Death metal has roots in numerous bands and places, most significantly in the humid, blood-soaked, stimulant-crazed state of Florida, a peninsula cursed since the days of the Spaniards, if not before. Its tentacles have spread across the globe, including to the poisoned wastes of Iowa, which brings us to the subject of this article.

[Must read lyrics are in this article!] The new single “Reel Life” marks the powerful rebirth of CUT.RATE.BOX. Released for free (pay as you wish) via Bandcamp, it offers a dark and unflinching reflection of our modern age: overstimulated, algorithmically manipulated, and emotionally anesthetized. Musically, the track is a tense fusion of dense electronic punk, EB rhythms, and synthpop unease – drawing on influences such as Cabaret Voltaire, Wire, and Brian Eno, while embracing modern production and generative tools as instruments of expression, not novelty. 

The Tubs (confuse with the Tubes at your own risk) are a Welsh band, relocated to London and now touring America for the first time. On first listen, their newest album Cotton Crown is a glorious wash of '90s college-rock guitar, a warm shower at midnight in a gently-lit bathroom, radio-ready four-chord nostalgia for hipsters and Blues Traveler fans alike. Taken at the most superficial, background level, it's an energizing shot of musical positivity.