punk this week: i will die in this jean jacket, guiding light, lothario + 14 more

Hey, it’s Punk This Week—see/saw’s new punk and rock'n'roll recommendations column. The Blind Shake’s Jim Blaha returns with a stellar new record under the name I Will Die in This Jean Jacket. Guiding Light’s long-awaited full-length is here. There’s new Lothario, Xanny Stars, Que Lindo, and Um, Jennifer?, among others.

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I Will Die in This Jean Jacket: Hang From a Cloud [Swami]

While his friends have probably seen him around, Jim Blaha went into hibernation from public punk life after Green/Blue’s final show at 7th Street Entry in 2023. It’s since been a vibrant period for Minneapolis punk, but without the Blind Shake or Green/Blue, something’s been missing. During that time, Blaha was in his basement cooking up a new solo project. The first record from I Will Die in This Jean Jacket shows Jim in quiet pop mode with “So Nice,” making driving and gauzy post-punk on “Above Me,” delivering sun-soaked garage rock with “D.O.A.,” and multi-tracking his vocals and a simple, point-perfect guitar lead on the unstoppable pop single “Too Bright.” It’s the kind of project with broad aesthetic ambitions, but oh how this record congeals. Blaha’s incredible at hook writing, and his vocals are gorgeous in this album’s overall understated mode. It’s wonderful to have him back.