Author: Travis Shosa
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Theories about what happened to Goldilocks after she left The Three Bears
1. She self-published a memoir about the dangers of venturing into unknown territory. 2. She founded a K-pop band called Goldi-who? 3. She sued Sesame Street for turning her into a Muppet. 4. She was punished for trespassing: locked in a broom closet with two rats for company. 5. She self-published an academic text outlining the Goldilocks Principle: how…
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An Overdue Arrival: On Samantha Urbani’s Showing Up
Samantha Urbani | Showing Up | Lucky Number | September 2023 Singer of an early 2010s indie pop band who never got their flowers makes a staggeringly great pop record in 2023 – move over Caroline Polachek. Samantha Urbani, formerly of Brooklyn’s danceable Friends, hews on her long-awaited debut LP Showing Up far closer to bubbly ‘80s…
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A Rally Cry for Better: On Rosie Tucker’s UTOPIA NOW!
Rosie Tucker | UTOPIA NOW! | Sentimental Records | March 2024 Rosie Tucker is pissed. After self-releasing a promising but relatively humble debut in 2015’s Lowlight – they describe it as “a simple little baby record from a simple little baby songwriter” – the Los Angeles-based songwriter linked up with indie label New Professor four long years later to put out Never…
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Loud and Empty Feelings: On Curry Barker’s Obsession
Curry Barker | Obsession | Focus Features | May 2026 | 109 minutes Sometimes it’s more valuable to talk about a film, or any piece of art, after a bit of time has passed. I think this is especially true whenever said piece of art becomes a full-blown cultural phenomenon. At the time of writing this review,…
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Pickle Darling’s Lukas Mayo Discusses Mumblecore, Metafiction, and Musicals
This conversation took place on December 7, 2022 Pickle Darling, aka Lukas Mayo, is a New Zealand-based musician who’s been making their own personal brand of bedroom pop for a while now. Their most recent album Cosmonaut tracks the feeling of falling in love through the metaphor of an astronaut leaving the earth’s atmosphere, while previous album Bigness chronicled…
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677 Washington Boulevard, Stamford, CT
The building you can see from the highway with the WWE logo on it isn’t where the offices are anymore. The headquarters got moved to 677 Washington Boulevard a while ago. Luckily for me, this is still in Stamford because this is a fact I learned about two days into the time it took to…
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Three Poems by Andy Reischling
To Benzodiazepines I’m sorry I cried so much when you told me to calm down.I really didn’t want to. You held me together. But where are the doctor bills?I’ve paid my dues, not that I remember what they were. They mess with your memories. But here’s one I still have:It was night out and the sky was…
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Hedonistic Horror Show: On Quinton Barnes’ For the Love of Drugs
Quinton Barnes | For the Love of Drugs | Grimalkin Records | October 2022 “I put that pressure on everything / I swear it makes me a better man,” Quinton Barnes sings in For the Love of Drugs’ opening statement “1975.” It’s a suitable way to introduce an album that only exists due to him scrapping the initial version. To compare…
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So Much to See Under the Costume: On Casper Kelly’s Buddy
Casper Kelly | Buddy | Roadside Attractions and Saban Films | August 2026 | 96 minutes It’s understandable to come into Casper Kelly’s debut theatrical film with a certain degree of apprehension and preconceived notions. When his Adult Swim short film Too Many Cooks went viral all the way back in 2014, it was praised for its…
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An Apocalyptic Playpen: On Chemtrails’ The Joy of Sects
Chemtrails | The Joy of Sects | PNKSLM Recordings | January 2024 Chemtrails seem less like a band of flesh and blood people from our plane of reality and more like cut characters brought to life by Invader Zim’s most acid-addled storyboarder. Our protagonists are Mia Lust and Laura Orlova, partners in life, love, music, and theoretical…