Graham Hunt (Album Release Tour) w/ Interlay, Tension Pets

$13 Adv, $15 Dos + Fees | 21+

If you know how to work the angles, you can fit a lot into the container of a three- or four-minute pop song. Graham Hunt understands this. Since he was a teenager, he’s been working at perfecting the form, writing songs that get to the heart of what makes Midwestern guitar pop so essential, and doing it while sidestepping any of the dead-end creative moves that weigh down many in the genre.

Nowhere is this balancing act as clear as on the Madison-based artist’s new LP, Try Not To Laugh. It’s a record where breakbeats coexist with anthemic choruses and synth runs go toe-to-toe with acoustic guitars. From start to finish, the song stays at the forefront. It’s been the throughline for Hunt, who has played in street punk bands and power pop bands and hardcore bands and the underrated Midnight Reruns, who pushed a distinctively Upper Heartland kind of songcraft, one that led to opening slots for The Replacements and a diehard following of Wisconsin alcoholics.

Tension Pets are a rambunctious new synthesizer punk outfit from some Chicago DIY lifers (The Hecks, Pussy Foot, The Christmas Bride, etc). Catchy chaos bottled up in 2 minute blasts. Both sweet and sour.

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