8 top Milwaukee albums and songs for January 2024, from Violent Femmes, Chicken P, more

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·4 min read

One of the most successful Milwaukee rock bands of all time and two of the most successful rappers from the city are behind the best new music to check out in the new year.

Here are eight top new albums, EPs and songs from Milwaukee artists to check out in January, listed in alphabetical order.

More: These are our 15 favorite Milwaukee albums of 2023

More: These are our 15 favorite Milwaukee songs of 2023

'brb (still scrolling),' Thane

The adventurous electronic artist follows up his amusing, digital-consumption commentary and interlude "BRB (Scrolling)" from 2022's "The Algorithm Isn't Working" with a flashier five-minute opus that blends futuristic soundscapes (and a return of those fizzy text bubble sound effects) with organic chants and horns. It's quite the leap for a "sequel," like James Cameron's "Aliens" from Ridley Scott's "Alien."

'BussaBrick Vol. 3: ReallyRich4Eva,' Chicken P

Arguably the most popular rapper living in Milwaukee for the past few years, Chicken P finally got the record deal he's long deserved by partnering up with 10K Projects, the indie label behind Ice Spice and Trippie Redd. The latest mixtape in the "BussaBrick" series doesn't mess with the raw beats and blunt punchlines formula, but "Rollin," with its sticky chorus and survived-the-streets bravado, is definitely in the running for one of Chicken's all-time best bangers.

Chicken P has released his first mixtape on 10K Projects, the label behind Ice Spice and Trippie Redd.
Chicken P has released his first mixtape on 10K Projects, the label behind Ice Spice and Trippie Redd.

'Capital B,' The MilBillies

The MilBillies play with such ferocity on their second album, it's like they're trying to burn holes in their mandolin, banjo and fiddles. But what really sets their breakneck bluegrass originals ablaze are the witty and weeping lyrics, whether they're having the hootenanny of a lifetime on "Bosco's," breaking free from their stressful lives on "Mountains and Rivers" or lamenting a lost love they'll never shake, no matter how hard they play, on "Never Ever."

'Deep End,' Certified Trapper

Few performers are as prolific as Certified Trapper, but with his third project in the past year on Columbia Records' Signal Records, the rapper and producer is still taking his lowend sound to new places. The title track embraces an ominous melodic undertone, while "Set the Play" has a fun back-and-forth between Trapper and fellow local lowend star Myaap. And then there's his ever-changing flow, with Trapper adding some Michael Jackson-esque ad libs on "Chemone (Come On Yeah)," and a wild, out-of-nowhere flow on "Callout," for which he sounds a bit like Tom Waits trying out ASMR.

Certified Trapper has dropped his third project on Columbia Records imprint Signal.
Certified Trapper has dropped his third project on Columbia Records imprint Signal.

'Focus,' Bryan Cherry

When Bryan Cherry sings on his EP "Focus," it's hard to focus on anything else. There's a touch of sand to his soulful pipes that sounds superb across the four bluesy originals that make up the EP, from the heart-torn opener "But I Love You" to the smitten, swinging finale "Shake It All Night."

'Overworld,' Form

Versio Curs and Telethon are two of the best bands to come out of Milwaukee in the past few years. So when you bring together Alex Hardy from the former and Alex Meylink from the latter, you get something, well, really different — and very good. On Form's first EP, Hardy trades the bass he plays for Curs to take up lead vocal duties, offering screaming, doomsday vocals over Meylink's dense bass, Aaron Kurowski's drum assaults, and blistering guitar blasts from Jake Hardy and George Kuether. The sum resembles Rage Against the Machine's disenfranchised fury.

'Seven So Few,' {Else}

The Madison and Milwaukee band return to hard-rock territory following their acoustic album “Here Waiting,” bringing with them some of the lessons learned from the more-with-less experiment on this three-song EP — especially the expansive, twisting-and-turning finale “More to See.”

'Violent Femes (Deluxe Edition),' Violent Femmes

Even diehard Femmes fans might think the band’s been overdoing it with reissues in recent years, but the latest deluxe edition is a gem, especially for hometown admirers. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the group's breakthrough debut album, the two-hour-plus “Violent Femmes (Deluxe Edition)” includes demos and best of all live-wire live recordings of endearingly raw and bizarre shows at late Milwaukee venues the Beneath-It-All Cafe and Riverwest’s Jazz Gallery, both from 1981. Even then, these incredible artifacts confirm, the Femmes had the “It” factor.

Violent Femmes' self-titled debut album has been released as a deluxe edition, with demos, live recordings and more, in celebration of its 40th anniversary.
Violent Femmes' self-titled debut album has been released as a deluxe edition, with demos, live recordings and more, in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

"Must-Hear Milwaukee Music" runs on or around the first of every month in the Journal Sentinel and at jsonline.com. If you have a new album, EP or song coming out, contact Piet Levy at plevy@journalsentinel.com for review consideration. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 8 top Milwaukee albums and songs in January, from Violent Femmes, more