IS 4UST Collective Seattle's Next Big Hip-Hop Export? Noise Complaint/Episode 8

Hip-hop typically hits harder when rappers are backed by actual ace musicians, as performances by the Roots and Shabazz Palaces (among others) prove. Seattle's fast-rising 4UST (pronounced “forest”) uphold that claim with a grip of riveting live sets and recordings such as TR4IL MIX and All About the Growf. Led by MCs Webb Wavvy, D. Mikey, and Tyler Soze, they're a tight crew in which all of the many moving parts smoothly click into place with a satisfying inevitability: intricate vocal arrangements, strong, fluid flows, clever wordplay, and instrumentation that expresses gritty funkiness, gripping suspense, or chill bluntedness from producer Qreepz, drummer/vocalist Mr. Hendrixxx, guitarist Aaron Lusher, bassist Palmer McDaniel, and others. Sure, 4UST have plenty of songs about weed, but the lyrics are cleverer than most about its importance to the (agri)culture—e.g., “All I need is some indica and I'm in da cut” from “Potluck.” With every track and gig, 4UST refute the common belief that pot induces laziness.- Dave Segal

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

CONNECT WITH US Let us know what you think in the comments below! Are you in a Pacific Northwest band or want to recommend one for us to feature next in The Stranger office? Send your music submissions, recommendations, or feedback directly to our production team at: podcasts@noisycreek.com #seattlemusic #NoiseComplaintPodcast Subscribe to Noise Complaint at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands. Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.com (edited)

Bering Sea is an instrumental rock trio from Seattle WA, blending post-rock and metal, influenced by the wilderness, beauty, and sometimes brutality of the Pacific Northwest. Or maybe its sailor metal, or smooth metal.

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

CONNECT WITH US Let us know what you think in the comments below! Are you in a Pacific Northwest band or want to recommend one for us to feature next in The Stranger office? Send your music submissions, recommendations, or feedback directly to our production team at: podcasts@noisycreek.com #seattlemusic #NoiseComplaintPodcast Subscribe to Noise Complaint at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands. Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.com

Good Luck Rabbits is a Chinese pop band based in Seattle. Their songs, written by composer Josh Hou (侯守仁) and lyricist Shuxuan Zhou (周舒璇), capture diasporic lives and dreams—the sweet, the heartbroken, the outrageous, and the suspenseful. The music spans styles and genres, yet remains firmly planted in the Mandarin pop tradition.

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

CONNECT WITH US Let us know what you think in the comments below! Are you in a Pacific Northwest band or want to recommend one for us to feature next in The Stranger office? Send your music submissions, recommendations, or feedback directly to our production team at: podcasts@noisycreek.com #seattlemusic #NoiseComplaintPodcast Subscribe to Noise Complaint at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands. Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.com

Roosevelt Jazz is considered one of the nation’s top high-school jazz bands and has been regularly selected to participate in the highly competitive Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival in New York City, where the band has taken top honors. This current iteration of the trio has been playing and improvising together since middle school. We have Sienna Araya Winquist, who has won the State Solo and Ensemble competition for guitar twice and also plays with Bellevue College Jazz Band; Margot Cox, who plays with the 2026-2027 Jazz Fellowship Futures; and Ramona Cantwell, who shares the stage as one of Roosevelt Jazz’s most requested combo musicians.

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

CONNECT WITH US Let us know what you think in the comments below! Are you in a Pacific Northwest band or want to recommend one for us to feature next in The Stranger office? Send your music submissions, recommendations, or feedback directly to our production team at: podcasts@noisycreek.com

Subscribe to Noise Complaint at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands. Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.com

Watch the full episode at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint.

We’ve loved Black Ends for years, at least since 2019, when Stranger music writer Dave Segal caught them at Chop Suey and declared the band’s guitarist/vocalist Nicolle Swims had a "Chrissie Hynde-esque" voice and wrote songs that “gently skew in a manner reminiscent of obscure, women-dominated groups such as Quix*o*tic and Oh-OK.” High praise, tbh. Quix*o*tic fucking rules! Black Ends have only gotten better with time. About their 2024 record, Psychotic Spew, The Stranger’s Pop Loser columnist Audrey Vann recently wrote, “The local trio continues to shape their self-invented ‘gunk pop’ genre, employing catchy pop hooks, metal guitar riffs, and funk basslines. The result sounds like the musical offspring of the Pretenders, Suburban Lawns, ESG, and No Doubt (yes, Gwen Stefani’s ska band) in the coolest possible way.” Listen in and love them, too.

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Subscribe to Noise Complaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands.

Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.

This week in the elevator are Myla Profitt and Karl Fagerstrom of the Seattle hyper punk/metal/EDM duo Flesh Produce. Check out their performance on the latest episode of Noise Complaint @thestanger.com/noisecomplaint.

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT

Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

Subscribe to Noise Complaint for bi-weekly live sessions with new Pacific Northwest bands.

Support the band and stream "Nothin' Sticks" on Bandcamp.

Get the latest Pacific Northwest music coverage at The Stranger.

ABOUT NOISE COMPLAINT

Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com. For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com. Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

We’ve loved Black Ends for years, at least since 2019, when Stranger music writer Dave Segal caught them at Chop Suey and declared the band’s guitarist/vocalist Nicolle Swims had a "Chrissie Hynde-esque" voice and wrote songs that “gently skew in a manner reminiscent of obscure, women-dominated groups such as Quix*o*tic and Oh-OK.” High praise, tbh. Quix*o*tic fucking rules! Black Ends have only gotten better with time. About their 2024 record, Psychotic Spew, The Stranger’s Pop Loser columnist Audrey Vann recently wrote, “The local trio continues to shape their self-invented ‘gunk pop’ genre, employing catchy pop hooks, metal guitar riffs, and funk basslines. The result sounds like the musical offspring of the Pretenders, Suburban Lawns, ESG, and No Doubt (yes, Gwen Stefani’s ska band) in the coolest possible way.” Listen in and love them, too.

CONNECT WITH US

Are you in a Pacific Northwest band or want to recommend one for us to feature next in The Stranger office? Send your music submissions, recommendations, or feedback directly to our production team at: podcasts@noisycreek.com.

This Week's Noise Complaint episode was the epic, Flesh Produce! Their hyper punk/metal/EDM hybrid music is awesome with a live energy that's undeniable and compelling. The band consists of vocalist and synths Myla Profitt, and drummer-producer Karl Fagerstrom.

Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger's new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Get our email newsletter and episode alerts at thestranger.com/noisecomplaint.

For Noise Complaint band submissions email us at podcasts@noisycreek.com.

Thanks to Reanimated Music for the backline!

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