought back that dynamic from 2017.” Keery agrees, noting both how close they’ve remained despite so much change. “I was just appreciative to be spending this time, knowing we might not get another chance,” he says. “The record reflects that enjoyment, and you can feel the fun.”
Each of the six musicians brought in song ideas and took their turn taking the lead. In perhaps the most intimate example, “Maybe You Have To” opens with a voicemail of Toledo’s abuela prior to her passing, with the glistening track that follows staring down the pain of that loss. But even when IRON touches on heavy themes, Post Animal finds fluidity and strength in their compositions—a clear result of sharing so much time together. “It’s a return to ourselves, but down the road, feeling better than we ever have,” Reyes says.
The album uses that honed edge to push and pull at genre threads, from synthpop to folk, vintage radio rock to twitchy psychedelia. Whether in the tumbling, interlocking eighth notes of “Common Denominator” or the cloudlike, piano-driven title track, IRON lives deliciously in its moment. Or, as Hirshland explains it: “This is an exploration of being alive and in this group of friends.”
IRON puts the listener directly into the room with the band, freewheeling and experimental yet played with precision. That atmosphere should be palpable as the band hits the road with Keery’s Djo project, Toledo and Reyes pulling double duty as well by working in his backing band—the whole group getting to spend even more time together. “All of these creative forces coming together, it was like iron sharpening iron,” Allison says. “When we’re in proximity with one another, we make each other better.”
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Don’t Miss
• Registration is now open for The Denise D’Ascenzo Foundation’s Walk to Fight Rare Diseases presented by Johnson Brunetti
• The Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of Fire Engine Pizza Company
• Jessie Reyez to perform in Wallingford in June
•••• Message center – Connecticut savings and messages from our sponsors •••••••
Connecticut Merch
If you’re from Connecticut or just love it, then you’ve come to the right place. Show your state pride with our assortment of unique Connecticut merchandise.
Our popular collections 203 • Two o’ Three • 860 • Eight Six O’ • I Really Really Miss Connecticut • Just a kid from Connecticut • Pride • Love & Live • Connecticut Fall
We also have merch by town, not all towns are available yet. You can always contact us and we can order the design you are looking for.
Save 10% on all products with promo code Post10. Always free shipping
AMG Catering & Events Spring Cooking Schedule
4/30 – Cinco de Mayo Class – Click here for more information
5/14 – Spring Sauce Class – Click here for more information
5/21 – Hibachi / Blackstone Class — Click here for more information
Gourmet Cookies
Indulge in Keksi gourmet cookies, featuring classic flavors such as chocolate chip and snickerdoodle, as well as new monthly creations. Made with the highest quality ingredients, each bite is a delicious treat. Perfect for any cookie lover!
Hartford Wolf Pack March home games
4.18.25 – Hartford Wolf Pack vs Bridgeport Islanders click here to purchase tickets
Movie showtimes at Prospector Theater
Looking to see a movie. Click here for showtimes
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Products we use here at Finding Connecticut include Sports Relief Rub • 500 MG Full Spectrum CBD Oil • Pet Drops • Pet Treats
Let’s create with Victory Designs
Need help with your creative needs? Our team has 20+ years of experience with Adobe, Shopify, and WordPress, and we offer affordable graphic design and web services. Let Victory Designs assist you with bringing your ideas to life.
Connecticut business owners:
Are you a local business owner in Connecticut looking to boost your visibility and reach more customers? Look no further! Our platform provides a unique opportunity to showcase your business to an engaged audience of people who love and live in Connecticut. By partnering with us, you can reach potential customers who are actively seeking things to do, places to dine, and local merchants and service providers to support. Don’t miss out on this chance to grow your business and connect with the local community!
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