Bay Area underground fixture Joel Cusumano steps into the spotlight with his debut solo LP ‘WAXWORLD,’ out now via Dandy Boy Records, alongside a new video for standout track “Mary Katharine.” Long known for his work in bands like Sob Stories, R.E. Seraphin, and Body Double, Cusumano channels years of scene-shaping experience into a record that snaps with immediacy, melody, and sharp guitar pop instincts. The album moves fluidly through bubblegum hooks, post-punk tension, slacker rock looseness, and straight-shot power pop, all tied together by concise songwriting and a strong melodic spine.
Written during a period of personal upheaval and reorientation, ‘WAXWORLD’ pairs heavy subject matter with bright, inviting sound. Songs like “Another Time, Another Place,” “Death-Wax Girl,” and “Caesar” balance wit and unease, folding classical and gnostic imagery into everyday disconnection and cultural overload. Cusumano’s vocals hover between detachment and sincerity, grounding the record’s shifting perspectives. Inspired by wax anatomical models and their tension between realism and illusion, ‘WAXWORLD’ captures that same push and pull, delivering a record that is catchy on contact and increasingly revealing with each return.