Mass Text – An Introduction

Let me take you back to a smoky, feedback-drenched night in Glasgow, just a few weeks back. I was there to catch the always-brilliant DEHD, but as fate would have it, the evening’s true revelation came courtesy of the support act—Mass Text. A solitary figure bathed in stage fog and pedalboard glow, he sent waves of shimmering sound across the venue that stopped me dead in my tracks.

What followed was one of those rare sets that doesn’t just warm you up—it blows you away. Drenched in reverb and emotional resonance, Mass Text didn’t just open for DEHD—he carved his own lane entirely. His sound felt like it had seeped in from the edges of a dream, each song blooming with gorgeous decay and bittersweet melody.

And here’s the thing—I got to meet him after the show. Chris Sutter, the man behind the Mass Text moniker (and frontman of Chicago’s fearsome post-punk trio Meat Wave), was every bit as gracious and thoughtful as his music. No rockstar posturing—just a humble, passionate craftsman talking about pedals, process, and future plans. It’s rare to find someone so tuned in to the emotional undercurrent of their sound, and it made this music feel even more personal.

That night sent me down a Bandcamp rabbit hole. And what I found there? An early glimpse of something special. Let’s dive in.

‘Exercise’ opens with a gorgeously ghosted-out chord progression—guitars all fuzzed and looped like a half-remembered daydream. There’s a woozy, gravitational pull to it, like the track is orbiting its own emotional centre. When Sutter’s vocals finally arrive, they’re drenched in reverb whispering like they’re echoing from the next room over. The brilliance of ‘Exercise’ is in its restraint. It doesn’t rush. It builds mood, texture, and a sense of slow-burning intensity. It reminds me a bit of early Grandaddy but with more emotional bite—less escapism, more confrontation. It’s as if Sutter is pulling a memory out of static, then slowly letting it dissolve again.

On the other hand, ‘Dancing with a Shadow’ feels darker, thicker in the atmosphere, as if it’s pressing up against the walls. Guitars chug and shimmer in equal measure, and the rhythm section marches forward like a slow-motion landslide. It’s a track that’s both seductive and sad, and it paints with a palette of greys, blues, and crushed neon. Lyrically, it feels like a song about wrestling with the past—about feeling haunted not by ghosts, but by versions of yourself. The production is lo-fi in all the right places, adding intimacy rather than distance. There’s a spiritual connection here to mid-period Sonic Youth, particularly Murray Street, where melody meets menace and lingers.

Sutter sent me on a whole bunch of great songs he’s been working on for his debut album and from the easy swagger of ‘Birthed’ to the alt electro folk of ‘Light Light’ he has a plethora of amazing music ready and waiting.

Mass Text is a thrilling, emotional departure for Sutter—a sonic world apart from the high-decibel angst of Meat Wave. These first two singles are nuanced, slow-burning, and totally immersive. They whisper more than they scream, and in doing so, they invite you to lean in closer, to sit with the weight of things. It’s shoegaze with muscle memory or post-punk with poetry.

And the best part? This is just the beginning. With an LP currently in the works, Sutter’s solo venture is one to watch closely. Fans of Cloakroom, Nothing, early Deerhunter, and even Galaxie 500 will find plenty to get lost in here.

Don’t sleep on this. Head to the Mass Text Bandcamp page, hit follow, and support these first glimmering dispatches from what promises to be one of the most compelling new projects out of Chicago’s underground. This is the kind of stuff I live for here in the Static Sounds Club—a gem in the seam.

You can follow Mass Text on social media here….

• Instagram
• Bandcamp