16 top Milwaukee albums and songs to hear for April 2025, from Telethon, Bug Moment, more

Milwaukee Day, April 14, is just around the corner — a good excuse to load up your playlists with the best new music local artists have to offer. Although I'd argue any day is a good day for that, especially with songs and EPs as good as these 16 new releases, listed in alphabetical order.

'Beach Waves,' Laura Bomber

You might think it's too early in the year to start listening to songs about the beach, but singer-songwriter Bomber's sweet, reserved contemplation about life with a loved one makes for nice listening any time of year.

'Bestiary,' Pretendacle

The jazz-fusion rock group is making their own playbook on their debut EP with all the players — singer Rae Prettyman, keyboardist Adam Braatz, sax player Olivia Dobbs, trumpet player Al Piela, drummer Ben Piette and bassist Jason Braatz — finding opportunity to shine.

'Breakup Song,' Quotes From Movies

Pop singer-songwriter Micah Humphries' latest shimmering Quotes from Movies single resembles the 1975 and Justin Vernon-approved Francis and the Lights at their very best.

'City of Light, Act 1,' 5pm to Nowhere

Here's hoping "Act 2" is coming soon. You'll want to hear it immediately after this six-song EP ends with the toe-tapping piano-fueled pop of climactic closer "Due South."

'Drone,' Johnny Cee

Veteran Milwaukee musician John Calarco, aka Johnny Cee, may be best known for his drum work, including playing with Willy Porter and Daryl Stuermer. But on "Drone," Calarco proves to be an ambitious and accomplished songwriter in his own right, the grandeur of "She Comes to Me" and "Close the Door," for instance, recalling U2.

'Girl,' Danny Arcane

Arcane's dreamy guitar washes are a perfect conduit for his smitten feelings on this charming pop single — before the chorus suggests there's still some uncertainty whether the affection is reciprocated.

'If I'm Being Honest,' Well + Good

Whether honesty is always the best policy may be up for debate, but it often is when it comes to music, and the directness of the lyrics across the emo act's four-song EP ensures Well + Good's latest lives up to its namesake.

'It Takes Time,' Will Matthews

Matthews' piano skills and affection for video game music led the legally blind musician to posting covers on YouTube. With "It Takes Time," he steps out as his own accomplished and creative composer. His debut album pays loving and infectious homage to the kind of music he admires.

'Pink Lady,' *aya

The R&B artist brings a jazzy, bossa nova touch to her latest single, and it's a wonderful fit, with lyrics about apple picking and falling leaves among the lovely visuals for this song about supporting someone who supports you in turn, despite your shortcomings.

' Power Is a Phantom,' Seances

Eric Arsnow has been involved with several of Milwaukee's most interesting bands — Tigernite, Devils Teeth, Fight Dice — but with Seances he steps into the leadership position with a cool, captivating and compelling New Wave album that admirably, and accurately, recalls titans like The Cure and Joy Division.

'Rot,' Chapped Lips

Formed in Sheboygan, Chapped Lips is a superb new addition to the Milwaukee band landscape. Even at just four songs and 13 minutes, "Rot" showcases an exceptional range, from the throat-ripping screams near the end of the title track to the beautiful, ethereal instrumental passage that makes up the surprising and moving climax to closing number "Skies No Longer Blue (Part One)."

'Spider Towns,' Old Pup

Will Hansen's last Old Pup album, "Lion," was one of the oddest, and more delightful, local releases of last year, a concept album about a lion that ultimately attends a town hall meeting to complain about a missing stop sign. There are still some eccentric musical and lyrical touches to be found on the follow-up "Spider Towns" — check out the wonderfully weird "Character Study: Inflatable Dancer" — but what stands out most is Hansen's strength as a songwriter and how much territory he travels within Old Pup's ghostly folk parameters.

'Suburban Electric,' Telethon

Power pop doesn't seem to justify what the always ambitious and uninhibited Telethon create for their albums. Horsepower pop, perhaps? You definitely feel that extra energy on "Sterling Hayden," the opening track of their superb surprise album, which, true to form, travels from head-bouncing pop rock to head-spinning sonic switch ups like a xylophone/fiddle/wordless chorus buildup — but not before offering another typically astute lyrical observation: "The complimentary breakfast's always sad."

'The Lazer Collection,' Bug Moment

It's a great era for emo bands in Milwaukee, a city that's home to one of the genre's all-time greats, the Promise Ring. And Bug Moment is at the front of this exciting new wave. Anyone disappointed that the band would follow up their brilliant 2023 full-length "The Flying Toad Circus" with an EP will be silenced and stunned by these five songs, which tap into all the elements that make emo so effective but with an anything-can-happen musical philosophy that makes Bug Moment one of a kind.

'The Summit,' Mrs. Fun

Carefree fun isn't top of mind at the start of Mrs. Fun's latest album — disaster is, with the opening one-two punch of "Asteroid 1994" and "Pandemic" throwing free-jazz duo Kim Zick and Connie Grauer into captivating chaos, fueled by some of the most exhilarating and intense drumming Zick may have ever recorded. Ultimately, there's nothing but joy to be taken from an act this bold and unexpected nearly 40 years after their debut album.

'What Is Reality,' RealityTV

Even by his own standards, DJ GetMoses (birth name Mo Pelman) has been especially prolific lately, releasing three EPs so far this year. "What You Like," his collaboration with rapper Mad Static, and "Half Won't Do," his partnership with rapper Diallo, are both worth checking out. But I recommend starting with "What Is Reality" from GetMoses' side project RealityTV, which marries his fresh take on old-school beats (Atmosphere's Ant is a huge influence, and it shows) with smart, tongue-twisting flow from rapper Slang Troubadour.

"Must-Hear Milwaukee Music" runs on or around the first of every month in the Journal Sentinel and at  jsonline.com . If you have a new album, EP or song coming out, contact Piet Levy at  plevy@journalsentinel.com  for review consideration. Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 16 top Milwaukee albums and songs to hear for April 2025