Suffering Jukebox

In the lead up to the station's 50th Birthday, this morning's episode features two interviews with former Zedders, Bronwen Loden and Brad Parsell, each of who were active around 4ZZZ in the mid-to-late 2000s to the early 2010s. Whilst they both took on various roles around the station, Brad and Bronwen were the hosts of the late night program Something Sinister, a short-lived exploration of dark music, UFOs and various related conspiracy theories sparked by a love of shows like The X-Files and Twin Peaks.

Nick's Pick of the Week is Mint Mile's andwhichstray, which was released on Friday November 28th. You can hear it in all the usual places, or purchase it here; https://mintmile.bandcamp.com/album/andwhichstray and my review can be read below.

Mint Mile: andwhichstray (Comedy Minus One Records)

Released November 28th 2025

Mint Mile’s latest record, andwhichstray, is —in the words of guitarist/vocalist Tim Midyett— focused on “passion and mortality.” Midyett also makes the argument that these matters have long dominated his musical output, stretching all the way back to the early 1990s and his first group, Silkworm. Angular yet melodic, morbid but, at the same time, morbidly funny, Silkworm’s career was cut short in 2005 when drummer Michael Dahlquist was killed in a motor vehicle accident. Midyett and Silkworm guitarist Andy Cohen would go on to form Bottomless Pit, who were active until 2014, after which Midyett founded Mint Mile, alongside ex-Songs: Ohia drummer Jeff Pannall.

The spectre of mortality looms large over the origins of andwhichstray. Recorded primarily in France in May 2024, andwhichstray was (mostly) engineered by Midyett’s long-term friend, Steve Albini. In a cruel twist of fate —and a massive blow to the underground music scene— Albini passed away only a few days later. A little further down the line, the band reconvened to add a few final touches to andwhichstray, at Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago, ensuring that, even in his absence, his presence continued to embed itself within the recordings.

No Need To Know opens the record, a loose slab of college-radio adjacent rock that bears all the hallmarks of Midyett’s prior bands, with a rousing, almost sing-along chorus. Little Chicken is far more jagged in its approach, with a metallic guitar riff that propels the song forward beneath lyrics that detail a plethora of uncertainties, personal punishments, and human frailties. Keeping the mood low, whilst kicking off the second half of the LP, is the dolefully dark Black Road, a song reminiscent of Bottomless Pit’s bleakest moments —of which there were more than a few.

Sticking out like a sore thumb is the one song not written by Midyett/Mint Mile —and another track embedded with a ghost from the past— Can’t Be The First One, which was written by Jason Molina immediately after the death of Dahlquist. Molina himself passed in 2013, and Midyett has stated that it took him 15 years to merely listen to the song, let alone consider recording it. Here, Mint Mile does Jason justice, treating the song with the respect it deserves while ensuring it captures his uniquely mournful spirit.

andwhichstray carries a similar weight to an album like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ Skeleton Tree, an album so impregnated with grief that it is, at times, hard to bear. Whilst andwhichstray is a far easier listen than Skeleton Tree, it is difficult to separate it from the tragic events that followed its recording; namely, Albini’s untimely passing. Despite this essence of tragedy, however, andwhichstray feels more like a celebration of friendship than a funeral party and a poignant reminder of the impact left by those who are no longer with us.

Nick Stephan