Album Review: Dissimulation by .gif from god - The Auricular How delightfully unexpected to find a new .gif from god album appearing over the transom here at Auricular HQ! This local metallic hardcore sextet have remained an incendiary live-act throughout their...

ALBUM REVIEW: .gif from god explore new realms of harshness on new album, Dissimulation, out now via @prostheticrecords.bsky.social.

Words by @annihilatethisweek.bsky.social.

Knifing Around Issue An AI Warning On "Bodysnatchers" - The Auricular Has the value of the human touch ever felt lower? In chasing digital solutions to eliminate tedious tasks and inefficiencies, we may have only accelerated our own obsolescence, and not just in an indu...

Dance-punks @knifingaround.online tap into a darker sound to issue an AI warning on "Bodysnatchers," the lead single from their upcoming album Vivisect, due this May via Blank Verse Records.

Premiere: Reppa Ton Arms The Downfall On “Rocc Bottomed” - The Auricular Why is it that when we reach a breaking point, it's framed as something self-inflicted? "I hit rock bottom" becomes the default confession, quietly absolving everything else of blame. But what if that...

SONG PREMIERE: Hip-hop scout Reppa Ton and detonating producer Agent-X arm the downfall on "Rocc Bottomed," the first single from their upcoming collaboration, Memento Vivere, a sequel to 2024's Memento Mori.

This week, @musicdoug.bsky.social is sliding into the driver's seat for RVA Must See Shows so @annihilatethisweek.bsky.social can take a well-earned week off. First thing on the agenda? Adding an extra show to the mix.

Here's your guide to shows you must see April 15 - April 21.

Boundary-pushing artist Skuzii dials into desire on "Breathwork," his fourth single from his recent self-titled album.

www.theauricular.com/news/skuzii-...

Mickey And The Crash Capture DIY Charm On "Study Abroad" - The Auricular Tiny Desk season always brings a surge of local talent into view, serving up videos from familiar names trying out new material alongside rising artists eager to make their mark. Some win you over wit...

Sauntering jazz-funk collective Mickeys And The Crash capture DIY charm on "Study Abroad," their submission for this year's Tiny Desk contest.

Song Review: "Washed Away" by Dead Billionaires - The Auricular It might feel like we’re submerged in a constant tide of bad news, but small victories are breaking through all around us. Union support and membership have climbed to a sixty-year high, community-dri...

SONG REVIEW: @deadbillionaires.bsky.social's "Washed Away" is uplifting ska built on shared strength, for anyone searching for hope in heavy times.

Catch a solo set tonight at Flowerama or see the trio in full glory on Monday, April 20 at Bandito's alongside Prabir Trio.

Premiere: zhtml Refuses To Play It Cool On "built 2 love" - The Auricular It’s harder than ever to stay engaged. With the news, with the arts, even with each other. Between mixed signals, curated detachment, and an unspoken pressure to keep everything at arm’s length, emoti...

SONG PREMIERE: Subversive pop artist @zhtml.bsky.social refuses to play it cool in romance on her new single, "built 2 love."

got the same out of listening to Keep the Candles Lit today

Scene Recap: Shagwüf, Short Stop, Crystal Flowers - The Auricular Countless great outlets, organizations, and individuals cover the Richmond music scene, so many that it might be hard to keep up with them all. We'll collect some great articles, coverage, and news bits we've read each week here at The Auricular.

Here's your weekly recap of all the news & tidbits coming out of the Richmond, VA music scene, including a dive into the sensational and serendipitous world of Crystal Flowers.

Premiere: Sami Gardner Finds Solace In Motion On “Driving Southbound” - The Auricular Ever since cars and highways became part of daily life, the open road has served as a powerful artistic symbol. Cross-country drives as acts of defiance, late-night rides as moments of sudden clarity, sudden detours as quiet reckonings. It’s more than a metaphor; it’s something you feel the instant you settle into the driver’s seat. The engine turns, the wheels take off, the past recedes into the rearview, and you embrace a path that’s full of the unknown, but finally yours to navigate. No longer do you fight for control; instead, you hold it fully in your own hands, your own mind.

SONG PREMIERE: Stirring singer-songwriter Sami Gardner finds solace in motion on the new single, "Driving Southbound."

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: April 8 - April 14 - The Auricular It’s been interesting to watch the directions musicians who got started in the Richmond math-rock scene of the early 2010s have gone. While folks like Fight Cloud have continued to do a relatively sim...

Yet again, Richmond's lining up a week packed with great reasons to leave the house every single night. And every one of them is tied to the music we care about! Here's @annihilatethisweek.bsky.social with your guide to shows you must see April 8-April 14.

Main photo by @escapismisfun.bsky.social.

You don’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind show so make sure to head to Plan 9 Music on Wednesday, April 29. Just make sure to bring plenty of emotional currency.

Its shows are said to cause mild traffic disturbances, spontaneous nostalgia, and the sudden urge to apologize to inanimate objects. Audience members are advised not to make eye contact with more than one brain at a time.

Brain Three is currently on strike, but is outsourcing its job to a crypto farm located in an abandoned TGI Fridays. On stage, Three Brained Robot does not perform so much as it embodies the sensible nature of chaos.

Each of its three brains operates distinctly: Brain One calculates vengeance through novel interpretive dance and the turn signal from a 1995 Subaru Legacy. Brain Two placates its audience while actively sabotaging the closest McDonald’s ice cream machine.

In doing so, it speaks in overlapping frequencies, sings in malfunctioning harmonics, and occasionally pauses mid-performance to argue with the dark matter occupying the fourth dimension.

With a corporeal body constructed from equal parts rusted roller coaster tracks, bitter municipal resentment, and the decaying echo of forgotten Tamagotchi, Three Brained Robot exists to vocalize the planet’s petty grievances and simmering frustrations.

Three Brained Robot is not a band, not a person, and barely a thing. It is a transmorphological performance concept born from the vexed consciousness of Terra after a run of arguments with spatial gravity, floral bureaucracy, and a car wash vending machine that refused to accept emotional currency.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, April 29 because The Auricular is bringing the musical entity Three Brained Robot to Plan 9 Music for an in-store performance!

Premiere: Gaffer Wages Inner War On Debut Single, "Jimmy Winters" - The Auricular For all that it gives us, the mind sure does love to torment us. It plays our losses on repeat, warps our own memories, and even tricks parts of our body into counterproductive measures just for the h...

SONG PREMIERE: Surging punk quartet Gaffer wages inner war on their striking debut single, "Jimmy Winters."

You can catch Gaffer in concert next on Tuesday, April 14 at The Camel alongside Horse Intercom and Sorry Excuse.

Marilyn Extracts Lush Sound From Fantasy On "Violet" - The Auricular We’re not built to wait. If we can imagine something, we tend to want it immediately, pushing to extract as much from it as quickly as possible. That impulse is true for all of life, including the way...

Dynamic alt-pop musician Marilyn extracts lush sound from fantasy on "Violet," her new single and her entry for this year's Tiny Desk contest.

VF Shaolin Manages The Haze On "Bigger Picture" - The Auricular The grand scheme never stays clear, drifting through a fog of obscured vision and murky distortion that keeps us detached from any sense of forward motion as that sentiment flutters wildly through “Bi...

Richmond MC VF Shaolin manages the haze while keeping his focus on the "Bigger Picture."

Fonville X Fribush And Burrs Flow And Flourish On "Intraspettro/Café Milano" - The Auricular It hasn’t even been a full year since drummer Corey Fonville and organist Sam Fribush first joined forces in pursuit of something new. “Blue-collar jazz for the people,” as the duo described it in one...

Hammond jazz duo Fonville X Fribush connect with Morgan Burrs for a mesmerizing live rendition of "Intraspettro/Café Milano," courtesy of The Sunroom.

Make sure to check out the trio of records from Corey Fonville & Sam Fribush making big waves in 2026.

Niiasii Catches Herself Mid-Fall On "All The Way" - The Auricular The risk of romance is baked right into the phrase “falling in love.” It asks us to abandon logic and caution, to lean into the drop with the hope that whatever waits at the bottom will be softer, saf...

Alt-pop artist @niiasii.bsky.social pulls herself out of love's free fall on "All The Way," her newest single with a video by OmniEye Visuals.

AJ Kohl Charts The Artistic Path On "Get Lost" - The Auricular What is it about an artistic heart that makes it feel so far-fetched to most? When we discuss work projects or upcoming life milestones, no one thinks twice; the conversation still moves along at a co...

Singer-songwriter AJ Kohl charts the artistic path on "Get Lost," his entry for the 2026 Tiny Desk contest and also a key track off his new album, West Of Grace.

Zzo1x Races Forward With "500 On The Dash" - The Auricular Flight or fight, as they say, but where does it ever suggest standing still? Waiting around for an opening, stuck in place while everything races forward? Life moves fast, and so should you, a mindset...

Richmond pluggnb artist zzo1x races forward with "500 On The Dash," the new video shot by Rick Blair.

.gif from god Harness Brutal Chaos On "Volatile Simian Nervous-System" - The Auricular It may be difficult to articulate what psychological chaos actually feels like fully. The way memory becomes unreliable, sensations distort, and anguish becomes the only stable point of reference. Eve...

Extreme leviathan .gif from god harnesses brutal chaos on “Volatile Simian Nervous-System," the lead single to their new album, Dissimulation, out 4/16 on @prostheticrecords.bsky.social.

Acelia Splits The Distance Between Being Seen And Coveted On "Trophy" - The Auricular While the start of the year often finds us still catching up on everything we missed at the end of the last one, the annual Tiny Desk submissions always give us a reason to stay locked in. Case in poi...

Rising singer-songwriter Acelia splits the distance between being seen and coveted on "Trophy."

Filmed for NPR's Tiny Desk contest, the session finds Acelia joined by Johanna Wacker and Jacob Sommerio for a striking, intimate performance at English Oak.

IONNA Turns Breakdown Into Breakthrough In "Avalanche" - The Auricular We’re all forces in our own right, though most of us spend far too much time underestimating the power we already carry. It’s easy enough to say in theory, but far harder to hold onto in moments of do...

Synth-pop sage IONNA turns breakdown into breakthrough within a mythic quest on "Avalanche."

Catch her in concert next on Friday, April 3 at Bandito's alongside syncretist, Ships In The Night, and Bunny X.