Suffering Jukebox

This week's episode of Suffering Jukebox features two interviews...

The first, with Tashi Dorji, a Bhutanese born experimental guitarist now based in North Carolina. Last Friday saw the release of Bloom & Ruin: Two Liberations, Tashi's fourth release already for 2026 and a collaboration with Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Efrim Menuck. Bloom & Ruin: Two Liberations was released by The Garrote label, you can listen to it -as well as Tashi's other releases- and purchase their music here; https://tashidorji.bandcamp.com/music

The second interview is with Brian Case and Noah Leger from the Chicago band FACS. You can catch FACS live on Saturday 16th May at Season Three Space as part of their first ever Australian tour. Find out more about FACS (and purchase their music) here; https://wearefacs.bandcamp.com/music

Nick's Pick of the Week is Lupo Citta's Inverno, which was released on Friday April 24th. You can hear it in all the usual places, or purchase it here; https://lupocitta12xu.bandcamp.com/album/inverno and my review can be read below.

Lupo Città: Inverno (12XU)

Released 24th April 2026

Chris Brokaw is a busy man. When he isn’t performing solo or with the bands Codeine and Come, he’s in the studio, writing, recording or producing music for himself and others; and occasionally even teaching music. April saw the release of two Brokaw records, The Undone Is Done Again with Tanya Donelly (last week’s pick) and Inverno by Lupo Città, which features Sarah Black on guitar/bass and Jenn Gori on drums. Oh, and he’ll be in town at the end of the month, as part of a string of solo shows supporting Tortoise on their Australian tour.

Lupo Città is one of the many bands Brokaw has performed in or been a regular part of. Alongside the previously mentioned Codeine and Come, he has also played in GG Allin’s band, Pullman, The New Year, Martha’s Vineyard Ferries and The Lemonheads —his complete discography could fill a book! Lupo Città formed in 2021 and released their first, self-titled album in 2024. An eclectic, ecstatic collection of garage-rock songs, Lupo Città’s debut was a grinding and enjoyable slab of solid rock and roll. Inverno, its follow-up, is (perhaps) a more refined, mature affair.

Across ten tracks, the group shifts between punchy rock numbers (Can’t See and Southern Forests), mellow grooves (Satisfy and Something Else) and the ambient instrumentalism of (title-track) Inverno. It’s a diverse collection of songs that truly showcases what the trio is capable of. Brokaw and Gori trade and share vocal duties, which results in an increased depth of character across the album’s duration, providing the listener with the varying perspectives offered by multiple singing styles —plus, who doesn’t love a singing drummer!

Inverno, which means Winter in Italian, is anything but cold. Rather, it is a surprising and shifting album that catches a band in the midst of changing gears and shifting phases. With Inverno, Lupo Città outgrow the juvenilia of their debut, take a giant musical leap forward and declare that they are only just getting started; bring on record number three!

Nick Stephan