They are supported tonight by Harm’s Way and I Promised the World. Harm’s Way is a hardcore band originating from 2006 in Chicago, building their music with industrial and experimental electronic elements. Though beginning in their youth with “kill all frat kids” lyricism, they’ve lately gone down the more serious black metal inspired route, and have recently performed alongside bands such as Basement and Knocked Loose. I Promised the World (formerly named Sinema) are a young hardcore band out of Texas, currently touring along Deafheaven throughout most U.S. states (except Texas). Their music builds on hardcore with a nostalgic screamo quality, and are sure to put out a great performance tonight.

Deafheaven returns back to heavier and darker tones of their past in Lonely People With Power, while their classic pained catharsis flows and powers through each song. Throughout their discography, the band has experimented between genres of metal, rock, and pop, living and making music from the underlying grooves connecting them all together. The influence can be heard throughout each release, with some albums clearly drawing their inspirational ties tighter and looser as the band evolves. It’s been fascinating to follow this band throughout the years, and to notice the distinct evolution that lives underneath their constantly changing sound. Lonely People With Power is both a return to that deepness of their past and their genre-defining Sunbather, changed by a clear pop influence in the musicality, instrumentation, and song structure. This album stands far on its own as another era of the band, another fantastic point in the evolving and genre-defying Deafheaven.

Given the intensity of this show, I advise all attendees to come prepared with earplugs. Their setlist tonight will likely focus on Lonely People With Power, with tracks from Sunbather and New Bermuda likely sprinkled in. I do fret and worry, that should Incidental II be perhaps performed tonight, my soul may be inclined to escape the confines of my body.

Tickets for the event are for sale from First Fleet Concerts here.

The post Concert Preview: Deafheaven in Davenport at the Capitol Theater, October 9 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Bands That Set The Mood

Before Your Arms Are My Cocoon took the stage, two other bands played which set the atmosphere for the night. At 7:00 o’clock, the band The Fall of Babylon from Dubuque, Iowa, began their set which involved deep and muddy bass notes, rich and grungy guitar power chords, and lively drum beats, which all laid under neath the harsh screamo vocals from their two lead singers. The multi-instrumentalist filled band readjusted instrumentation and singers after each song. The highlight of their set was the last song they played, which just involved an acoustic guitarist, and one of the lead singers. Although the song carried less energy than their previous ones, but they displayed great, raw emotion and it was very unique compared to the first part of their set. The variety and shifting of multi-instrumentalists made for a dynamic and entertaining set from the young band.

Local Iowa City screamo band, thisworldisnotkind, then took the stage playing several songs that were similar to the band that played before but with more of an emphasis on longer songs that built tension as they went on. The four-person band featured a bassist playing prolonged bass notes that rung through your whole body, a guitarist playing spacey chords and riffs, a (dynamic) drummer, and more screamo vocals from the lead singer who also used a trumpet occasionally to add variety to their set. Again, the highlight of their set was the last song they played, which started with a trumpet medley over a slow and deep instrumental from the other musicians, continued to slowly build energy as the vocalist began singing, and finally culminated in an explosive ending that was full of moshing and exploded the energy of the room through the roof. These two openers brought the energy that was needed to prime the audience for Your Arms Are My Cocoon.

Your Arms Are My Cocoon Takes The Stage

After much anticipation, Your Arms Are My Cocoon began their set with their song snowy!, a song featuring a midwest emo style guitar riff and Odom’s trademark screamo vocals. The live version of this song featured an extended ending matched with heavier drums than you can hear in the released version. The crowd jumped, screamed, and moshed as a saxophone solo whaled over top of the climactic ending of the song. It was an incredible opening song that dipped the audience’s toes in the water of the beautiful set to come. 

The band continued their set with many songs off their new album, including muffled beneath the sound of the ocean, junebug and swan dive. The middle section of their set is where the band really flaunted their ability to be dynamic on stage. They displayed a playfulness during their performance that perfectly fit the style of music, including Odom running into the crowd with his guitar multiple times while people were moshing, beautifully prolonged saxophone solos and medleys over all of their songs, and extended versions of their songs that had the ability to blow the walls down of the small room we were all packed into. At this point the band had the audience watching in a trance, unable to step out of the steaming hot, compacted room even if they needed some fresh air to not miss what they would do next.

Finally, the band concluded their set with the song death of a rabbit, which resulted in the highlight of the entire night. They turned the 6 minute and 14 second song into a 10+ minute sweeping ballad. The song began with restrained guitar strumming, soft vocals, and a bed of electric piano chords that built up to an explosive climax that could’ve gone on for hours and no one in the audience would have been upset. The screeching of the saxophone, the screaming from Odom, the abrasive drumming, and heavy bass notes all in that intimate setting made for the perfect end to an incredible night.

No amount of listening to their music will top seeing this incredible band in such an intimate space. These four phenomenal performers perfectly utilize their mix live and prerecorded electric instruments and are dynamic enough performers to create a completely unique concert experience, unlike anything I have seen before. If you ever get the opportunity to see these guys in concert, do not hesitate and take the chance.

The post Your Arms Are My Cocoon brought the death of a rabbit tour to Iowa City (again!) – September 23, 2025 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Fellow Chicago band Blind Equation played right before Your Arms Are My Cocoon. The two bands toured Asia last year together and often feel like they meld well, going hand in hand. Playing their cybergrind tracks, some old some new, they coated the audience in digital bliss. It was as if it was ripped from the screen of an old 2009 MySpace profile page. It provided a perfect preemptive feeling for the set after, awaiting death.

the rabbit is born, innocent and sweet.

Distorted speech spoken through a Software Automatic Mouth echoed out into a loosely packed Gabe’s, introducing the birth of the rabbit. Clad in wedding gowns and emo haircuts, gentle guitar riffs opened around thrashing screams and saxophone. Following the glowing arc of energy, a fevered buzz passed around between band and audience members with the set composed of vibers, jumpers, and crowdkillers alike. I got bonked in the head, which is the hardest knock to the noggin I’ve taken since, poetically, the last time Your Arms Are My Cocoon was at Gabe’s. Bright poppy synth tracks blared in between songs, a transition both musically fractured and bizarrely energetic. Golden spotlight reflected around the saxophone, shining over the bell and glittering off brass keys. Circling the roar of drums and screams, it threw out riffs after runs into arpeggios, a point of brightness guided within noise.

i am sorry.
this rabbit is mine.
our love is mine.
this city is on fire and there is nothing i can do.

The saxophone bound the band together for the duration of the set, a warm accompaniment weaving something sentimental within and around the frenetic energy, before softening into a muted lull. A forlorn duet between sweet bells and a gentle guitar cut through somber air, building once more into hyper thrashing. Energy ebbed and flowed from miserable outcry and a gentle sweet melancholy, traversing through the quiet despair as music confronted pain and past with scattered cries. The sweetness is born from sadness.

Sweet nostalgia gives us a reason to reminisce through sepia days lit in summer sun and Nintendo consoles. Beneath the gilded layers of that fuzzy warmth lives a deep yearning, a bitter regret for the youth passed by. Your Arms Are My Cocoon, built from a teenage bedroom, reaches past false comforts of bygone warmth. They weave their yearning by collapsing into the underlying despair haunting that bedroom, each song blaring a torrent of past agony into the Gabe’s upstairs.

Bleeding in that halcyon feeling, I was reminded how miserable the youth I yearn for was, how days tumbled over each other into pathetic years of anxiety and frustration. That sadness metamorphosed, it evaporated off my stained sweater while dripping down into my socks. Around the music intertwining present and past, the acidic nostalgia smoothed the bitter edges to sweetness. Your Arms Are My Cocoon embraces the scarred stain, a memory of how sadness is born, is changed, but never dies.

the rabbit is dead. the person i once loved is gone. if only i had the guts to stay.

Here this rabbit is dead. Here this music is gone.

Again we brave the bitter chill, to hop along beside ourselves back to our burrows.

The post Your Arms Are My Cocoon: birth/rabbit/death in Iowa City appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Last year, the first Pokey’s Fest was a wonderful success with an immense communal energy that came from the blossoming punk scene, along with travelers from elsewhere. The entire weekend oscillated between moments in loud, hectic mosh pits, and people chilling with each other in spaces like backyards and sidewalks. The connections between people, along with the constant string of crazy sets made bringing the festival back an obvious choice, just now it only has more. Much of the same scene will be on display this time around. 

Along with a plethora of hardcore bands, Pokey’s Fest this year will also feature many local vendors selling and trading things like zines, food and jewelry. The festival this year is all-encompassing, and perfectly placed for the time of year when the days are longest. Below is a somewhat comprehensive guide to many of the bands playing at the festival, all put together by some of the KRUI staffers. At the bottom of the article is also a schedule with what bands are playing when. Festival tickets will be available to be bought in person. 

Friday

The Mall

Music for punks who dance. From St. Louis, Missouri, The Mall produces tracks shocked with Earth crumbling bass hits and sawing synthlines slicing through the room. It’s entrancing industrial EBM all packaged into an aggressive punk like presentation. Mark Plant screams out vocals as they turn dials and press buttons, all while writhing in front of a dizzying array of lights beaming across the dark room. The whole display drenches everyone into a deep sense of euphoria. Somehow it depicts images of the end of the world, which for us will likely look like a cluttered wreckage of needless, cheap luxury and consumerist waste. Rather than be swept away and disparaged by it, The Mall encourages a celebration of bliss and life before the end of it all in whatever manmade rapture topples onto us. 

-John Glab

Payasa

Hailing from Lake County, Illinois, Payasa is relatively new on the scene, though their style of hardcore punk certainly isn’t. Harrowing poetic lyrics and their upbeat throbbing tempos create a unrivaled auditory experience that will leave the unprepared in the dust, as evidenced by their short but sweet 2022 release, The Haze Begins… One can only wonder if it will emerge once again at Pokey’s Fest.

-Evan Raefield

Prevention

The clichéd idea around hardcore shows, and I guess a hardcore festival, is that they’re dangerous, and that at any moment you could get clocked by someone throwing around flying spin kicks. Most of the time it is not like that. While still very wild and passionate, it’s a very respectful controlled chaos here in Iowa City. Out of every show I’ve been to in this city though, at no point did I think I was going to die more in a pit than when Prevention played at a Valentine’s Day show earlier this year. Something about the Springfield, Illinois band elicits a hidden message, sleeper cell type reaction from people. This will likely be one of the most tumultuous sets of the entire festival. 

-John Glab

Nature Boys

Veteran Kansas City punk outfit Nature Boys have worked to establish themselves in the larger scene of Eastern Iowa, as their profile has steadily grown along with their mosh pits. After working with Dead Broke Records to release their 4th album in 2021, they have introduced the world at large, and World City at large as of Friday, to their down and dirty Southern brand of punk rock.

-Evan Raefield

Sweat FM

Broadcasting on the wavelengths of Chicago’s Sweat FM is the ‘80s style power pop you would come to expect from things like home workout videos. It’s something that you would do that one Mannrobics dance from TF2 to. Even though this music to many people today is seen as gaudy, there’s a distinct energy that comes from that era’s sound that makes it kind of cunty. Dom Rabalais distills that pure essence into their new album you and i, we were born to cry. Among the pristine, suspended synth sounds and glam rock guitars is an infectious catchiness. It’s easy to shout along with these songs as you carry out your electric exercise routine in a would be mosh pit surrounded by everyone else. 

-John Glab

Jack and the Slammers

An exciting new three-slammer, one-Jack act from the depths of Des Moines, Iowa, Jack and the Slammers offer a particularly speedy strain of hardcore, with most songs not quite hitting the two minute mark. In addition, they have a song titled “GOON SQUAD” so you already know the crowd will be slammin’.

-Evan Raefield

Curt Oren

A bit of a change of pace, Curt Oren is an experimental electroacoustic artist and VLC projectionist incorporating genre bending elements such as saxophone to build gargantuan, larger than life compositions. Oren has worked in everything from lo-fi beats to transcendental long form soundscapes. So, one can only wonder what they’ll bring to the table this time around.

-Evan Raefield

God’s Hand

God’s Hand is a surfy punk band from Iowa City. They specialize in fast paced rock music that’s perfect for moshing. All their members are some of the most talented people in the scene and together bring an energy that can’t be replicated. None of their music is online for streaming, so if you want to experience them, you better be here in person. For now though, you can check out some of their previous sets on the Death in the Midwest YouTube channel. God’s Hand will be playing during the first set of the entire festival at Hell on Friday at 5:30 PM. 

-Trent

Bootcamp

Fresh off a 7” EP release and brief tour of the American South, Bootcamp, a hardcore punk rock four-piece and Iowa City scene staple, are back in town and ready to rock it Midwest style for Pokey’s Fest 2. Bootcamp is composed of guitarist Dolly, lead vocalist Juliette, bassist Molly, and drummer Oliver. They bring it fast and hard with killer riffs and belting vocals that demand your attention. Their songs explore ideas ranging from gender identity to corrupted former U.S. politicians, all with a spirit of liberation in mind. I <3 BOOTCAMP! See them perform at Purgatory on Friday at 8:30 PM!

-Lily Graham

Thought Wrong

We dive back into core Pokey’s Records with Thought Wrong, an Iowa City through and through hardcore group that brings a rougher edge to the scene. Thought Wrong will have you chasing the waves of their distinctive guitar sound, now at the hands of recently added guitarist Diego. This, however, is not to write off the impact of the rest of the band, with drummer August, bassist Cooper, and vocalist Marc, who bring equally weighty performances that will surely have your heads banging. The group seeks to carry on the Iowa hardcore tradition and does so with flying colors. See them bring the house down for Pokey’s Fest.

-Lily Graham

Saturday

Plack Blague

Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Plack Blague spews out metallic, lustful “LEATHER INDUCED ELECTRONIC BODY MUSIC.” If you like assaulting yours ears with acidic bass and harsh keyboards, this band is sure to leave you foaming at the mouth from pure excitement. If that’s not enough for you, the unhinged erotic performance of vocalist Ross Schlesinger (a.k.a. Raws) is sure to satisfy your needs. You don’t have to spend your Saturday bored out of your mind. Embrace the pull of flashing lights, strange noise, and exciting company.    

-Casper Bakker

Mindclot

A relative newcomer to the scene, St. Louis based four piece Mindclot has already begun to build a reputation as a one of a kind act in their mere not quite two years of rocking. Bringing a hybrid between blackened crust and d-beat, their unique rhythms will shake up expectations for the fest. Check out their 2023 album Profit Over People to prepare yourself.

-Evan Raefield

Pat and the Pissers

They’re one of the most far flung visitors for Pokey’s, coming all the way from Indianapolis! Pat and aforementioned Pissers have had a busy flurry of years, having released an album in both 2022 and 2023 with no signs of letting up. They are fresh off a spring tour across the nation, as well as separate dates bookending their Iowa City appearance. Audiences can expect a tight, fuzzy, and artsy performance from the four when they take the stage.

-Evan Raefield

Snuffed

The hardcore of Chicago’s Snuffed is vicious. Words snarled from vocalist Karly feel absolutely rabid. Riffs are constantly dropping down into the Earth, sending shockwaves across the surface. The natural rotting decay featured in much of the band’s imagery gives into the sonic presentation. It’s hardcore to devolve into, returning to some sort of animal urge, forgetting any of the artificial hardships that plague everyday human existence. None of these problems will really matter when eventually we all will return to the dirt where we came from.

-John Glab

True Commando

Breakcore is one of the most intense and energetic forms of music out there, with its high BPM and blistering fast rhythms. Now imagine making it even more intense and demented. That’s what Iowa City based artist True Commando does with his “hellish jungle” tracks. Amid the already frantic pace of breakcore compositions, he makes it even more caustic with blown out samples, along with scathing screams that tangle themselves within the bombardment of noise. Through all the cacophony is an intense, infectious shuffle perfect for running through the causeways of some flaming city. An immense amount of harsh energy is brought to each one of the sets, leaving a little bit of his soul strung out among the wires coiled on the ground.

-John Glab

Frontal Assault

A shining star of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metal scene and a longtime regular in higher profile Iowa City shows, the seasoned band Frontal Assault brings a high adrenaline shred based approach to speedy metal tempos, sure to send audiences into a frenzy. They’re coming off of their most recent project, 10 Beer Plan, a split with fellow headliners Ill Omen (more on them in a moment) released in April of this year. They will have necks hurting before Saturday is half over.

-Evan Raefield

Ill Omen

The other Gemini of the Cedar Rapids metal scene, it makes sense that Ill Omen released a split with Frontal Assault, as they too embody a high octane thrash metal experience, with piercing vocals and even more piercing licks. Fresh off of their 2023 album as well as the aforementioned split, Ill Omen will bring a verifiable technical wizardry to Saturday’s lineup. I can already hear the tremolos in the distance.

-Evan Raefield

Kl!ng

Kl!ng to some degree is Penny Peach reincarnate. Kl!ng consists of all the members of the other band, but instead the song writing responsibilities have been divided equally among the three of them. Sonically, it is very similar. The band still has the same indie rock fusion between the fluidity of garage psych akin to Ty Segall, and a much more chaotic approach to grunge. Each one of their songs twists and turns into unpredictable directions, and the personalities of all three are given plenty of room in any of their sets. It’s all a very welcoming presence.

-John Glab

YXNG RASKAL

Harry Manaligod, the artist behind the YXNG RASKAL project, produces scathing rap songs with abrasive, murky, hyper pop like beats. Many of her songs, like “prairielands” on her recent album SPLIT/TING are protest anthems made to rage at the systems of oppression that people face in Iowa City on a daily basis. All while doing this though, she still does it in a jovial way, like on the track “LiNDSEY GRAHAM” where she shows no matter how much those in power try to knock people down, we can still rise and enjoy the time we have in our lives. Along with this, as Manaligod puts it, it’s bad bitch music that’s not bitch made.

-John Glab

Burger

Despite being a newer band in the Iowa City punk scene, Burger does not need an explanation. Yet, I guess here I am trying to give one. Filling in the city’s empty niche of Oi! Punk, the band still exudes a level of aggression, but makes it extremely palpable by providing a generally chirpy atmosphere. Each Burger set is extremely fun and joyous. It feels like it’d be perfect to play in some chapter’s union hall. Another niche in the Iowa City area which should be packed even more. 

-John Glab

Sunday

Aseethe

Aseethe is viscous. Their sound of doom metal is all-encompassing. When listening to their sets, the sludginess of their riffs seems to turn the air of whatever venue they’re playing into a solid mass. They achieve this effect by emphasizing drones in their music. Along with blending the regular elements of hardcore, they introduce synths into their sonic array, never letting up for a moment of brevity. All the different voices bend and bleed into each other. Within their dense, metallic performance, it permeates into a mesmerizing, hypnotic rumble. 

-John Glab

Death Kill Overdrive

Death Kill Overdrive is a bombastic pop punk freakazoid band hailing from Iowa City. With the delightfully pissed off vocal stylings of Cain and Oliver, and unmatched instrumentation, you’ll have no choice but to cheer and jump around for this home grown four piece! They released their most recent album Juicin’ late last year. With songs about everything from the joy of being in love, to the absolute horror of working in a grocery store, to how fucking cute the bassist Molly’s rabbit is, there’s no excuse for not showing up to what is sure to be a fantastic performance. Catch Death Kill Overdrive on the flip side, and at Pokey’s Fest.

-Casper Bakker

thisworldisnotkind

All lowercase, no spaces, MySpacecore band name? No thanks. Sure they’re relatively new, but this band like sucks. They’re fucking trash. We don’t need a cringe-ass screamo “skramz” or whatever the fuck band in Iowa City. I hate every member of this band, especially that dumb fuck twink of a bassist. Go see them or whatever.

Pest Heaven

Two piece bands consisting of just a vocalist on guitar and drums aren’t very common to come by. This is often because with having just the three possible voices, it’s hard to flesh out a full sound, unless you exude extreme talent. Two pieces like Washer, Gnarwhal, or to some degree The White Stripes do this exceptionally well, being able to create captivating songs with the barebones tools. Pest Heaven also falls into this category. Between guitarist Adelina and drummer Cauline, no space feels left empty. Some intricate fill or drum pattern is always being played, while the guitar riffs feel incredibly lush, and move from one killer idea to the next. All of this comes along with the duo’s fiery, heartfelt delivery. 

-John Glab

Haunter

Iowa City, Pokey’s Records, and the festival that they are putting on is home to plenty of weird and convention-pushing art. Tucked into this is a thriving experimental noise music scene. Haunter is one of many of these artists. During their sets, typically lit by just a single candle, they generate dark, barren, windswept landscapes. They feel inhospitable to be in, like it’s some sort of mistake that you find yourself standing in the middle of the long-decayed carnage. It’s an overbearing sensory experience that can make a person grapple with their own swirling being.  

-John Glab

Pokey’s Fest Schedule

The post Pokey’s Fest 2 Preview appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Having a band make its way from the other side of the world, from a major European city not entirely well known to Americans, just to play at the back of a kombucha shop in the Midwest, greatly intrigued me. Upon seeing their name on the poster, I was determined to check it out. Zmar played second on the night. The first band that played was from Davenport, and had one of those spindly, hard to read black metal logos on the poster. They honestly weren’t really that enjoyable, so I’m not going to try and decipher their name or write much about them. 

Zmar though, were extremely enthralling. They played songs from their album Napořád which was released in May of last year. Vocals were howled and hissed like they were in desperation for survival. The lyrics in Czech emphasize this notion, with them being about manmade issues like patriarchy destroying the lives of women, and war wrecking the reality of many. It stabs at the most intrinsic of reactions.  

Backing this are these suspensions of dark, chaotic, and clouded instrumentation. It gave the songs a somewhat desolate atmosphere. Behind nearly each one though is this rupturing feeling of optimism, like streaks of light gleaming through the slits in the clouded dust. It builds the sentiment that if we try and stand up against systems of oppression, we can carry the world into a better place, even through all the pain and wreckage that it faces now. Even within the chords it would resolve on an uplifting hopefulness, and then ground itself in a tumultuous reality, before oscillating back again. It wills beauty into an unsightly world. 

It mirrored the images of the performance. The dark figures of the band were backlit by a spotlight angled on the ground, kind of like a low rising sun radiating on the peaked edges of dark mountains. Each member played with an unfeigned energy and immense vivaciousness. Despite the small, cold blue room that was still sparse with people, Zmar were able to transmit electricity through the few bodies of conduction that were there. It’s something that they are used to. Michal, the band’s vocalist, told me that small, tucked away venues like Wild Culture Kombucha were what they were used to playing in. For me, the piercing hopefulness of their performance reached that holy moment of fantastic live art where it sent literal chills coursing across my skin. 

Zmar came through Iowa City after playing Zegema Beach Records’ ZBR Fest, which got silly to say the least, during that weekend in Chicago. Coming along with them was screamo band Niboowin who gave just as great of a performance. Their new album giving in would come out later that week. Their set consisted of tearing, dynamic tracks with band members sometimes interchanging lyrics. Each song was lashed out in real visceral expression. Both bands are putting out some of the most musically spirited and emotionally punctual screamo. 

The post Zmar Brings a Beautiful World to Wild Culture appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On February 2nd, 2024, Your Arms are My Cocoon visited Iowa City, to join In Loving Memory’s headlining show at Gabe’s, which was dubbed Screamo Prom. A few days after, KRUI interviewed the band’s lead, Tyler Odom, over a Zoom call. Here, we got to ask questions regarding their music and life.

Interview has been edited for clarity.

Your Arms Are My Cocoon at Gabe’s. Image via Sam Hammond

I noticed that sometimes you play a cover of “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure at the end of your set. It sounds so different to the original version. How did you make your own rendition to that song? 

Well, when we were on tour over the summer last year, our sets were only like, 28 or 30 minutes or something like that. We were doing headlining shows every day and you know, we realized that we had room for more songs if we wanted to put them in.

We were just like hanging out one day before a show. I like randomly figured out the chord progression to “Boys Don’t Cry”. We had a keyboard player at the time, and I looked over to my keyboard player and I was like, “Can you play the melody?” She was like, “Yeah, I know the melody to “Boys Don’t Cry.” I looked at my drummer and was like, “Can you play the drum part?” He was like, “Yeah, I already know it.” Everybody already knew it except for me. Then I figured out the chord progression. It’s like one of our favorite songs to play I love playing that song.

The recordings from the self-titled EP have like a very DIY bedroom feel. When you were doing these recordings, did you expect them to gain traction at all, or was it more of a personal project that you were going for? 

It was definitely a personal project. I was like 17 and 18 at the time. I didn’t think anybody would ever listen to them. I started the project kind of out of necessity because where I grew up in high school, was a little suburb outside of Houston. Nobody I knew was into, you know, emo music or the kind of music that I was into. The people that were didn’t play any instruments, so I was like the lone fish in those waters. That’s not a saying.

I was the only person that liked emo music and could play guitar and could play instruments. I realized that the only way I was ever going to be able to make music was if I did it completely by myself. I gave it a shot, and I’m glad that people seemed to like it. It’s been very humbling and surreal to see people reacting in such a way to something I made for fun in high school, you know?

It’s interesting to see people’s reactions to it because many usually have a hard time categorizing your music. People say that it falls into lo-fi, but they also call it screamo pop. So, how would you personally describe your music?

Yeah, I don’t know. When I was making it, I didn’t really have a genre in mind. I was just making something that I had kind of envisioned in my head for a long time. While I was making it, I just considered it like my emo project. I guess that’s all I’ve ever really considered it. It was just like the emo music that I make because I love emo music and I like to make emo music.

Image via Your Arms Are My Cocoon

Are there specific bands that you think influenced or impacted the tonal sound of the self-titled EP?

Oh yeah, absolutely. My favorite band of all time is the Brave Little Abacus, who have this really big maximalist, multi-instrumentalist, huge, big band sound that I really admire. That is definitely my biggest influence. Then on the flip side of that, something a lot more minimal and lo-fi is a band called Bedbug. They’re from Massachusetts. Brave Little Abacus and bedbug are from like the same area, coincidentally. Bedbug were like my favorite band when I was in high school. They’re this like super lo-fi bedroom pop, with muffled synths over quiet, whispered sung vocals. It’s just adorable and so endearing. I like basically modeled the whole EP after that. Obviously, with other bands influences kind of creeping in, but yeah. 

You started out playing solo shows and now you get to perform with a full band how do you think that’s changed the experience of performing live?

Yeah, in 2022, I did a whole Western US tour just by myself in my car. I had backing tracks loaded up on my laptop, and it was really fun. It was a really meditative experience. Compared to how the full band sounds now, just the laptop sounded like like garbage. It sounded like ass. But now like with this full band, the emotions that not only the audience feels, but that I feel on stage, is deepened so much more by the fact that all the music that we’re playing is being played at the same time. It wasn’t pre-recorded or anything like that. Everybody that’s on stage playing those notes are feeling those notes. By degrees, the audience feels those notes as well, and it just feels so much better. It sounds a hell of a lot better. 

In your songs, you introduce so many different instruments, like the violin, the piano, and some MIDI keyboards. How do you come up with the idea of having these various tonalities in your songs? 

Well, I think that for the most part, it goes back to the influences being namely Bedbug and Brave Little Abacus. Bedbug for the lo-fi synths and Brave Little Abacus for the crazy, weird instrumentals and instruments. They’ve got synths, obviously, and they’ve got saxophones and MIDIs and all that cool stuff in their songs. It’s something that I didn’t want to emulate, but I wanted to sort of incorporate into my art.

Also I just, I really like learning new instruments. I’m not very good at learning new instruments, but I like getting them, and trying them, and putting new sounds and new textures into songs. I feel like it’s a lot more fun to feel those different sounds that you don’t normally hear in those kinds of songs, like in screaming songs and in emo songs.

Image via Your Arms Are My Cocoon

I noticed too that in some songs like “Snowy!” there’s drum loops similar to breakbeats. Do contemporary genres like hyper pop or breakcore inspire you in any way? 

Sort of, I mean, there’s an Amen Break on a split song that I did called “Raisin Lungs”. I would say I’m influenced by electronic music a little bit. Also, the song that we usually end with on live shows is an electronic song that I made a couple of years ago where nobody plays any instruments. It’s just like a track that plays over the speakers. It’s like this big four on the floor, party type beat. That’s the song we usually play at the end, but I didn’t have a sampler with me in these last couple of shows. But yeah, that song, “Raisin Lungs”, is modeled after more modern electronic music. I listened to, you know, some Hexa music. If you know Faxx Gang, they are from the Philippines, and Eva Boy from California who are some of my favorite electronic artists. 

Bands like cicadahead, The Civil War in France and calendar year have a similar thing going on to you. How do you feel about being an inspiration for other bands to explore that kind of sound?

I think it’s really cool. I’m glad that I was able to find an avenue where solo artists could be solo artists for people who were in a similar position that I was in high school where they didn’t know anybody that played instruments and didn’t know anybody that liked emo music. I’m so happy that’s an avenue that is readily available now for kids who are my age, who are in the position that I was in. They can make music on their own and have it be listened to by a community of people that adore that kind of music. People that adore that kind of DIY at its most literal, you know?

How would you say you position yourself in the screamo community since the music you make is a little unconventional to what would normally be classified as screamo? 

Yeah, I’ll be honest with you I’ve never felt like I really fit in with the the screamo community, not only like music wise, but just like me personality wise. It’s not out of lack of want, you know, I adore the screamo community. I’m really happy that this kind of revival or whatever you want to call it has come up in the last two or three years, because I do love screamo music, and I have for a long time.

I’m glad to see it have a community in modern music but I’ve always felt like I’ve been doing my own thing on the outskirts of this circle of screamo bands and screamo sounds. Just kind of like hanging out on the outskirts. If people want to look out from the inside and listen to what I’m doing, or people from the outside want to look in on what I’m doing and then discover more screamo artists through me, I’m happy either way. No matter if they’re in any kind of predetermined community or not. 

Looking back on your evolution as a musician with older projects like Caterpillar Witch Coven and Hair, how do you think you’ve changed since then sonically? 

Okay, first of all that was that was a crazy deep cut, oh my god. Well, you know, I’ve definitely changed since all those. I’ve even changed since the self-titled came out, because I’m still young, but I’m not as much of a child anymore, I guess. So, you know, my tastes have shifted a little bit. My perspective definitely has shifted. The way I write has shifted. I feel like that’s natural. Every artist’s art shifts with their life. If water’s in a stream or a river, it’s got to go somewhere. I feel like that’s the way art is. That’s the way that I feel. 

What was the initial meaning behind the title of the band? What inspired that specific title? 

So, if you know about Hair, for that project I made that whole album for a girlfriend that I’m not with anymore. A line in the last track of that song is, “your arms are my cocoon.” I really liked that line, so I took it, stole it for myself and put it aside. I was like, “I really liked that. That could be something I’m gonna save for later.”

When I was making some these weird screamo songs when I was 18, and finishing them up, I still needed a band name. I looked back at like my recent history of what I had been doing, and I remembered “your arms are my cocoon” and I thought it kind of fit the sound that I was creating really well. The kind of like fuzzy lo-fi sound with the lyrics that are yearning and wanting, but not in like a particularly sad way, but more so in like a “I just really love you, and I want to be with you” kind of way, you know? 

In the lyrics, there’s a lot of butterfly motifs and like bug analogies that are referential to themes of growth, transformation, and yearning. So how did you use this analogy to come up with deeper reference points? 

That’s a good question. While I was writing it at the time, I had butterflies on the mind. I had written half a stage play about butterflies, and had kind of used butterflies as an analogy for the transition into death. I kind of scrapped that halfway through, but I still had butterflies on the mind. When I was writing the words for the self-titled, I think that just crept in through my self-conscious and turned it into what it is. When I was writing it, I had the music written out, and I was more so just kind of feeling the words that fit with the music. I was just feeling the words that fit with what I felt at the time and writing them down just off the top of my head. I think those butterfly motifs and metamorphosis crept in through my mind and laid its eggs in the words. 

Image via Your Arms Are My Cocoon

At this point you have a certain uniform you wear during shows with the dress and bunny ears. Does the outfit have any significance to what you want to convey when you perform the songs live?

So, we’ll start with the bunny ears. The bunny ears were made for me by my current partner. I mean it’s fairly superficial, at least on the surface level. It’s because I love bunnies. I used to work at a place that was kind of like a cat cafe, but for bunnies, so you just like pay to come and hang out with bunnies. I worked there and took care of the bunnies, and I love them. My partner made me these bunny ears, and I love her very much, so I wanted to kind of honor her by wearing them at all my shows. Love is also kind of intrinsic to what Your Arms Are My Cocoon is. It was started with the intention of love. I try to continue that tradition of love and working that into the sound and image.

As far as the wedding dress goes, I really only wore that specifically for the tour that we did last year called, “The Let’s Get Married Tour,” and it was themed after getting married. We had, an intro where we played like the wedding march with the flowers in my hands, and I would be wearing the wedding dress. At the end of the set, I would play a song off our new record, which isn’t done yet, but almost. The song was called “Let’s Get Married”, so it was really just for that tour. It’s very cool that people seem to kind of find that dress linked with the Your Arms Are My Cocoon character and universe at this point. 

Last question to wrap up the interview, what’s next for the Your Arms Are My Cocoon project? 

As we’re speaking right now, it is Monday, February 5th. On Friday, February 9th, me and my drummer Lobo are driving out to the suburbs to record drums for the new record. At that point, the record will probably be like 90% done. I just got to finish up some minor mixing and background instrumentation, and it should be pretty much done. It’ll be out I’m hoping by like June or July. Maybe September at the absolute latest. It’s something I’ve been writing, recording and working towards since, I think December of 2020, when I wrote the first song for it, which was would have been like two months after the EP came out. I’ve been working on it for a really long time.

Besides that, you know this is kind of on the low, but I’m doing a a Midwest tour in March. I’m doing the Asia tour in April and then we’re also going to Europe in June. We’re going all over the place. It’s not something a band of Your Arms are My Cocoon’s size typically does. We’re like a pretty small fucking band. But, you know, there are people out there that want to see us, and I want to make that happen. Also this kind of opportunity doesn’t come along very often where you get to see the world, so I’d like to take that chance while I’ve got it, and see places that I never thought I would have seen, especially at the age that I am now. You know, I’m only 22, but I’m going to see Thailand in two months. It’s crazy.

The post Interview: Your Arms Are My Cocoon and Continuous Metamorphosis appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Within the line though were many dressed to their best for what was dubbed “Screamo Prom” by those in the community. Attire included the attempted elegance of high school formal wear combined with darker aesthetic elements fitting the genre of screamo. In this line, and in the days preceding, the local scene was bustling in anticipation. 

-Glab

Image via Paul Botch

Psyop

February 2nd saw the arrival of the eagerly anticipated Screamo Prom, the first proper Iowa City hardcore show of the year. The opening band, local hardcore juggernauts Psyop, were incredibly fitting and, furthermore, representative of the scene, sound, and DIY sensibilities of the Iowa City World City mantra.  

Fronted by prolific local artist and musician Dolly Sperry, they delivered a powerful set rife with rage and passion. Without hesitancy, the set whipped the crowd into an inescapable rolling flurry. It set the stage for what proved to be a legendary night full of talented musicians. Psyop kicked down the door, and everybody else filed in. 

-Joan Priester

Image via John Glab

Aseethe

Swathed in the reds and blues of stage light, Aseethe began their set sending a single dense note into the crowd at Gabe’s who were already itching for a mosh. Diverging from the night’s up-tempo punk, they delivered a change of pace to the lineup with their slow and droning doom metal. Sludgy notes formed into motifs, repeating themselves while overlaying new sounds and vocals into a mesmerizing pattern.  

As the only band of the night using a synth, an uncommon choice for doom metal, they built in an electric effect into their sound. The underlaying synth bled together their layers of sound, distorting the air into a dense mist of pure noise that seeped across the room. Repetitive sounds continued building, bending, and bleeding together into a hypnotic rhythm. One of my favorites of the night for their unique heavy style, Aseethe brought a dense metallic performance to the show’s lineup, generating a droning fog to drag a crowd into their doom. 

-Pauly

Image via Sam Hammond

Bootcamp

Bootcamp’s set was marked by a sharp increase in stagediving, and the like. The chaos seems to have only incentivized the crowd. During the set, not only were there stagedivers, but there were also crawlers, flippers, and even several cases of audience members remaining on stage and singing with Bootcamp’s vocalist. All of it together made for a vivid, lively, and positively unique experience for those in attendance. With this fervor in activity from the audience, the band took it in stride. Their set was fantastic, none of the members, at least outwardly, phased by the happenings of the raucous crowd.  

The band, particularly the guitarist and vocalist, blended a sense of early rock joy into their hardcore musical stylings, jumping and dancing as if it were the ‘60s. The music, too, was on point. The drummer was a particular highlight, while all three of the other members of Bootcamp performed excellently throughout their set. Perhaps the most important gauge of a good set to me is how much fun the band was clearly having. The grinning smiles on the vocalist’s and guitarist’s faces were clear indications of that. 

-Harry Epstein

Image via Sam Hammond

Your Arms Are My Cocoon

Someone said, “Hey, can I borrow your vape?” during a brief reprieve of silence in the beginning of Your Arms Are My Cocoon’s set at Screamo Prom. As the stage was awash in pink light, everyone crowded towards the front to get closer to Your Arms Are My Cocoon’s lead, Tyler Odom. They were dressed in prom attire and wearing a bunny cap that obscured their eyes (sadly not a Gummo reference, I asked them. Rather it’s a natural acknowledgement of their love of caring for bunnies in their off time).  

Through a flurry of unreleased songs and cuts from their 2020 self-titled EP, YAAMC managed to bring their unique blend of rage and melancholy. Their genre clash of bedroom pop and traditional screamo singing bled through into a uniquely cathartic set. Their control of the crowd had people kicking and screaming one moment, then slowly swaying together the next. People weren’t just screaming just to scream, rather screaming lyrics along with the band.  

Emotions were in the air. If there’s one thing I remember about this show, it’s the swiftness between trying not to collapse under the weight of the crowd pushing towards the stage, then holding hands with my friends as the band broke into a ballad, with everyone collectively stopping for a second. 

-Benjamin Romero

Image via John Glab

Frail Body

Before this night, I’d never properly listened to Frail Body. I’d heard a few songs back in October, sitting in the front of my friend’s car, which was filled with a strange sense of high energy delirium I have only really felt while driving home from shows. I barely remembered how they sounded. However, I could almost remember the way my chest ached, and how my peripheral was filled with aviation obstructions and headlights. I remember how tired I was, and how I didn’t care.   

Right before Frail Body went onstage, I also found myself very tired. Each set had been fantastic, but by round five I found myself so drained that I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I was sitting outside of Gabriel’s, watching whisps of cigarette smoke blow in the breeze and wondering how on earth I was going to be able to stay awake long enough to cover this show. A blare of sound check echoed around the garden, and it was time for me to head inside.   

Frail Body woke me up from a trance. I was swept into the pit by dense instrumentation and exposing vocals, letting the piercing waves swallow me whole. Just as this noise began to consume me, the sun broke through, melting all over. The music was tragic but hopeful. You’re falling on the ground, but you’re facing up towards the light. Triumphant bell tones and misty, dark melodies soundtracked this collapse, and blanketed the crowd. It became too much to kick and scream. My feet began to move differently, loosening without the pressure. Flinging myself across a sea of figures, I was ready for the tragedy to not hurt so much anymore. <3

-Casper Bakker

Image via John Glab

In Loving Memory

It had been a tumultuous night already, with each consecutive artist seeming to only amplify the already electric energy of the house. However, by the time 9:30 PM rolled around, the night had taken its toll. Many held towards the back, taking a breather and getting their energy back, that is, until the set began.  

In Loving Memory is one of Iowa’s finest in terms of musical artists. Seamlessly bridging the gaps between the similar but distinct fields of emo, screamo, and emoviolence, they rose to prominence around the turn of the century. Both during their short reign, and in the time since garnering a cult following, their no-holds-barred screaming delivery that doesn’t compromise a millimeter of intricately crafted riffage, has built an immensely exciting aura. The result is a galvanizing, high-tension experience. Look no further than the effect on the crowd that night.  

In mere minutes the general atmosphere turned on a dime from black-and-blue exhaustion to a surging, explosive mosh pit. While their set was brief by most standards, clocking in at about a half hour, those who have listened to their music before know that is more than enough time for them to deliver a potent combination of musical punches, and the band proved it. While bands that reunite after almost two decades often lack the consistency, energy, and hunger that fans often crave from their original work, In Loving Memory proved to be a welcome exception to such expectations. Their stage presence alone was enough to demolish any such thoughts, as they flew about the stage and even into the crowd.

In an emotional address after the set, the band thanked everyone for showing up and convincing the band to return from the grave, as many of them never anticipated to return to the project. They were met with deafening cheers and demands for an encore as they came together and embraced. It perfectly concluded the night dubbed Screamo Prom, which at its core, centered around community, support, and love for the scene. 

-Evan Raefield

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