If you’ve been hanging around Thoughts Words Action for a while, you know I have a massive amount of respect for those musicians who live and breathe the craft, regardless of whether they’re playing a stadium arena or a packed basement. Today, we’re looking at a veteran of the Chicago scene who embodies that spirit perfectly. I’m talking about Che Arthur and his fifth solo outing, the brilliantly titled Describe This Present Moment. Coming out of Chicago, a city that has arguably done more for the architectural integrity of post-hardcore, noise rock, and indie rock than anywhere else on earth, this record balances all the qualities of its music scene. It’s forged in the same furnaces as the classic Electrical Audio sound, yet it carries a deeply personal, almost weary wisdom that only comes with time. Describe This Present Moment bridges the different eras of Arthur’s creative life. If you’re familiar with his previous work, you know he’s mastered that taut, concise punk rock/indie structure, often leaning into contemplative, acoustic-based textures. But here, he lets the ghost of his heavier past back into the room. It’s as if those years fronting high-intensity bands have finally reconciled with his solo, singer-songwriter sensibilities.
These experimentations resulted in a record that doesn’t just sit in one lane. It’s a concise, 32-minute journey that seems significantly weightier than its runtime suggests. Recorded across various locations, from the legendary Electrical Audio in Chicago to home setups in South Dakota and St. Louis, there’s a nomadic, restless energy to the production. The fact that Arthur tracked almost everything himself and handled the mixing at home gives the record an incredibly intimate, one-on-one feel. It’s just you and the artist, and he’s being brutally honest about the state of the world in mid-2025. Let’s talk about the musicianship, because this is where the record truly shines. The guitar work is simply amazing. Arthur has this uncanny ability to make a guitar levitate. You’ll be listening to these nearly psychedelic, swirling, airy, and expansive chord progressions, and then, without warning, he’ll drop into a generously distorted riff that grounds everything in pure, post-hardcore spirit. It’s that dynamic push and pull that keeps the record feeling alive and unpredictable. The basslines are warm and detailed, moving beyond just holding down the root notes. They bring a groove and a certain roundness to the sound that prevents the heavier moments from feeling too abrasive. Then you have the drumming, which offers even more pace and a sophisticated sense of pocket. It’s percussion that drives the song forward but knows exactly when to breathe.
But the real glue holding it all together is the vocal performance. Pecher’s raspy, melodic vocals carry a lot of life experience in the grain of the voice. There’s a certain openness in that rasp, the sound of someone who has yelled into enough microphones over the years to know exactly how to use that wear-and-tear to elevate a melody. It’s soulful, urgent, and real. Lyrically, Describe This Present Moment is exactly what it says on the tin. While his previous record, Fallow, was a careful, situational excavation of his life, this one is more like a stream of consciousness, a raw reaction to the world as it stands. Arthur admits he’s a dark writer by nature, and he doesn’t shy away from the fact that 2025 has been a bit of a bummer year. There’s talk of fears, anger, and even moments of hopelessness. But here’s the thing, in the hands of a lesser artist, that could feel oppressive. In Arthur’s hands, it feels like a consensus. By documenting these moments of no light in the tunnel, he creates a space for the rest of us who feel the same way. It’s a cathartic experience, not because it offers easy answers, but because it asks the right questions with total sincerity.
It’s an album about the world as it is right now, unfiltered and un-analyzed. By letting the words come through naturally, he has captured a snapshot of a collective psyche that is weary but still fighting. If you’re a fan of that intersection where indie rock meets post-hardcore, this is a record that will be right up your alley. Describe This Present Moment is a thought-provoking record that proves Che Arthur is still one of the most essential voices in the game. His latest release proves that even when the tunnel looks dark, the act of creating something this honest is a form of light in itself. Whether you’re listening to it on a long drive home or while sitting near your turntable, these songs will resonate with you. It’s heavy, beautiful, and it’s exactly what we need right now.
Thoughts Words Action 