Birmingham-based Seasick Records will celebrate its 12th anniversary on November 6, a major milestone for an independent, locally-owned record store. I first met Seasick’s owner, Dan Drinkard, at his original location next to a divers supply store back in 2014. Soon after, I started bugging him to help me plan and promote Happenin Fests. Since that time, he’s always been a super reliable collaborator and friend.

If you’ve spent time with Dan, then you know he’s fully-invested in the Birmingham community. He and his team ensure that Seasick functions more like a civic third-space than a storefront, creating opportunities for people to bond, discover new music, and, in some cases, contribute to the common good. From listening parties to food pop-ups to winter clothing drives, Seasick always serves as a welcoming space for folks who are seeking some form of connection.

*Dan Drinkard, owner of Seasick Records*

And plenty of folks connect and party at the store’s badass anniversary celebrations, including a free concert with Superchunk in 2017 and a massive full-day celebration at Avondale Park titled “The Get Down” in 2023. This year, Seasick will continue the tradition with a free show at their new location in Lakeview Marina featuring Indianapolis pop wizards Wishy and local indie rocker Cash Langdon. In addition, I’ll be spinning a few records.

Prior to the anniversary show announcement, I’d not heard of Wishy, so I cued up their new-ish EP, Planet Popstar. It features six cohesive tunes loaded with hooks and sticky melodies, unexpected and layered guitar work, digital flourishes, and nice tonal juxtapositions. It’s heavy indie pop that feels adjacent to a band like Yuck but a bit more polished and upbeat. Comparisons aside, it’s captivating music that feels very of-the-moment. Just check out the opening track “Fly,” and you’ll be hooked.

I connected with Kevin Krauter, one of the lead songwriters for the band, and asked if he was aiming for a particular mood on Planet Popstar. He clarified that the EP is composed of b-sides, so there wasn’t really a singular vision for the release. “It’s hard to generalize the EP in one overall mood since the whole thing came about after the songs were written and recorded,” he said. “I like to see all of our releases as a sort of collage of whatever mood strikes when the song is being made.” Fair enough. Still, when I listened for the first time, I felt a sense of anxiety and optimism across the tracks. Krauter agreed, to an extent: “There’s an anxious optimism that permeates pretty much all of our music, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly intentional haha.”

Given that so many bands are doggedly committed to releasing full-length albums, it’s refreshing that Wishy leaned into a shorter format for Planet Popstar. It’s an opportunity to trim out the filler and embrace concision—a rarity these days. Krauter offered a similar take: “I think an EP has the potential to be more compelling sometimes than an LP simply by nature of its length and content.”

I should note that the band’s preceding LP, Triple Seven, is solid (and filler-free). They deliver a clear melodic point-of-view across all ten pop-gazy songs with Kevin and Nina Pitchkites sharing vocals throughout. I’d encourage listeners to start with Triple Seven, then dive into Planet Popstar (the reverse order that I experienced them). Also, all of the songs were recorded during the same session, so there’s a clear sonic link between the two complementary releases.

In addition to reflecting on his music, Kevin highlighted a few Midwestern acts that he and his bandmates currently appreciate—check out his excellent list below, which features a few artists we’ve covered over the past year:

Good Flying Birds
Living Dream
Lee Lloyd
National Photo Committee
Artificial Go
TV Buddha
Spastic Bombastic
Sharp Pins
Spoils
Playland
Zastava
Sacred Copy
Jason Shapiro
Wombo
Soup Activists
Answering Machines
God’s Green Earth

You can grab both Planet Popstar and Triple Seven from Winspear Records (which has also released some heavy-hitters by Teethe and Jahnah Camille this year). And, of course, you can check out Wishy’s live show and toast to Seasick’s birthday on November 6. If you make it out, be sure to congratulate Dan on 12 incredible years in the community and also ask for his breakfast burrito recommendations. I’m sure he’d be glad to help you out.

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