IFIHADAHIFI “We’re Never Going Home” 2019. We caught Milwaukee’s punky noise-rock band this past weekend at the Circle A when they opened for Detroit’s garage rockers Demolition Doll Rods, a show that was IFIHADAHIFI’s unofficial record release party. I literally was the first person to buy their new record We’re Never Going Home as they just got the vinyl shipment earlier that day. IFIHADAHIFI has been around for almost 20 years, putting out nine releases during that time, and probably won’t be confused with a band of the same name from London, a feminist punk duo who play violin, keys and bass (I asked the MKE dudes about it and yes, both bands are aware of each other and seem cool with the name share). Their music (Milwaukee’s band) is crashingly loud, happily catchy for a noise-rock band, and whip-smart with lots of references to science, conspiracy theories and pop culture. Even though they’ve been around since 2000, this is the first time I’ve gotten a chance to see them or really listen to their music but the album is really good and their short set included all songs that appear on it. Those included the opening track “Gremlins on Demand,” “Death Van” (so good! my top track), “Hot Take on Line One,” “Bigfoot, Take the Wheel,” “Space is Fake” (most likely to be released as a single: they even have t-shirts printed with the song’s title), and “My Very Eager Memory Just Seems Useless Now.” Other tracks that I particularly like on We’re Never Going Home are the screamy sing-along “The Flaw is the Feature” and the semi-psychedelic “The Wrist” and while not my favorite song, the best title goes to “Instagramming Olive Garden.”

"Science Depends on Us" by IfIHadAHiFi

And because that video by The Thermals always makes me think of this one my friend did for our friends' band, let's go ahead and throw that up.