The members of Infant Island stay busy. Not only did the band release one of the best albums of last year (and an equally great mini-LP), but members also put out music with other bands, including Mattachine and Mikau. Mikau (who count Infant Island drummer Austin O'Rourke as a member) put out the album PHANTOMa, which fuses bone-crushing metalcore with glossy synthpop. If that sounds like something you might've heard blasting in a Hot Topic in 2009, let it be known that Mikau actually tag themselves as "mallcore" on Bandcamp, so they aren't shying away from that; they're leaning into it. But they're also sort of reclaiming it as a valid style of music that doesn't deserve to be as mocked as it once was, and they're putting a fresh, modern spin on it. If you're into, like, Code Orange or 100 gecs, there's no reason you wouldn't like this too.
Another band currently breathing new life into the Hot Topic/Myspace era is Buffalo "danceviolence" band p.s.you'redead, who Mikau are releasing a split called Razor x Blade with this Friday (1/29) via Chillwavve Records (pre-order). Mikau guitarist Adam Stergis explains: