Madison's music scene is booming right now. “What's been interesting as a musician in this city for a long time is seeing the ebbs and flows, these times when the scene is super vibrant,” he says. Or maybe it explodes guitarist Shawn Bass. “Right now, the scene is killing it! There are so many good bands in Madison right now, it's awesome.”
In their next projection at the High Noon Saloon on February 17, Or Does It Explode will bring their explosive energy alongside a lineup that includes fellow Madison-based bands Boxing Day and Mio Min Mio, as well as Milwaukee's RiotNine and Snag.
Comprised of Bass (guitar/vocals), Erik Rasmuson (drums), J Granberg (bass), Brandon Boggess (guitar) and Katya Pierce (vocals), Or Does It Explode seamlessly blend elements of Midwest emo and post-hardcore, creating a distinct sound. From clean guitar riffs to a steady rhythm section, every instrument shines on songs like “The Great Forgetting” — the penultimate track from 2023's sophomore album, The medium is the message. The album is filled with memorable, melodic guitars on songs like “Symbiosis,” while all five members show off their instrumental prowess during the album's heaviest breakdown, “The Next to Last Time.”
Or Does It Explode was morphed from Our Friends, The Savages, an earlier project featuring Bass and Rasmuson. When Granberg and Boggess replaced guitarists in 2019, Bass decided to take the band in a different direction and Or Does It Explode was born. “I always envisioned more of a Midwest emo, and [instead] we were starting to move more towards a hard rock sound,” says Bass. “It was nice to get back to the roots of where I wanted things to be.” In 2022, Or Does It Explode released their debut album, titled Chrysalis — a name Bass says is a tribute to the band's changing sound and personnel.
About a year ago, the band responded to Katya's Craigslist post while looking for a singer to split vocal duties with Bass.
“My biggest reservation about bringing in a singer that wasn't me was that I was really worried that it would be someone who wrote bad lyrics,” says Bass. “It was a huge relief to find a singer who writes great lyrics, is very thoughtful, creative and has a passion for writing meaningful subjects”
Taken from a line in Langston Hughes' poem “Harlem” (which also gave its name to Lorraine Hansberry's classic A raisin in the sun), their evocative band name is a nod to the kinds of themes that inform their music. “I can't write without thinking about social and political issues,” Bass says. “I wanted something that conveyed some political and social message without being too in-your-face.”
This message is also translated through their dynamic sound, especially in the use of samples in songs like “White Witch”, a track about white privilege. Bass develops the samples sparingly, which gives even more resonance to their occasional appearances. It's also a way to give voice to other communities. “I'm a straight white man, right? And I can talk about social issues because they're really important to me, but sometimes there's this issue with people like me speaking for others,” says Bass. “I really hope that using samples gives a voice to the community I'm talking about.” Featuring catchy samples of political commentators between vocals from Katya and Bass, the song builds to a powerful finale.
Live, Or Does It Explode delivers a thrilling performance. They want to make sure that the shows never feel routine and that they never play the same set twice.
“The shows where I feel best as an audience member are when I've experienced something new and something unique,” says Katya. “It might be a band I've seen many times, but if I really walk away thinking 'this is a night that won't happen again', that's a really special and intimate experience.”
