In Conversation: Eric Arsnow of Seances
The Seances front man stops by to talk about their new record, the Milwaukee music scene, and one of the wildest mashups you'll ever see.
Good morning!
We’re in for a treat today; Eric Arsnow of Milwaukee-based Seances stops by for a chat!
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for more than a few days, my love of new wave & post punk will not be a surprise. Bands like The Cure, Wire, and New Order all get a lot of column inches here.
I’m also a fan of underrated local scenes that too often get lost in the shadows of places like LA, London, and New York—places like Wisconsin.
So when a record described as [sounding] more like Joy Division than Joy Division does from Milwaukee landed on my radar, I was intrigued. When I pushed play, I was sold.
Like the bands above, Seances have seen their share of (well-earned) ink here lately. “Hours” was featured on ORR playlist #286, and I reviewed the album as part of the March 15th edition of Sound Advice.
Seances is a DIY new wave project fronted by singer and bassist Eric Arsnow, but he’s not solo. Rather Seances is a collective of area musicians from groups like Tigernite, Devils Teeth, Fight Dice, and Faux Fiction.
The presser describes the record in part as:
“…conjuring charming post-punk anthems who lyrically found its inspiration from horror films, the supernatural, and by intense experiences of déjà vu – the inexplicable feeling of emotionally recognizing a place even though you've never been there before, in different parts of the world and the people those experiences are shared with.”
That checks a lot of boxes, but I was especially intrigued by the project’s origin story. I’ll let Arsnow tell that story, but the short version is he went into a show, and walked out with an outline for a record. Another case of inspiration striking where/when you least expect it.
In a wide ranging chat, Arsnow shares the record’s orgin story, what the Milwaukee music scene is like, and what’s next for the band. He also dropped one of the wildest mashups I’ve ever heard of into the chat, so make sure to read to the end for that! While you’re here, make sure to give Power is a Phantom a spin.
Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and flow.
Congrats on the new record! For those who don't know the story, can you walk us through how Seances came together?
Thank you! I’ll definitely dip into this a bit more in more depth in a follow-up question, but simply put, this has been a dream project for me to make.
Seances began as voice memos, and they sat around on my phone for like 6 months with me debating if it would be worth pursuing. At the time, I was rather busy with a couple of bands I was in. I reconnected with my buddy Jason Kartz, who is a killer guitar player. He contributed to the song “Fade,” and I quickly saw the potential in the record.
I love making DIY basement records and eventually pulled everything together from writing, recording, and mixing in a few months. Jason continued to contribute guitar to several of the tracks, and eventually, I asked Bex to join in with some of her vocals, taking over some of my parts.
Many of the records I was inspired by were recorded rather quickly, so by design, I wanted to work quickly, I didn’t want to camp out in my studio and let my intuition be my guide.
One of the quotes I saw described your sounds as "…sounds more like Joy Division than Joy Division does." Agree? Disagree?
Ha! Yes, a generous quote indeed, and I’ll totally own it. Bass guitar has been my primary instrument for the past 20+ years, and Peter Hook has always been my top influence. I’ve often found myself in 3-piece bands (Devils Teeth, Tigernite) and found myself in a position where I needed to be a rhythm guitarist as well as a bass player, so Peter Hook’s ability to create amazing and memorable melodies has always been a point of reference for me.
As far as the vocal comparisons I’ve been getting to Ian Curtis, it’s such an honor, and I’m glad to represent the “Midwest Manchester” vibe.
Double-clicking on that for a second, what are some of the bands that have influenced your sound?
There are certainly the easy ones, like The Cure is one of my all-time favorites, New Order, Echo and The Bunnymen, Gary Numan etc. For a few less obvious answers, there’s Fischerspooner’s album #1, 14 Iced Bears’ album Wonder, and James Figurine’s album Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake. I’m obsessed with production on records, and those in particular served as creative inspiration when working on Power Is A Phantom. I love paying attention to things like transitions, dynamics, and playing around with stereo channels to create some cool listening experiences.
The rough outline for this record came together in just a few hours after seeing The Chameleons in concert. What happened there? Were these ideas brewing for a while, or was the show itself the catalyst?
Yeah, it was wild. I saw The Chameleons for their first Milwaukee show, and I was mesmerized by the wall of sound. I locked into how Vox (formerly Mark Burgess) approached his bass playing and singing. His ability to be a melodic anchor was truly inspiring, while Reg Smithies painted these larger shoegaze vibes with his guitar lines.
When I got home from the show, I grabbed my bass, and the songs started pouring out. It was a true creative flash point, and I just let it all spool out over a couple of hours, making composition notes and capturing bass melodies. It was also super weird for me because it’s the first album I’ve ever written where the foundation was bass guitar. I later found out that Gary Numan wrote Cars on bass guitar and took it as an omen that I was on the right path.
So everything but “Weighted” (that one came together on a road trip) was captured that first night. I actually have some demos that I haven’t even touched yet.
Milwaukee (and Wisconsin in general) aren't the first places people think of when it comes to music—especially genres like new wave and post-punk. What's the scene like there? For people outside of our part of the world, what would you want them to know about it?
I LOVE being a part of the Milwaukee music scene. It’s a real badge of honor for me. The Milwaukee scene is truly special and it just keeps growing. We have a large swath of genre representation, which is incredible. Everything from punk to rap to Latin music, and all of it is performed at such a pro level. There are so many good songwriters in this city, and I think being surrounded by your friends who put out good records motivates and pushes you to grow. I’d also be remiss not to say that our music scene also owes a lot to the healthy support from our local radio stations, record stores, and venues. All of that contributes to why Milwaukee’s music scene is such an exciting part of Milwaukee’s culture.
What's next? Any shows coming up? Touring? What does the rest of 2025/early 2026 look like for you?
I’m currently putting together an amazing band of Milwaukee musicians. Being a part of the post-punk genre also allows me to dip into my love for horror and Halloween visually, so I am creating a big, haunted experiential show for October that will also double as a fundraiser for my favorite local radio station, WMSE 91.7FM. More details to come on that, but it will be a lot of fun. I’m producing a lot of cool video and audio components for the show. I want whatever the live band does to feel more like a larger event; I want it to be super theatrical.
Outside of that, one of the exciting parts of Seances existing as a collective is it evolves. I’m hoping to get some recordings of the band and put out a companion piece to Power Is A Phantom that documents the live interpretations of the songs.
About half of the 2nd record is completed, so I hope to have that ready later in 2026.
Last one, just for fun: I run into you on your way out of Rushmor Records. What's in your bag?
Ha, I don’t have to pretend at all. I’m a big fan of Rushmor, and am there at least once a month.
Some of my recent vinyl acquisitions:
Wugazi - 13 Chambers - Yes, Dan managed to track down some copies of Cecil Otter and Swiss Andy’s insane mash-up of Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi tracks.
The Cure - High 12-Inch Single - This was a must for me because the B-side to this single is Twilight Garden; top of my list of favorite Cure tracks.
Sad Lovers & Giants - Lost In A Sea Full Of Sighs - Rushmor has a well-stocked section for the Dark Entries label. This is a great collection of early Sad Lovers & Giants 7-inches.
Lhasa de Sela - The Living Road - Ask Dan about this record. He has a great story about bringing copies back to Milwaukee from his trip to Canada. Very cool Latin folk singer-songwriter vibes. Tragically left this world too soon in 2010.
Click the record to listen on your platform of choice.
Power is a Phantom is out now. You can grab your copy here.
You can also connect with the band via Instagram and Facebook.
Thank you to Eric Arsnow for his time, and thank you for being here.
Kevin—
Love when artists are proud of their MKE roots! It's such a great city and I feel spoiled that I got to spend most of my life there before moving away to a smaller Wisconsin city. Can't wait to give Seances a listen!
I don’t know what it will take to get this from popping up every time I open Substack…