Mid-year album reviews, Pt. 2: Wishy, Dutch Interior, Arcade Fire, Horsegirl; Michael Cera Palin, English Beat tonight…
by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com
This is part 2 of the mid-year album reviews round-up (Pt. 1 is here), wherein I point in the direction of albums that somehow floated through the thick moss of my email and/or Spotify playlists to stand on their own as notable additions to my personal 2025 indie music catalog. Some are better than others; all are worth checking out, some deserve a download. But you be the judge…
Wishy, Planet Popstar (Winspear) – It’s time to reconsider the EP and Wishy’s Planet Popstar, released this past April, is a stellar example of this format. Only six songs, no filler, the album is unevenly split between the band’s two primary songwriters and vocalists — Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites. Both came from separate projects and approached Wishy as a sort of “twee pop” experiment (according to this insightful interview in First Revival). That said, Planet Popstar sounds more like stripped-down indie rock than any K/Slumberland stuff I grew up with. Some folks file Wishy under the shoegaze category, but that’s not right either.
Album opener “Fly” and the dreamy “Chaser” – both Pitchkites-led outings – are flawless indie pop songs bound to catch the ear of savvy college radio programmers. Pitchkites’ pitch-perfect vocals sound pure and untouched.
On the other hand, the Krauter-led songs, while no less poppy, feel slightly over-produced with Krauter’s vocals sometimes lost in buzzing studio effects. The title track, for example combines metronomic percussion with fuzzed-out guitars and even more fuzzed-out vocals. The fuzz is pulled back on the band’s primary single, “Over and Over,” though Krauter can’t help but lay on the vocal effects, giving both tracks a nostalgic ’90 sheen.
They could have stopped after those four songs, but tacked on two more Krauter-led tracks, including the dreamy beach-combing closer “Slide.” Press photos show a five-piece band but the EP sounds like it was a Pitchkites / Krauter studio project, and that’s part of the charm.
Six songs is plenty but what’s the old adage about leaving them wanting more? For those who are, or who want something physical to add to their vinyl collection, Planet Popstar was combined with 2023’s MBV-flavored shoegaze collection, Paradise EP, for the LP Paradise on Planet Popstar. I’ll stick with the EP, thanks.
Dutch Interior, Moneyball (Fat Possum) – After hearing the single “Fourth Street,” I was ready to compare them to Pavement, but upon further examination, Dutch Interior has more in common with alt-country playthings Wilco. For every indie-slacker track (“Canada,” the aforementioned “Fourth Street,”) there are a few dusty, pedal-steel powered country songs (“Horse,” “Christ on the Mast,” “Sweet Time”). I may have been momentarily fooled by the vocals — everyone has a laidback Malkmus delivery — but ultimately, it’s the Tweedy twang that wins out.
Arcade Fire, Pink Elephant (Columbia) – Remember when these guys were the next big arena act to emerge from the indie Petrie dish? Their plans for world domination were no doubt hampered by Win Butler’s controversies, which he seems to have emerged from somewhat unscathed (judging from the recent SNL appearance). I lost track of them after 2015’s Reflektor, though since then they released at least three more LPs, including 2022’s WE, which sported the single “Unconditional (Lookout Kid).”
In contrast with their first three albums, Pink Elephant is by-the-numbers and less collaborative, feeling more like a Win Butler/Régine Chassagne side project. You’ll recognize their trademark melodic through-lines and there are a couple standout tracks (“Year of the Snake,” “Circle of Trust”), but overall, this album feels like a placeholder for whatever comes next.
Horsegirl, Phonetics On and On (Matador) – The Chicago trio pulls back on the noise heard on their 2022 debut, Versions of Modern Performance, for a stripped down collection that has more in common with mathematics than phonetics. Each song is tightly wound, controlled, with minimalist rhythms and repeated guitar lines (they say they were heavily influenced by Kraut rock’s rigid structures). They somehow always grow an ear-worm melody out of each granite-tight arrangement. The result can feel constrained and limiting, kind of like when you watch electronic artists perform live knowing they’re confined by the limits of their synth programming. While there’s joy in repetition, I’d rather hear these women break out of their rhythmic shackles.
More reviews to come…
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Tonight at Reverb Lounge, Atlanta-based self-proclaimed emo artist Michael Cera Palin headlines. While his music does have distinctively emo elements, there’s more than a little Wheezer influence, especially on his latest album We Could Be Brave (2025, Brain Synthesizer). Tongues of Fire and Valley Street also are on the bill. $22, 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, around the corner at The Waiting Room, The English Beat play another return engagement. Locals The Bishops opens the show at 8 p.m. $35.
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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
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