Tone Madison
The transportive lyricism of Derrick Austin
Derrick Austin‘s poetry has an ability to quickly and quietly transport the reader to a serene place. His work pulls from history, religion, and mythology, while at the same time using imagery that reflects contemporary figures and pop culture. What makes his debut collection, 2016’s Trouble The Water, so attractive and enchanting is its scope. […]
The margin is for the Holy Ghost
Rita Mae Reese has climbed through many different jobs and paths to get to Madison. She grew up in beautiful West Virginia, and often draws from her roots in her poetry. Her path led her to work up the ranks for a lesbian press down in Florida, earning a Bachelor’s at Florida State University, moving to […]
Olyvia Jaxyn’s songs of becoming
Madison singer/songwriter/guitarist Olyvia Jaxyn’s recently released debut EP, Lyv, tries to convey a pretty big story in just four songs. The EP’s liner notes on Bandcamp sum it up this way: “The narrative takes us from naive crushes to public anxieties, to private pleasures to finally being crushed, naively of course, in public. Lyv is a […]
Slow variations over time with Litüus
The music that Connor Camburn makes under the name Litüus is all about finding a lot of variety and a lot of sonic texture in a few simple elements. The tracks on the project’s 2016 release 1980.-19905 often start with one synthesizer sound, one repeating pattern, and in some sense make you listen to the same thing over and […]
Trophy Dad gets a big-picture perspective
The songs on Madison band Trophy Dad’s latest EP, Dogman, are relatively old in the band’s lifespan—they formed just a few years ago and began recording these tracks in early 2016. That said, it represents a big step forward from their 2015 debut EP, Shirtless Algebra Fridays. Both releases capture the band’s gift for skewed, catchy guitar […]
The meaning of that “You Are Beautiful” mural
If you’ve headed down East Washington Avenue toward the Capitol lately, you’ve likely seen a new mural proclaiming “you are beautiful.” It’s on the side of art space and venue Art In. Behind that colorful lettering and the friendly sentiment is a local effort that aims to empower marginalized youth, especially queer and transgender youth, […]