Melanie Radford's first solo album puts her bass in the spotlight; Beastie Boy Mike D picks up the mic in Brooklyn
This is Punk Rock Bach for May 28, 2026.
It takes a lot for me to admit an opinion as a journalist. I aim to treat each source and subject matter in an evenhanded and balanced way. That’s important especially for music coverage, since taste is subjective and one person’s cup of tea won’t be another’s.
That being said, I’ll make an admission this week — I think Melanie Radford’s upcoming album “For the Sake of Stillness” is something special.
Radford really lets her instrument shine in her debut solo album — of which I was given early press access (though I’m buying a physical copy once it drops). I recently sat down with Radford to discuss the record. You’ll find that conversation below!
Plus, Beastie Boy Mike D in Brooklyn! Instead of the typical “What I’m listening to” album highlight this week, we’ve got fresh photos from Mike D’s May 22 concert in New York.
All that, plus a Q&A with Abi Natesh of the Philadelphia-based group KulfiGirls in this week’s Punk Rock Bach!
Melanie Radford readies for tranquil solo debut
For bassist Melanie Radford, recording her upcoming solo album was an exercise in being grounded and centered.
That’s a meaningful shift from her typical schedule.
“I’ve been playing a lot, and [playing with the band] Built to Spill, and touring a lot,” Radford, who is the bassist for the bands Built to Spill and Blood Lemon, told Punk Rock Bach. “And it’s just been really hard on the nervous system when you’re touring and traveling a lot all the time. And so it was a lot for me to handle nervous system wise, and I felt like I was constantly like up here in my mind when I wanted to be lower and more grounded.”
“So, I made this record with that intention of finding my grounded self again,” she said.
Radford is set to release her first solo album, “For the Sake of Stillness,” on June 26 via Jealous Butcher Records.
“It’s different to release something by yourself, instead of having band members to bounce things off of, you know, so it is very much me and me alone,” she said. “So there’s something about it that’s really nerve-wracking to show people.”
The album is a masterclass in tranquility, and a mixture of both instrumental songs and tracks that pair the bass and other instruments with vocals.
“Sometimes, I’m either singing with my voice or I’m singing with the bass,” she said. “So, you know, again — [with] songs like ‘Home’ or ‘Seagull,’ I didn’t want to have vocals in it. I wanted to let the bass shine; let her sing.”
Listeners looking for fast electric guitar riffs or vibrant slap-bass energy will be disappointed. Instead, they’ll find a serene calmness in each track — including “Back Again” and the single “Hangin’ On.”
“So, for this record I really wanted to focus on this being a minimalist record,” Radford said. “And I think [it] actually helped me sparsely build around the bass. Because even frequency wise the bass can get buried, you know, so I kind of had to have very sparse arrangements with the bass, given like the goal that I wanted to accomplish.”
The entire album has a melodic slowness at its core, and also uses ambient sounds — such as the noise from a cassette player in “Home” and the sound of rain in “Philadelphia.”
“I just wanted to contribute more sounds that could transport people to a comforting place,” she said. “So, sometimes those little tiny textures that can make your brain tingle. I’m really interested in stuff like that.”
That sound-induced brain tingling is ASMR — Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Nebraska Medicine describes it as “tingling, static-like, or goosebumps sensation in response to specific triggering audio or visual stimuli.”
What’s next for Radford after the album’s release? She says she’s already starting on her next solo album. Plus, she’s continuing to tour with Built to Spill.
“We’re doing like two weeks on, two weeks off kind of touring all the way until, gosh, until like November,” she said. “We have some time off in July, which will be nice.”
She also has scheduled an album release show on June 26 at Seattle’s Good Shepherd Chapel. Tickets are available online.
Melanie Radford’s upcoming album “For the Sake of Stillness” is set to hit stores on June 26, from Jealous Butcher Records. You can pre-order and pre-save the album here. The single “Hangin’ On” is available on YouTube. Visit Radford’s website for info on her solo live shows.
For KulfiGirls’s Abi Natesh, Sunday breakfast is music time
KulfiGirls are bringing their Philadelphia rock to turntables around the country.
The group’s debut album, “Divinity,” is set to release on May 29 via the DCxPC Live label. It features tracks such as “River Crossing,” “Delta” and “Itch (melted).”
This week, we asked Abi Natesh — the band’s vocalist — what music she’s listening to and how she’s listening.
Editor’s note: Q&A has been lightly edited for style, syntax and typos.
Punk Rock Bach: How do you prefer to listen to music?
Abi Natesh: I love to listen on vinyl and do it whenever possible, which isn’t as often as I’d like! There’s something about not being able to skip songs as easily and being immersed in this continuous listening experience.
PRB: What are you listening to now?
Natesh: I’ve been listening to Slayyyter’s new album a lot recently. Also really like Ninajirachi’s “I love my computer” and got the vinyl recently.
PRB: What do you listen on?
Natesh: On my phone mostly, turntable on Sunday mornings while making breakfast (AT-LP60X, sorry audiophiles).
KulfiGirls’s debut album “Divinity” is set to release on May 29 via DCxPC Live. You can pre-order it on the label’s website. The band’s single “Itch (melted)” is available on DistroKid.
Mike D of the Beastie Boys returns to NYC to drop a rhyme
Rolling Stone, Spin and Pitchfork are all talking about it: Mike D of the Beastie Boys is back with new music and is making live performance rounds in California, Europe and — of course — New York.
Brooklyn to be exact.
Last Friday, instead of spinning a CD or throwing a disk on the turntable, I headed to Xanadu Roller Arts to check out Mike D and his group Mike 5D’s performance. I never saw the Beastie Boys live, and this is likely the closest I will ever come — especially since MCA (Adam Yauch) died of cancer in 2012.
The concert was a lot of fun. Mike did not disappoint, with a set list that included Switch Up. Mike’s performance lasted about an hour. His sons’ band — Very Nice Person — was the warm up act.
My only complaint was all the standing! I stood in line for an hour while waiting for the doors to open; stood in my spot near the stage for an hour while folks shuffled inside; stood for an hour to watch Mike D’s sons’ band take the stage, play, get off the stage; and then another hour actually watching Mike D’s performance.
Oof — that’s a lot of standing.
Thanks for reading! We’ll be back next week with an interview with punk rock royalty — the former bassist for Black Flag, Kira Roessler! She has a new solo album coming out in July, and sat down with Punk Rock Bach to discuss it. Catch that and more in next Thursday’s issue!