Noise Floor

We're back to Death Cab For Cutie this week, digging into their momentous, genre-defining album, Transatlanticism. We discuss the themes of distance and longing, the songs that remain playlist staples to this day, and try not to spoil too much of our upcoming Give Up episode. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF088

We're taking a break from Death Cab For Cutie to recap our favorite albums of the first half of 2026 and look forward to the rest of the year. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF087

Our Death Cab For Cutie series continues this week with The Photo Album. Released in 2001, it serves as the transition point between the early days and the massive success that would follow. We get into the rushed production, the TV show placements, and how we both might have liked this album even more had we heard it in high school. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorp...

This week we're discussing Death Cab For Cutie's We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, a document of post-college life and an "interstitial" time in the band's career. We cover everything from the long process of recording the album at their parents' houses to changing drummers to the follow-up Forbidden Love EP. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us...

This week we're getting into Death Cab For Cutie's Something About Airplanes, their first proper album, their first release on Barsuk Records, and the beginning of their time as a full band. We cover how the highlights from You Can Play These Songs With Chords evolved, vocalist Ben Gibbard's reflections on the album, and more. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast....

Our series on Death Cab For Cutie begins this week with their demo album, You Can Play These Songs With Chords, as we explore the early days of the Pacific Northwest emo pioneers and how their scrappy, self-produced debut formed the foundation of a decades-long career. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF083

This week we're tackling a legendary single-album discography: Operation Ivy. We break down the enduring legacy of Energy, the band's place in punk and ska history, and touch on the EPs and bootlegs, from the pioneering Hectic to the unlistenable Ramones EP. Pick it up! Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF082

Our Mitski series concludes a discussion of her new album, Nothing's About To Happen To Me, from the exploration of a house as a metaphor for the mind to the influence of touring band from The Land on the record's sonic direction. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF081

This week we're joined by Allison Parssi for a discussion of The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski's 2023 foray into country and Americana and the source of her massive viral hit, "My Love Mine All Mine." We talk about the album's relationship to memory, its nighttime vibes, and the accompanying tour and concert film. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast....

Next up in our Mitski series is Laurel Hell, Mitski's sixth album and her return after a brief hiatus from music in late 2019. We discuss the synth-driven arrangements, how it builds on the success of Be the Cowboy, and its themes of transformation and vulnerability. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF079

We're joined by our friend Emily Csuy this week to discuss Be the Cowboy, Mitski's biggest album to date. We cover everything from our initial reactions (and how the album has grown with us over the years) to the surreal "Nobody" music video to the stunning, cinematic closing track. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com...

Our Mitski series continues this week with Puberty 2, her true breakout album and another visceral exploration of the balance of happiness and sadness. We talk through the songs, including the arguably perfect "Your Best American Girl," and our experiences seeing Mitski shows in the Puberty 2 era. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpo...

This week we dig into Mitski's third album, Bury Me At Makeout Creek, and how exhaustion, picking up guitar, and a shift towards playing live informed the production of this modern indie classic. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF076

Mitski's second album, Retired From Sad, New Career In Business, expands on the foundations of Lush with a full orchestra, an accompanying visual album, and even more visceral, emotional songwriting. On this episode, we talk through the songs, the legacy of the album, and the feeling of being on the cusp of life after college. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast....

This week we're beginning a new series on Mitski with Lush, the first of two records made while the singer-songwriter was still in college. We get into the varied approaches to writing and arrangement, similarities to other "figuring it out" albums we've covered, and much more. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF07...

DuJour means podcast! We're trying something a little different this week and digging into the soundtrack to the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats. Produced by Babyface and Adam Schlesinger and featuring vocals by Kay Hanley, it's a treasure trove of power pop bangers. Heads up: We also discuss the movie with some spoilers. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com...

Our Janelle Monáe series comes to a close with The Age of Pleasure. We discuss the album's reggae influence, themes of sex and liberation, and the arc of Monáe's exciting career so far. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF072

We're joined by our friend Jenna Stworzyjanek to discuss Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe's most personal album yet. We go through the record's sonic evolution, the incisive lyrics, and the companion movie and short story collection. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF071

Our Janelle Monáe series continues with The Electric Lady, suites IV and V of the Metropolis saga and a prequel to The ArchAndroid. With features from the likes of Prince and Miguel, The Electric Lady further refines Monáe's vision of what her music can be, and we're along for every step. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gma...

On her proper debut album, The ArchAndroid, Janelle Monáe explores genres from rap to folk to psychedelic funk in a sprawling pair of suites that form the core of her Metropolis saga. Join us as we dig into the songs, the fiction, and Monáe's development as an artist from her early days to her first hits. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: nois...

This week we begin a new series on the albums of Janelle Monáe, starting with her demo album, The Audition. We explore every genre twist and turn on this accomplished but long out of print debut before jumping into Monáe's sci-fi world-building on Metropolis: The Chase Suite. The Audition on Archive.org Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisef...

The Format is back after 20 years with Boycott Heaven, one of the most exciting new releases in years. Join us as we dive into our favorite songs, the band's turn to guitar-centric rock and roll, and rank the Nate Ruess discography. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: noisefloorpodcast@gmail.com NF067

After the incredible success of Some Nights and the subsequent dissolution of Fun., Nate Ruess returned with his first and only solo album, Grand Romantic. This week, we're breaking down this least celebrated chapter of Ruess's career and the album's place as both a continuation and rejection of his past work. Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail:...

Nate Ruess's career hit its commercial apex in 2012 with Fun.'s second album, Some Nights. We're joined by City Mouth vocalist Matt Pow for wide-ranging discussion of the mega hits, the influence of its fusion of pop and hip-hop production, and what Fun. meant (and still means) to us. City Mouth on Bandcamp Find us on the internet: @NoiseFloorPod on Instagram noisefloorpodcast.com Send us mail: no...

The Fun. section of our Nate Ruess series starts today with Aim and Ignite, and we're joined by Violet Crime vocalist Jeff Mills for an enthusiastic discussion of the evolution from The Format to Fun., songs that make us cry ("The Gambler," of course), and everything else about this five star masterpiece of an album. Jeff Mills on TikTok and Instagram Violet Crime on Apple Music Find us on the int...