Maggot Brain Issue #21

Maggot Brain is a full-colour, quarterly magazine edited by Detroit writer Mike McGonigal. Each issue spans over 100 pages and is filled with exceptional content—art, music, literature, unpublished archival material, and more—with a simple promise to exist only on the printed page.

This issue features Japanese Breakfast on the cover, with an in-depth piece by music writer Shahlin Graves exploring why the band’s latest record, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women), resonates so deeply. The article delves into the meaning and creation of many of the songs with band leader Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart, and includes a stunning collection of exclusive photos accompanying the story.

Also included is an exceptional interview with Kai Slater, the prolific 20-year-old member of Lifeguard, discussing his bright, melodic solo project Sharp Pins in a feature written by Sydney Salk. There’s a fascinating oral history of the 1981 Bronx-based cult horror film Wolfen, courtesy of Feral House, offering rare insight from the crew who brought the film to life.

Elsewhere, noted music journalist and DJ Kurt Reighley contributes a heartfelt, sharply written tribute to Gavin Friday, covering his wide-ranging career from the Virgin Prunes through Hollywood collaborations and into his current solo work. The issue closes with two charged interviews by Knoxville-based historian Eric Dawson, woven together as a powerful tribute to the late Pere Ubu leader David Thomas—an artist whose influence endures. Ubu forever.