*aya performs not-yet-released “Talk is Cheap” for USA TODAY Acoustic
R&B artist *aya gives an exclusive performance of “Talk is Cheap” in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom on July 18, 2025.
Followers of Milwaukee’s music scene know there’s so much for us to be thankful for, including terrific new releases from a couple of prolific rappers and one of the city’s longest-running power pop bands.
Here are 10 top new albums, EPs and songs made by Milwaukee artists to check out this November, listed in alphabetical order.
“A Carnival of Grey & White,” Trolley
The power pop band, and the Milwaukee music scene, suffered a huge loss with the passing of singer and guitarist Mike Perotto in 2021. Trolley was in the midst of making a new album that the band’s Paul J. Wall and Terry Hackbarth spent the last few years completing. With sweet nods to longtime influences like the Beatles and Elvis Costello, it’s a glowing tribute to the band’s legacy — celebrating 30 years in 2025 — and to Perotto’s talent and personality.
“From, #Lola!,” TSG:AP! and *aya
Recent USA TODAY Acoustic featured artist *aya teams up with Washington-based singer-songwriter TSG:AP! who blends raw vulnerability with dreamy, experimental pop production on this single.
“Godseye,” Form
Versio Curs bassist Alex Hardy channels Zack de la Rocha’s vocal fury on the Milwaukee hardcore group’s sophomore EP that doesn’t let up across three scorching songs and seven visceral minutes. (That’s aside from a surprise ’50s pop finish at the end of opener “Unintelligent Design,” the kind of fun curveball we’d expect from bassist Alex Meylink’s other band, Telethon.)
With sticky guitar washes and a palate-cleansing throat clearing at the top, Emrich sets the scene for a rich sophomore R&B album that juxtaposes intoxicating melodies with unsettling stories about unhealthy relationships, on songs like “ICU, “Medicine” and “Games,” the triumphant opening triumvirate of an eight-track effort.
The always-prolific and vivid rapper and singer is having quite the year, following up perhaps my favorite release of his, “June’s Favorite,” a few months back with a 12-track album that’s just as captivating. Renji, atop engrossing, ever-changing production, again embraces a variety of personalities with diverse vocal delivery — from the clipped and commanding cadence on “Say It All” to the emotional directness on “Therapy.”
Meadowers is in a nostalgic mood on this terrific three-song EP, from Ethan Radtke singing about childhood on the emo-flavored title track to the tender remorse that turns to desperate cries on the country-style second track “Brightest Day.”
“Live By The Water”/“Margaret In Dub,” Genau
Post-punk duo Christopher Belkofer and Erik Gosnell channel elements of INXS and the Cure, crossed with the more muted temperament of My Bloody Valentine, on this brooding and absorbing two-song set.
“Paws in the Bacon Grease,” IfIHadAHiFi
It’s been six years since the noise-rock outfit has released music, but IfIHadAHiFi’s anarchic, angry return arrives just in time, with the band channelling their fury at a mad world across five songs that span from the neck-vein bursting “Welfare Jets” to the satiric Devo-indebted “Everyone’s a Doctor.”
There’s so much the prolific Milwaukee rapper should be proud of, but his collaborations with Atlanta-based producer Menebeats (who’s worked with Young Thug, Future, Cardi B and Gunna) remain his best work. That makes his new six-song EP especially welcome, featuring two more Menebeats collabs via the killer, chest-puffing “Doing Good” and “Up For It.”
Giving the sound of Nintendo-inspired chiptune more space and grandeur than is typically expressed, Schimpf has created an immersive sonic wonderland on this absorbing, and often moving, nine-song instrumental album.
“Must-Hear Milwaukee Music” runs on or around the first of every month in the Journal Sentinel and at jsonline.com. If you have a new album, EP or song coming out, contact Piet Levy at [email protected] for review consideration. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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