by Pat Pilch (@apg_gomets)
Cellar Dwellar hails from Columbus, Ohio. Since 2020, the six-piece art-rock project has sharpened their messy strain of punk-psychedelia into a world of its own, warping genre into a singular fusion of metal, shoegaze, and prog. Today, we’re thrilled to premiere “digital_drive_by,” Cellar Dwellar’s first release since 2024’s In the Shape of a Swan.
Musically, “digital_drive_by” is kinda nuts. There aren’t many bands reappraising the weirdo theatrical side of mid-aughts emo and pop punk. Cellar Dwellar’s sound lands somewhere between Circa Survive and My Chemical Romance but also At the Drive-In and …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their impassioned psychedelia and egalitarian approach to performance finds members trading vocal duties, shifting between whisper-sung epithets and gang vocal choruses.
On “digital_drive_by,” Cellar Dwellar vocalist Kade Weinmann offered the following:
“The lyrics of the song come from the current political climate of queer people being targeted by the state along with my heavy interest in the Act Up movement during the AIDs crisis of the 80s and my personal connection to family who were impacted during that time.”
“Digital_drive_by” is out tomorrow, 5/16. Take an advance listen below: