Alice Teeple 
On a crisp early October night, Brooklyn buzzed with a kinetic jolt as Austin’s post-punk provocateurs, Urban Heat, ignited Trans-Pecos for a Synthicide soirée. The trio’s latest tour, touting their newest release, The Tower, made this truly a night to remember.
Despite the persistent haze of a stubborn fog machine, the stress of street-side parking woes, and the chaos of a fainting spell in the audience, the band remained undeterred. They stormed the compact stage and turned the tight-knit venue into a bona-fide party. Paxel Foley and Kevin Naquin set the scene with their bass and synth prowess, as the lights dimmed and the room crackled with anticipation.
Frontman Jonathan Horstmann electrified the room, his thunderous voice booming like a preacher at a fire-and-brimstone revival, cracking the air. He twisted, turned, and tangled himself in the tunes, throwing hits from Wellness and The Tower at the crowd like he had a score to settle. True to form, Horstmann’s shirt vanished at some point, leaving nothing between his heart and the audience but a few layers of skin and a raw, untamed energy.
When they rolled into their cover of the Q. Lazzarus classic Goodbye Horses, the packed room shivered—a flicker of misty eyes mixing with a flash of fierce joy. The jubilant crowd danced in that sweet spot between soft-hearted and hard-headed, somewhere between a slow sway and a sudden stomp. It was a symphony of sweat and swagger.
As they closed the set with Have You Ever, the floor transformed into a frenzied dance—a maelstrom of fists, feet and frenzied dance. A scene bursting with life – the kind of chaos that stretched the small room’s seams; a living room-sized space with an arena’s heart, beating loud and defiant.
The Tower is out now.
Catch Urban Heat on tour:
- Oct 8 Metro Baltimore Baltimore, MD
- Oct 10 The Masquerade – Altar Atlanta, GA
- Oct 11 Siberia New Orleans, LA
- Oct 12 White Oak Music Hall – Upstairs Houston, TX
- Oct 13 Paper Tiger San Antonio, TX
- Oct 20 Galvanizers Yard, SWG3 Glasgow, UK
- Oct 26 TRIX Antwerp, Belgium
- Oct 28 TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, Netherlands
- Oct 31 Le Transbordeur Villeurbanne, France
- Nov 8 Warehouse Live Midtown & Numbers Nightclub Houston, TX
- Nov 23 Tempodrom Berlin, Germany
- Dec 14 Bottom Lounge Chicago Chicago, IL
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