Who: Mike Huguenor
Indie Rock
A guitar virtuoso whose storied career in indie-rock and punk encompasses two of his own bands (Hard Girls and Shinobu), playing in Jeff Rosenstock’s band, and too many other projects to name, Mike Huguenor lives to push the limits of what six strings can sound like. Grounded in San Jose, CA, but more than likely to be found touring nationwide, Huguenor is currently in the process of pioneering a genre he calls “new guitar pop,” referential of rock anthems he grew up loving but informed equally by his everlasting faith in the untapped potential of guitar-playing itself. Surfing the Web with the Alien, his second instrumental solo record after 2020’s X’ed, is the purest distillation of this exploration to date. A true pop record, it’s alive with explosive basslines and melodic hooks, but Huguenor’s all-guitar songcraft also represents something new; tight and exuberant, full of dynamic switches and tuneful twists, it’s the thrilling sound of a musician’s musician challenging listeners and artists everywhere to imagine new possibilities for a classic instrument.