If you’re looking for a reason to neglect your responsibilities in Milwaukee this week, Angelica has provided the perfect 15-minute mini-soundtrack for taking that not-so-long walk to the bar. Their debut, EP1, is the kind of art-punk “supergroup” project that makes you wonder if the members of Lightninging, Wandering Nerve, and Swim Two Birds actually like each other or if they just got trapped in a practice space and decided to out-weird one another.
The result is delightful chaos. It’s jangly at times, it’s loud and ethereal in the right places, and all in all, it’s deep and arty shit that we all crave.
Take the track “Downtown“. Well-written track that critiques the alienation of modern urban life, highlighting the sharp contrast between the “indulgent” privilege of glass-tower heights and the “indigent” reality of those surveilled and locked out on the street. It kinda captures that specific Milwaukee energy of looking for a parking spot for forty minutes in Riverwest while there is already 7 inches of snow on the ground and your bar shift ran a little late that night. It’s slightly panicked, and ultimately rewarding if you don’t mind a little curb rash and parking with half your car on top of a hill of compressed snow. Then there’s “Tulip,” which depicts a sense of emotional paralysis, where someone feels trapped and distorted by the weight of their own history. Ultimately, it’s a reflection on the struggle to live in the present while being “swallowed” by memories that make it impossible to see or move forward clearly. Kinda sounds like a flower being interrogated under a very bright bulb. It’s jagged and catchy in a way that makes you want to knock over a floor lamp just to see if it bounces.
Listening to this EP actually gave me a massive craving for The Epiphany from Benji’s Deli. Much like Angelica’s music, that sandwich is an architectural aberration that somehow works perfectly. You’ve got grilled pastrami, Swiss, and sauerkraut held together not by bread, because bread is for cowards, but by two greasy, crispy homemade potato pancakes.
It is a “messy but so good” experience that mirrors the controlled chaos of this record. The weather is currently that “not too hot, not too cold” sweet spot outside, which is prime weather for grabbing an Epiphany, heading to a bar nearby, and slamming it down with two yellow beers while EP1 rattles in your eardrums. Both the sandwich and the EP will leave you feeling slightly overstimulated and physically compromised, but you’ll immediately want to do it again and again.
Both are highly recommended. You might want to wear a bib for the sandwich and have a little flower on hand for the band.
Also, be sure to catch Angelica live at Cactus Club on Friday, 04/24/26 w/ Chicago-based solo experimental pop project of Jason Balla (mem. of Dehd) called Accessory (which is kicking off their album release tour for their new album called “DUST” here in Milwaukee). This show is gonna kick ass. Hope to see you all there. – Click here for tickets.
Links of interest:
https://www.instagram.com/angelica.mke/
https://angelicamke.bandcamp.com/album/ep1