The dynamic force that is Artificial Go return today with their new single “Triple Ones”. As the first release from the Cincinnati-based band since their last LP Musical Chairs released this time last year, members Angie Willcutt, Cole G Patrick, Ryan Sennett, and Micah Wu have been nonstop on the road, playing shows, shaking hands and recording excellent side projects, such as the newly formed Age of Peace (Check out their playlist they made for the ugly hug). “Triple Ones” is an ecstatic release that finds the group back and better than ever.
Sweeping the pits of punk rock’s heyday, while wielding a commanding anticipation of what’s next, Artificial Go return with an anthemic track dedicated to the reclamation of self. With gritty guitars that stick like gum under the bleachers, the band plays with conversational movements between the bass and the commanding presence of the drum line. Willcutt’s vocals do what they do best, cutting through with inflection and color, as she sings, “Explain to me your delusional behavior,” continuing, “The world dealt me the cards of presumption/ I’ll play them right and use it to my advantage.”
Playing out of their instinctual looseness and pop-song-fascination, this track wields both demanding strength and thoughtful tenderness in the face of frustration. It’s joyous in practice, the lively melody throwing caution to the wind and getting down to the groove. But the band sears the track with both a newfound invincibility, along with their unique type of instinctual care as a unit, as anger and defeat become catalysts for joy and resilience.
About the single, Willcutt shares, ‘“Triple Ones” is an ode to standing up for oneself, questioning authority and reclaiming energy.”
You can pre-order the Triple Ones 7″ now, as well as on vinyl via Carpark Records.
Written by Shea Roney | Featured Photo by Braeden Long
Across the country, on a mission from the highest order, young pop song swooners and DIY consumers embarked on a journey down to Durham and Carrboro North Carolina to be a part of history. Returning for its second year in a row, The Big Pop Show, held March 20th-23rd, was a four-day fest put on by friends Nathan McMurray, Lilian Fan, Eli Schmitt, Annie Vedder and Charlotte Kane.
Beyond the live music, BPS also hosted a discussion panel that interrogated ethical ways of engaging with art and sustaining the local communities involved in its creation. The Panels were “Beyond Aesthetics: Art, ethics and individual responsibility in times of political unrest” and “Airwaves to Algorithms: Technology, artistic consumption, and the economy of attention”.
With the help of Averi Love Little, we collected photos from Braeden Long, Kian Kermani, Shannon McMahon, Chance Venable, Audra Barbieri, Finch McGowan, and Emily Burrows, as well as quotes from the artists and organizers involved, to capture the joy, friendship and the resounding community that prospered at The Big Pop Show 2026.
Kellen and Susie of Good Flying Birds by Chance Venable
Handstand by Braeden LongCharlotte, Lilian, Eli, Annie, Nathan by Kian Kermani
“the big pop show meant everything to me. i was there for all 30+ sets and film screenings and i still feel like i missed out. there was an incalculable amount of magic and energy in the air. i could see the connections and friendships forming before my eyes, and there is nothing that makes me happier than to see people in joy, in love, in hope and empowerment together in space. every single set was some of the best music i’ve seen from these artists, and never was there a moment of envy or competition, only pure inspiration.” – Eli Schmitt (Organizer/TV Buddha)
Eilee and Evren by Kian KermaniDonkey Basketball by Averi Love Little
“Disregarding the boatloads of brilliant sets, the late-late Saturday Night / Sunday Morning Cookout parking lot tailgate was a sight that will never escape my memory. Practically hundreds of freakazoid losers like ourselves lost en masse into the quesadilla-quesadilla-quesadilla tray madness alongside a particularly great hang.” – Isaac Lowenstein(Donkey Basket/Lifeguard)
Van Goth by Chance Venable
“It felt like summer camp! I guess playing in a wooden room cemented that feeling, but so did all the amazing people from all over the country meeting in one place” – Sydney Salk(Van Goth)
“We have a lot of electronics and had to play a stripped back set with the minimal sound system – but somehow this got a rowdy bunch of young people to watch silently. Within 30 minutes sweaty mosh pits had broken out in the same room. These people were here for the music.” – Simon Schadler (Van Goth)
Piper + Kathleen by Audra BarbieriPaige by Kian KermaniPaper Jam by Braeden Long
Arm Wrestling by Kian KermaniTouch Girl Apple Blossom by FinchMcGowanLizzie by Audra Barbieri
“The Big Pop Fest has always been almost like the central point to a much larger community. It feels almost like one of those detective boards, where we could take string and connect all these bands across the country to each other and the commonality would be Pop Fest. On the surface level I would say it’s been a joy to watch so many talented artists perform and has been truly transformative for me as a musician; but on a much deeper level, it has given me some of my best friends in the world. To feel understood completely by your peers is a truly special thing and I think if nothing else, that’s one thing I gained from my years there. There is absolutely nothing like it, and honestly I don’t know if there ever will be. I’m just glad I’ve been lucky enough to witness it for myself.” – Lizzie Cooper(PARKiNG)
The Sourdrops by Shannon McMahonHenry and Braedenby Emily Burrows
“It was a grand get-together of pop heads, new and old. Many fun times were had. The second nights after party had the floor of the Duke Coffeehouse bouncing to the beat of Donkey Basketball. It is really awesome that we all got to share that weekend with everyone that was there.” – The Sourdrops
Nathan and Dad by Braeden LongLillian of Little Chair by FinchMcGowan
“My favorite memory was probably watching PIPE play, they are great friends of ours but also local legends of the triangle that I look up to. It was wholesome to dance with everyone at like a truly all ages show. Also the panel on Sunday at coffeehouse was great! Highlights were discussions around what it meant for art to be political beyond just making overt political statements, and when John Davis from folk implosion was talking about the importance of engaging with artists in real life through the merch table etc. it was awesome.” – Lilian Fan(Organizer/Duped/Little Chair)
“The whole thing was like a controlled explosion – I think Nathan and Eli have this magnificent ability to grasp the whole network of spectacular projects working right now. Streamlining it all… And our set was absolutely visceral. We played on the ground and I’d look up sometimes, see people on their hands and knees in front of me. I felt like everyone in the room could read my thoughts and their movements were responses. It was really so special.” –AJ Bond (Instrument)
“For me, it was really the moment right after I got back from the Pop Fest, I was listening to the Red Xerox Tape Expo on YouTube and going through the comments. You should read the top one if you haven’t, it summed up my feelings pretty well. Some guy from Montreal.” – Lu Bond (Instrument)
“Grass lawns with fashionable people sprawled out, welcomed us to The Pop Show. Friends from different states reunited and many new friendships blossomed around each corner.
Cole opened our set with handstands as I beat his drum. It was sanctuary to smile, a place to dance, a place to connect – what a lovely time it was!” – Angie Willcut(Artificial Go)
“Pip Says Relax” by Kian Kermani
“There was something very serene and meditative about the entire event. I was expecting a lot of rambunctious and mania, but the heat combined with the length of the show, where all of the bands started to blend into another and conversate with each other’s performance, created this ease and content that cradled our performance really well. Everyone was sat down, and engaged, I could feel the impact and the fact that people were taking something from our show, there was a true exchange.” – Kali Flanagan (Superfan)
Braeden Screenprint GFB by EmilyBurrows“Let’s go swimming” by Shannon McMahon
“Big Pop was fun as hell! Massive respect to the organizers. House party after show was like a movie, someone was walking around with a ‘Big Pop’ cake while we we’re hanging by the fire – that was a memorable moment.” – Jake (K9)
“I guess for me personally, I didn’t have any goals for the album or any distinct visions. I was kind of just doing what came out at the time, and we never planned to have any type of sound,” Angie Wilcutt explains of the latest Artificial Go record.
Without much context, the notion could be perceived anywhere from bashful modesty to a major case of ‘too-cool’ slacker nonchalance. However, if you were to watch a video of a live Artificial Go set, of Angie Wilcutt prancing around in a vintage marching band outfit, you would know this band has little interest in diluting themselves, let alone feigning apathy. Though some bands may find comfort in concrete visions or fitting into the confines of a niche, the members of Artificial Go view this sort of structure as artistically suffocating. Their vibrant sound blooms from a deeply intrinsic place, one that can only be achieved when rigidity is rejected. In a fizzling of ambiguous accents, whimsical pop structures and sheer wit, Musical Chairs is the latest triumph out of Cincinnati’s thriving post punk scene, as Artificial Go shrugs off expectations for the sake of genuine, self-guided experimentation.
Composed of Angie Willcutt, Micah Wu and Cole Gilfilen, Artificial Go is a fairly young project, releasing their debut album just under a year ago. “Artificial Go just started as a recording project between Cole, Micah and I. We recorded the album Hopscotch Fever at Cole’s apartment and then when it was finished, we decided we wanted to perform it live. So we found someone to play guitar and then we decided we wanted to tour and did that, then came back and wrote a second album. It’s just been a pretty natural pace,” Angie tells me of the band’s origins. They nurtured this organic approach on Musical Chairs, prioritizing their maturation as artists over any external expectations of the project. “I think our vision for the second record was just to build off the first, just keep growing our skills as musicians and songwriters,” Micah says. “We don’t wanna latch onto something just because people like it at the time, so we’re trying to stick to that if nothing else.”
Though the members of Artificial Go have minimal interest in cementing the project’s identity, Musical Chairs is anything but haphazard. Nimble social commentaries dance in and out of shimmery pop melodies, and the album’s wit grows more prominent with each listen. An emphasis on domesticated pets parallels the band’s ‘free-spirited’ ethos and aversion to being pigeonholed, as Artificial Go cartwheels around the line (or cage) that separates animal from human. There is also a complex thread of fashion imagery, an idea that presents as both empowering in the buoyant “The World is My Runway”, and a burden in “Playing Puppet”, where Angie somberly notes that “no sense of self is always in fashion.”
“That song is definitely a commentary on growing up as a woman,” Angie tells me. “As a child, I always felt like I had to behave a certain way that my brother didn’t. I think that’s an experience for a lot of women, and that song is just touching on the girlhood experience, and of what is expected from you.”
By outlawing external expectations, whether placed on them from an industry or learned from childhood, Artificial Go carves a space for Angie, Micah and Cole to prioritize their own fulfillment above anything else. The safety net this approach offers them exceeds any comfort found in external validations, and the creativity it encourages extends far beyond the contagiously fun songs they put out. From the playful graphics that Angie creates, to the lucky marching band outfit Micah picked out for her on a prior tour and hid in the car trunk, an air of love and acceptance lingers in every crevice of the project. Artificial Go operates unapologetically, and on Musical Chairs, they encourage you to do the same.
Artificial Go is currently on a five week long tour, fueling themselves with food they cook outside as they share the juices of Musical Chairs at a range of venues and DIY spots across the country. You can catch them on one of the dates above, and purchase a copy of Musical Chairs on their bandcamp.
Written by Manon Bushong / Photo courtesy of Artificial Go
the ugly hug 