OPTIC SINK is the post-punk project from Natalie Hoffmann (NOTS), Ben Bauermeister (Magic Kids) and Keith Cooper (Jack Oblivian & The Sheiks.) Their debut album was released on Goner Records in 2020, and their second album ‘Glass Blocks’ (recorded at the home studio of Caufield Schnug of Sweeping Promises) is out now on Feel It Records. Between albums, the band expanded on their electronic meets post-punk sound, adding multi-instrumentalist Keith Cooper on bass and guitar, and bringing Natalie’s no-wave guitar approach back into her synth-based setup. The result is a voyage into dynamic sonic territory, with the band’s wide array of influences—from house to punk and beyond—combining to create something vibrant and unexpected.
OPTIC SINK — MAY 2024 WESTERN US TOUR
Tickets on sale Tues., March 4th at 10:00am
5/9 - Dallas TX @ Texas Theatre w/ O-D-EX
5/10 - Austin TX @ Hotel Vegas w/ Guiding Light, Borzoi, Wet Dip
5/11 - Marfa TX @ The Pony
5/12 - Tucson @ Che’s Lounge w/ Class, Lenguas Largas
5/13 - Los Angeles @ Zebulon w/ Memo PST, Oog Bogo
5/14 - Los Angeles @ live on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling
5/15 - Oakland @ Stork Club w/ Jeweled Snakes, Fog Lamp
5/16 - San Francisco @ The Knockout w/ Itchy and the Nits, Warp
5/18 - Portland @ Th’ Fixin’ To w/ Collate, Cleanser
5/19 - Seattle @ Clock Out Lounge w/ Telehealth
5/21 - Reno NV @ Holland Project
5/22 - Salt Lake City @ Beehive Social Club w/ Body Horror
5/24 - Omaha NE @ Grapefruit Records
5/25 - Lawrence KS @ The White Schoolhouse w/ Nightosphere
"The band, featuring members of Memphis outfit NOTS, embraces a slippery strain of synth-punk, feeling like heirs to the cross pollination of punk and disco that led to unlikely pop offerings from Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Cristina, and X-Ray Pop.” - Raven Sings The Blues
"Natalie Hoffman’s NOTS were a combustible riot of rapid fire drums, clanging guitars, belligerent bass, hyped up on sweat and speed.Optic Sink, her band with Magic Kids’ Ben Bauermeister and Sheiks Keith Cooper runs chillier and more dystopian.It operates on a foundation of manic synthesizers and drum machines, with bass thrown in for threat and muscle.This second outing from the Memphis trio is, perhaps, even more alienated and spare.Caulfield Schnug of Sweeping Promises ran the decks, finding an eerie seam between Suicide’s synthy menace, Devo’s robotics and early female-dominated post-punk, the Raincoats and LiliPUT especially.” - Dusted