RiYL

Holy Lacrimony is a book about turning sadness into art. Also aliens, interpretive dancing and – in an unexpected way – the Scream franchise. Each component has a special meaning to Michael DeForge, not the least of which is Ghostface, the iconic antagonist from the latter. Released by Drawn & Quarterly in March, the book is surreal, funny – and much like DeForge’s art – more complex than it appears at first glance.

In the bifurcated world of comics, Paul Pope has never pledge allegiance to the superheroes of indies. The New York-based cartoonist’s move between storylines and mediums is every bit as fluid as his immediately recognizable linework. On June 19th, Manhattan’s Philippe Labaune Gallery will do its best to encapsulate that career, with a retrospective on Pope’s decades-long body of work, ranging from the John Spencer Blue Explosion to Batman.

Time has a way of getting away from you. You tour with a couple of legendary indie bands (Stars, Broken Social Scene), start a family, and next thing you know, it’s been 15 years since your last solo record. I Went To Find You finds Amy Millian collaborating with new musical soul mate, Jay McCarrol. The work brought the singer back to some of her earliest musical memories of singing with her dad at bedtime. The resulting LP is a meditation on loss and celebration of the future

Well into his fourth decade as a professional musician, David J Haskins refers to The Mother Tree as, "my most personal work yet.” With such an expansive catalog, including the works discographies of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets, it's quite a claim. It is, however, a difficult one to refute, given its subject matter. A tribute to his late mother, the five-track album is centered on Haskins' poetry, set to a musical backdrop. Fittingly, it finds Haskins adding his surname, after a career of simply being "David J."

In 2017, Save Ferris released the Checkered Past EP , the band’s first collection of new music in nearly two decades. Plenty had changed over the years, resulting in frontwoman, Monique Powell, retaining sole rights to the Orange Country ska band’s name. The revived Save Ferris has continued to release new music and tour under Powell’s leadership. The musician joined us to discuss 30 years in the music business.  

The worst thing about discovering Swamp Dogg is kicking yourself for not having done so sooner. The good news is that you’re about to have your mind blown by an 82-year-old soul musician currently experiencing his third – or maybe fourth – career renaissance. This latest round kicked off with 2018’s Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune. Since then, the singer has released another three albums and served as the subject of a new documentary. Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted a portrait of an immensely talented songwriter and an effortlessly funny raconteur holding court at his long time L.A. home.

Gumshoe is a record about connections in a world where being alone is increasingly becoming the default. It’s the latest from Oklahoma-based singer songwriter, Samantha Crain. For 15 years, the Choctaw musician has shared stages with some of indie music’s biggest names. More recently, she’s found herself scoring films, including 2023’s Fancy Dance, starring Lily Gladstone. But first we obviously have to discuss her childhood championship power lifting career.

With Ginseng Roots, Craig Thompson returns to his childhood -- subject matter that already proved a rich vein for his beloved 2003 book, Blankets. While his latest once again explores the family dynamics of a religious upbringing, the work casts a much wider net. His family's economic dependence on ginseng is a starting point for exploring the root, which has been a staple of Chinese and Korean medicine for centuries.

About 40 minutes into the conversation, Nickelodeon calls. They need her in the studio post haste. It’s a fitting spot to end things for an artist as in demand as Grey Delisle. While she’s known as voice artist with hundreds of credits – including The Simpsons and Scooby-Doo – we’re here for something else altogether. Delisle also has a vintage country singing voice that would have earned her a permanent spot at the Grand Ole Opry in another life.