+Artist Favorites 2023: Hannah Rainey of Shady Bug

There was a breakout of very good, weird music coming out of the overlooked corners of the Middle America in 2023, and among those which are boding for a promising future are that of the bent shape emotional experimental rock explorations of St. Louis’ Shady Bug. Unlike the harder phreakcore of Hattiesburg’s MSPAINT or the surge of cyberpunk of their hometown peers, the Mall, Shady Bug’s sound on their standout extended play, What’s the Use?, is sensory sedated guitar rock that slants into directions of new age shoegaze and noise without the devastation. That, of course, comes by way of the band’s vocalist, Hannah Rainey, who — as you may guess by the EP’s title — ponders the deep pools of the abyss with her lyricism and, alongside bandmates in guitarist Ripple and bassist Chris Chartrand, makes diving into its whirling effects feel like a daydream.

Thus, it should not really come as much of a surprise that Rainey has been indulging her listening habits this past year in some of the more uncanny of indie and DIY rock’s warped and dazed albums as well as enchanted experimental pop. It makes for a perfect zone-out sess for whenever life gets heavy and you’re needing a time out. When you’re done, What’s the Use? will be right there to fixate existential all over again…

Hannah Rainey of Shady Bug’s Favorite Music of 2023:

1. bar italia – Tracey Denim [Matador Records]

Stream bar italia’s Tracey Denim

2.PACKS – Crispy Crunchy Nothing [Fire Talk]

Stream PACKS’ Crispy Crunchy Nothing

3. The Drin – Today My Friend You Drunk the Venom [Feel It Records]

Stream The Drin’s Today My Friend You Drunk the Venom

4. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin [Asthmatic Kitty Records]

Stream Sufjan Stevens’ Javelin

5. Water from Your Eyes – Everyone’s Crushed [Matador Records]

Stream Water From Your Eyes’ Everyone’s Crushed

6. Wednesday – Rat Saw God [Dead Oceans]