With the news cycle feeling more and more bleak and hopeless this week, combined with a growing feeling that the American democracy experiment is coming to an end, it felt fitting to close the week with a band whose most recent album is titled Post-American.. Described as “a vibrant current of creative rebellion,” MSPAINT from Hattiesburg, MI sounded like just the thing to get me away from doom-scrolling all night.

MSPAINT headlined the first show of 2025 in SON Estrella Galicia’s free concert series at Baby’s All Right, aptly named Brooklyn’s Rock Party. The show was a late one, kicking off at midnight with local darkwave post-punk artist Ami.

After Ami was Richmond-based project Dazy, who seemed to suddenly appear on stage without any type of setup or introduction. (Not that he needed it anyway.) Everyone on the floor was caught mid-conversation as he started diving into his set and giving his all. Despite being a solo act, through clever use of mixing and pedals, Dazy’s music sounded like a full band on stage—so much so that, at first, I thought the venue had accidentally left the house music on. Every second of Dazy’s set was planned out with seemingly no hiccups as he went from song to song without a single moment of silence or awkward pause. Given how abruptly he started playing, I felt like I was in some kind of heavenly daze of Blur and Beck inspired music for half an hour.

I’m not usually out this late—a fact I was reminded of when my phone notified me that it was entering its scheduled ‘bedtime mode’ while we waited for MSPAINT to come on. Despite this, thanks to Ami and Dazy, I was full of energy. MSPAINT took to the stage around 1:40 AM with a deep synth-heavy intro as vocalist DeeDee took the stage and started his signature back-and-forth pacing. He had this smile on his face like he had something up his sleeve… as if they knew they were about to make this crowd go wild. And wild did we go. I don’t usually headbang or thrash my body too much at shows, especially when I have my camera on me, but MSPAINT brought it out of me this time. I felt as if I was letting out all of the stress and frustration that’s been building up in me this week as a result of what’s going on in our country and government.

Despite all that, MSPAINT’s music reminds us that it’s crucial to remain hopeful and positive for a better future. As I type this review the following morning, still coming down from last night’s thrashing, I feel a bit more hopeful than I did twelve hours ago.

Dazy at Baby’s All Right New York City on January 31st 2025, photos by Bobby Nicholas III

Words by Bobby Nicholas III (@bobbograph on Instagram, @heyheybobbyj on Twitter)

Order tickets for MSPAINT HERE
Order tickets for Dazy HERE