Brooklyn, NY · industrial post-punk

Model/Actriz

2 upcoming festivals ↓

Sweat-slicked industrial post-punk — menace, glamour, and whispered filth, a frontman who prowls the crowd like it's his living room.

Model/Actriz formed in Boston in 2016 and later based itself in New York. Guitarist Jack Wetmore and drummer Ruben Radlauer were childhood acquaintances whose fathers had played in a band together in the 1980s, and they reconnected while studying at Berklee College of Music. In 2015 they saw vocalist Cole Haden performing solo and invited him to join; bassist Aaron Shapiro joined in 2019 after a two-year hiatus.

The group's music combines the mechanical pulse of industrial and dance music with abrasive, treated guitar and post-punk structure. Haden's delivery moves between spoken narration, whispering and shouting, with lyrics that deal frankly with desire, queerness and memory, an approach he has described as bringing openly gay themes into a genre that isn't especially so.

Their debut album, Dogsbody, was recorded in 2021 and released in 2023 to strong reviews, earning an 8.2 rating from Pitchfork and a Bandcamp Daily album-of-the-day pick. A second album, Pirouette, followed in 2025; its lead single "Cinderella" received a Best New Track nod from Pitchfork, with "Doves" and "Diva" released alongside it.

In 2025 Haden branched into songwriting for other artists, co-writing "Prelude," the opening track on Miley Cyrus's album Something Beautiful. The band issued a surprise EP, Swan Songs, in 2026. Live, Haden frequently leaves the stage to perform among the audience, and the shows are known for being physically close and loud.

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industrial post-punk