Kat and the Hurricane (album release), Lunar Moth, Secret Menu, K.I.L.O aka SkitL'z

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Willow Ray

Kat and the Hurricane pauses for a photo.

Kat and the Hurricane

During their years together, Madison trio Kat and the Hurricane have blended synth-pop, pop-punk and indie guitar rock into a sound of their own, supporting storytelling about queer and trans lives that ranges from celebratory to cathartic. Unveiled at this show is their debut full-length album, Got It Out; the album was preceded this summer by a series of strong singles including “Costume,” featuring K.I.L.O aka SkitL’z, who is also playing the release party along with Lunar Moth and Secret Menu.

media release: Midwest trans synth-rockers Kat and the Hurricane share debut full-length studio album, Got It Out, representing a new high in their craft of catharsis. Seamlessly weaving elements of synth rock, pop punk, indie-pop, alternative rock, indie-folk, and hip-hop across ten tracks, the trio speaks to the growing pains of mental health and trauma healing. From the raucous stadium rock anthem, “Therapy,” high-energy pop-punk confessional “Caffeine & Alcohol,” and lush indie-pop closer, “Smoke,” Kat and the Hurricane illustrates how, even with some healing and a lot of getting it out, pain never truly goes away - it simply shifts.

Kat and the Hurricane is an all-queer and trans synth rock/indie-pop trio from Madison, WI composed of guitarist/vocalist Kat Rhapsody (they/them), keyboardist/vocalist Benjamin Rose (they/them), and drummer Alex Nelson (they/them). The band has stirred up a storm across the Midwest since 2017 thanks to their energetic live shows, strong sense of community, and genre-defying songwriting. While preparing their debut full length album, Got It Out, the trio appeared at several regional and national festivals, completed 3 regional and national tours, and received the coveted Artist of The Year award from the Madison Area Music Association.

“This album explores themes of heartbreak, rage, loss, uncertainty, and vulnerability while showcasing the importance of accepting and expressing those feelings. At its heart, Got It Out is about healing. And, at the same time, it’s never quite that simple. Something we talked about a lot while writing these songs is that trauma changes you. Traumatic experiences can become the lens through which you experience the world, your interactions with other people, and your family or dating relationships. There’s also something very cyclical and bittersweet about healing, in that the pain never goes away fully. You just develop a different relationship with it over time. When traces of that hurt surface, you may be a little further away from its original source - you’re a different person in a different moment, maybe with more coping skills - yet the pain still follows. Healing isn’t linear.

We wanted to mirror that experience in the way the album itself is structured: it begins triumphant, self-congratulatory, and campy and is bookended with ‘Smoke’ / ‘Track 10,’ bittersweet and ruminating sibling tracks about the lingering effects of past hurt. The album ends in the click of a dropped call and a sense of disappointment, right before looping back into the xylophone intro of ‘Therapy.’ And that’s what healing is - we can only move forward by looking back, and we can only heal by leaning into community and getting it out.” - Kat Rhapsody, Alex Nelson, & Benjamin Rose