{"id":40178,"date":"2026-05-12T10:50:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/?p=40178"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:50:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:50:37","slug":"los-angeles-post-punk-trio-black-market-heart-deliver-dusk-driven-distortion-on-what-happens-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/los-angeles-post-punk-trio-black-market-heart-deliver-dusk-driven-distortion-on-what-happens-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Post-Punk Trio BLACK MARKET HEART Deliver Dusk-Driven Distortion on What Happens in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nWhat Happens in the Dark\u00a0feels less like an album and more like a late-night
\nexperience\u2014what headspace were you in when this record came together?
\nThank you for saying that! The lyrics for these songs were written over the course of a
\nfairly long time. One or two dating back years. With the isolation of Covid, and the
\ngeneral division of the world right now, the emotions that stir up are definitely not always
\nthe most positive. I\u2019ve always found it therapeutic to get all that junk out of my brain by
\nmaking it into a song. I love to write all kinds of music, but with this band, I\u2019ve feel like
\nthese lyrics work best when we lean into growling bass, stabbing guitars, primal drums,
\nand general noise. Feedback is my friend.<\/p>\n

The imagery around this release is very specific\u2014Echo Park, Silver Lake, empty
\noverpasses\u2014how much of that world is autobiographical versus cinematic?
\n100% autobiographical. All three of us live on the East side of Los Angeles, and there is
\ndefinitely something cinematic about these older neighborhoods that still retain some of
\ntheir grit. There are just a million stories there to be told.<\/p>\n

Where do you see Black Market Heart fitting within the modern post-punk and
\ndark alternative landscape?
\nI\u2019ve always been attracted to bands that can grow and change, always adding
\nsomething new to the mix, and I love that this record has allowed us to do it. Black
\nMarket Heart is a little too goth to be punk, a little too punk to be alt, etc etc, and that\u2019s
\njust the way we like it. I want people who are feeling beat down to be able to listen to a
\nsong about the darkness, and know that they aren\u2019t alone. I want someone to listen to
\nsomething that has a more 80s dance vibe, and shake their ass. I also want someone
\nto put on a short burst of punk, and go a little crazy. I guess my hope is that we fit into a
\nlot of places in the general landscape, and not just one.<\/p>\n

Working with\u00a0Paul Roessler, how did his background in the LA underground
\nshape the final sound?
\nWorking with Paul was one of the best experiences I\u2019ve ever had. I\u2019d recorded with him
\nbefore in a band where I play bass, and that was amazing, but this was the first time
\nthat I was there to record my songs. Paul is genius. He is an amazing producer, but
\nhe\u2019s also a real musician, and that makes a huge difference. He hears a harmony that a
\nsong needs, and can just sing it for you, or tell you when a guitar solo is just too busy,<\/p>\n

etc. It\u2019s an advanced knowledge of music that only comes from years of experience
\nmatched with the amazing ability to get that information across to us in real time.<\/p>\n

That line\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t have to be alone for a little while\u201d\u00a0(in the title track)really cuts
\nthrough\u2014what\u2019s the emotional core of that song?
\nThat song is about being desperate for human connection. It\u2019s about the decisions we
\nmake (sometimes bad) to just have a night where you don\u2019t feel lonely. That line comes
\nfrom putting yourself into a situation you know is not the best long term, but it satisfies
\nthat immediate need to just feel like you aren\u2019t alone in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-Destruct With Me\u201d feels like pure chaos\u2014was that track written from a
\nspecific moment or mindset?
\nThat was the oldest song on the record. I\u2019ve been married twice, and after the divorce
\nfrom my first wife, I had about a year of completely out of control behavior. It\u2019s what
\nhappens when you are not bound by anyone or anything, and just run wild. Was it self-
\ndestructive? Sure? Was it fun? Yep? Was it something I wanted to keep up forever?
\nNo way. I played a version of that song when I was in a band called The Wolf Spiders,
\nbut we never recorded it, so I brought it into Black Market, and we made it into the
\nchaos that it is now.<\/p>\n

Tina\u2019s harmonies add a heavier emotional layer\u2014how did that dynamic evolve
\nwithin the band?
\nMy old band had played shows with a couple of Tina\u2019s bands in the past, and she was
\nalways cool as hell. She was the guitar player and singer. Years later, I needed a new
\nbass player, and I reached out to her to see if she knew anyone. She said \u201cme.\u201d I had
\nno idea she even played bass, but within 2 minutes of playing with her, there was no
\ndoubt she was going to be amazing. Tina is a singer and a songwriter, so having
\nsomeone like that in the band is immediately going to make the vocals stronger. Like
\nme and Shawn, her taste in music is vast, and she\u2019s able to bring the kind of harmonies
\nyou might not find on something so fast and loud, and make it that much more haunting.
\nWe lucked out!<\/p>\n

There\u2019s almost a\u00a0Quentin Tarantino film style\u00a0feel to the visuals\u2014how much does
\nfilm influence your music and storytelling?
\nFilm has a ton of influence on us. Tina and I both work in the film and TV industry, and
\nwe all devour entertainment. Everyone knows how important music is to setting the
\nmood in a scene, and the songs I write feel like little stories to me. I want our music to
\nbe the soundtrack to the movie in someone\u2019s head when listening. Tina being a
\nphotographer also helps because her ideas for visuals really take things to the next
\nlevel.<\/p>\n

Your take on \u201cGive Me Power,\u201d originally produced by\u00a0Lee Perry, is a bold
\nshift\u2014what made that song fit your world?
\nI\u2019ve never been fan of doing a cover exactly like the original. I like taking something
\nvastly different, and really making it something that sounds like us. There\u2019s a wealth of
\ngreat late 60s and early 70s Reggae that a lot of people might not know super well, and
\none day that one just jumped out at me. Give Me Power is basically like a perfect pop
\nsong. It\u2019s beautifully simple in its structure, and that allowed us to really play with
\ndropping the guitar in and out, and layering in feedback in different spots.<\/p>\n

What do you want listeners to feel the first time they press play on this record?
\nI hope that they get the full range of emotion that we had while writing and recording.
\nThe frenzied desperation of \u201cWhat Happens in the Dark,\u201d the escapism via music of
\n\u201cRadio Smash,\u201d the messy chaos of \u201cSelf-Destruct,\u201d and the late night\/early morning
\nLos Angeles darkness of \u201cCoyote.\u201d I\u2019m incredibly proud of this record, and I want as
\nmany people as possible to hear it. Go give it a whirl, and find us on social media to tell
\nus what it made you feel.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Watch the Video for \u201cWhat Happens In The Dark\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Key Tracks:\u00a0What Happens in the Dark (1:40) Radio Smash (2:45) Coyote (3:17) (All FCC Clean)<\/p>\n

Genre Tags:\u00a0Post-Punk, Punk, New Wave, Goth Punk, Noise Pop, Dark Alternative<\/p>\n

RIYL:\u00a0The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, A Place To Bury Strangers, Hot Snakes, Bauhaus, Gun Club<\/p>\n

Los Angeles post-punk trio Black Market Heart return April 14, 2026 with their new full-length,\u00a0What Happens in the Dark, arriving alongside a new video for the title track. Forged in the pink smog glow of a Southern California sunset and the low hum of the 101 at dusk, the record finds guitarist and vocalist Spencer Robinson and drummer Shawn Medina, both formerly of The Lords of Altamont, joined by bassist and vocalist Tina Brugnoletti, pushing deeper into a sound that feels wired, nocturnal, and slightly unhinged. It isn\u2019t beach postcard LA. It\u2019s downtown after midnight, Echo Park liquor stores buzzing under fluorescent light and Silver Lake sidewalks still radiating heat. Maybe you\u2019re holding it together on the sidewalk outside The Dresden, sunglasses still on at 11pm, a few too many Manhattans deep, cigarettes stacking up in the ashtray. You probably shouldn\u2019t be driving, but you\u2019re merging onto the freeway anyway, windows down, smoke whipping out into the warm air.<\/p>\n

Taking cues from the feedback haze of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the cold pulse of Joy Division, Black Market Heart thrive in that tight space between distortion and melody. Tina\u2019s basslines grind and move with purpose, Medina\u2019s drums hit with stripped-down force, and Robinson\u2019s guitar cuts sharp and bright through the fog. It\u2019s music designed for low lights, empty overpasses, and that stretch of road where the city opens up and you can almost pretend you\u2019re alone. Recorded in just two days at Kitten Robot Studios with Los Angeles underground mainstay Paul Roessler, known for his work with The Screamers and 45 Grave,\u00a0What Happens in the Dark\u00a0captures the band in a live-wire state. Minimal takes. No studio gloss. Just volume, tape, and instinct. The vocals, often submerged in earlier recordings, are more exposed this time. Brugnoletti\u2019s added harmonies bring a heavier presence, giving the songs weight without sanding down their edge.<\/p>\n

The title track, \u201cWhat Happens in the Dark,\u201d clocks in at a lean 1:40 and sets the tone immediately. It\u2019s a desperate reach for connection, even if it\u2019s temporary, even if it\u2019s imagined. \u201cI don\u2019t have to be alone for a little while,\u201d Robinson sings, his voice cutting clean through the distortion. The accompanying video, shot in Brugnoletti\u2019s 1967 Dodge Coronet, feels like The Cramps dropped into a Tarantino getaway scene with DOA\u2019s Hardcore \u201981 blasting on the tape deck. All grit, all forward motion, no looking back. Elsewhere, \u201cRadio Smash\u201d leans into repetition like a mantra unraveling, while \u201cCoyote\u201d prowls with quiet menace, stalking empty streets and streetlight shadows. \u201cSelf-Destruct With Me\u201d barrels straight into gasoline-soaked chaos. \u201cWithout My Pills\u201d and \u201cMy Brain is Poison\u201d strip everything down to exposed nerves, tackling isolation and chemical imbalance without flinching. The album also tips its hat to lineage without getting precious about it. A reworked \u201cGirl Dreams,\u201d originally recorded by Beck with roots in The Carter Family, and a distorted take on The Stingers\u2019 1971 reggae cut \u201cGive Me Power,\u201d produced by Lee Perry, both get pulled through Black Market Heart\u2019s darker lens. They don\u2019t feel like nostalgia pieces. They feel like transmissions rerouted through cracked amps and midnight air.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Order Black Market Heart\u2019s\u00a0Music and Merchandise<\/a><\/p>\n

What Happens in the Dark\u00a0doesn\u2019t romanticize the night. It lives in it. It\u2019s the sound of someone driving too fast down the 110 with the windows down, city lights smeared across the windshield, knowing full well the sun is coming but not caring yet. It\u2019s headlights slicing through smog, cigarettes burning down to the filter, and a band that knows exactly what kind of night they\u2019re walking into.<\/p>\n

For press inquiries, interviews, and review copies, please reach out. -Chad<\/p>\n

Black Market Heart Online<\/p>\n

INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0SPOTIFY<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0BANDCAMP<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0APPLE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0YOUTUBE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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What Happens in the Dark\u00a0feels less like an album and more like a late-night experience\u2014what headspace were you in when this record came together? Thank you for saying that! The lyrics for these songs were written over the course of a fairly long time. One or two dating back years. With the isolation of Covid, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[482],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-video","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-written","8":"post_format-post-format-video"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40178"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40189,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40178\/revisions\/40189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}