Model/Actriz
{{Short description|American rock band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Model/Actriz
| image = Model Actriz live (cropped).png
| landscape = yes
| caption = Model/Actriz performing in 2023
| origin = Boston, Massachusetts{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/model-actriz-dogsbody-interview/ | title=For Post-Punks Model/Actriz, Confrontation is an Opportunity for Intimacy | website=Pitchfork | date=6 March 2023 }}
| genre = {{hlist|Post-punk|noise rock|dance-punk}}
| years_active = * 2016–2017, 2019–present
| label = True Panther Sounds{{cite web | url=https://pitchfork.com/news/model-actriz-announce-debut-album-for-true-panther-sounds/ | title=Model/Actriz Announce Debut Album for True Panther Sounds | website=Pitchfork | date=17 January 2023 }}
| past_member_of =
| current_members =
- Ruben Radlauer
- Jack Wetmore
- Aaron Shapiro
- Cole Haden
}}
Model/Actriz is an American rock band, formed in 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts, that is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The group consists of drummer Ruben Radlauer, guitarist Jack Wetmore, vocalist Cole Haden, and bassist Aaron Shapiro.
The band's music has been described as post-punk and noise rock.{{Cite web |last=Buchanan |first=Rhys |date=2023-09-25 |title=Get down and dirty with Model/Actriz’s feral debut album |url=https://www.nme.com/features/the-cover/the-cover-model-actriz-interview-dogsbody-3503348 |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Frontman Haden often incorporates queer sexual themes in his lyrics "as a gay person working in a genre that’s not very outwardly gay." Their debut album Dogsbody was released in 2023, followed by their second album Pirouette in 2025.
History
Drummer Ruben Radlauer and guitarist Jack Wetmore were childhood acquaintances whose fathers were in a band together in the 1980s. Radlauer and Wetmore reconnected while attending Berklee College of Music, and decided to start a band together. In 2015, Radlauer and Wetmore met vocalist Cole Haden when they saw him perform, "writhing on the floor in a corset, fake blood dripping down his face," and invited him to join their band. Haden, a Delaware native, joined the group out of loneliness. In 2019, after a two-year hiatus, Model/Actriz incorporated bassist Aaron Shapiro.
In 2019, Model/Actriz was dubbed one of Alt Citizen's favorite live acts of the year.{{Cite web |title=Alt Citizen's favorite live acts of 2019 |url=http://altcitizen.com/alt-citizens-favorite-live-acts-of-2019/ |access-date=2023-07-31 |language=en-US}} In 2020, the band was scheduled to perform at SXSW, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Kratt |first=Steele |date=2020-03-25 |title=A night out with MODEL/ACTRIZ, the noise band keeping DIY weird |url=https://www.documentjournal.com/2020/03/a-night-out-with-model-actriz-the-noise-band-keeping-diy-weird/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Document Journal |language=en-US}} In 2021, Model/Actriz recorded their first album, Dogsbody, released in 2023.{{Cite magazine |date=2023-06-26 |title=The Outrageous Thrills of Model/Actriz |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/model-actriz-brooklyn-band-interview-1234767745/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2023-07-27}} It earned an 8.2 rating from Pitchfork,{{Cite web |title=Model/Actriz: Dogsbody |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/model-actriz-dogsbody/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=Pitchfork}} and was named Bandcamp Daily{{'}}s album of the day.{{Cite news |last=Keyes |first=J. Edward |date=March 1, 2023 |title=Model/Actriz, Dogsbody |work=Bandcamp Daily |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/album-of-the-day/model-actriz-dogsbody-review |access-date=August 22, 2023}} Following Dogsbody, the band was invited to play the 2024 Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona.{{cite web |date=2023 |title=Model/Actriz (US) |url=https://www.primaverasound.com/en/artist/model-actriz |website=Primavera Sound}}
The band's second album Pirouette was released on May 2, 2025.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-29 |title=Album Of The Week: Model/Actriz 'Pirouette' |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2305933/album-of-the-week-model-actriz-pirouette/reviews/album-of-the-week/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} The lead single "Cinderella" was released on February 25, 2025 and earned a "Best New Track" honor from Pitchfork.{{Cite web |last=Gaca |first=Anna |title=Model/Actriz: “Cinderella” |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/model-actriz-cinderella/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} It was followed by the singles "Doves" and "Diva".{{Cite web |date=2025-03-25 |title=Model/Actriz Share New Song "Doves": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2301577/model-actriz-doves/music/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Walden |date=2025-04-21 |title=Listen to Model/Actriz’s New Song “Diva” |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-model-actriz-new-song-diva/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}
Critical response
In 2016 Boston Hassle wrote that guitarist Wetmore and drummer Radlauer "remarkably capture a wide scope of dissonance and noise with live belligerence, with control and spontaneity." Vocalist Haden has been praised by multiple publications for his onstage charisma.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-05 |title=Concert Review: Model/Actriz |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2023/04/04/concert-review-model-actriz/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Spectrum Culture |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |date=2023-04-21 |title=Model/Actriz wrapped up their tour with their biggest hometown NYC show yet (pics, review) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/modelactriz-wrapped-up-their-tour-with-their-biggest-hometown-nyc-show-yet-pics-review/ |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} In 2022, Fatty Strap stated, "[Haden’s] presence is so big that it literally arrives before him and leaves days after he has left."{{Cite web |title=Angels Don't Tip: A Conversation with Cole Haden and a Model/Actriz Bicoastal Binge |url=https://www.fattystrap.com/article/angels-don-t-tip-a-conversation-with-cole-haden-and-a-model-actriz-bicoastal-binge |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Fatty Strap}} Rolling Stone wrote, "Every time they perform, it’s an explosion of outrageous noise, raw physicality, and communal joy." The Primavera Sound festival praised them as "pioneers in bringing homoerotic references into a genre as un-homoerotic as post-punk."
Band members
- Ruben Radlauer – drums (2016–2017, 2019–present)
- Jack Wetmore – guitar (2016–2017, 2019–present)
- Cole Haden – vocals (2016–2017, 2019–present)
- Aaron Shapiro – bass guitar (2019–present)
Discography
| class="wikitable"
|+Albums !Title !Year !Label !Source |
| Dogsbody
|2023 |True Panther Sounds |
| Pirouette
|2025 |True Panther Sounds / Dirty Hit |
| class="wikitable"
|+Extended Plays !Title !Year !Source |
| No
|2017 |[https://open.spotify.com/album/0TgslpgggzpbZJXLX67hSV?si=G6rGQdkHSK2-FIqzIeZMUA] |
| Ava
|2016 |
| 100€
|2016 |
| class="wikitable"
|+Singles !Title !Year !Source |
| "Cinderella”
|2025 |
| "Winnipesaukee”
|2023 |
| "Crossing Guard"
|2023 |
| "Mosquito"
|2022 |
| "Damocles"
|2020 |
| "Suntan"
|2020 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American noise rock music groups
Category:Musical groups established in 2016
Category:Punk rock groups from New York (state)
Category:American musical quartets
Category:American post-punk music groups
Category:Punk rock groups from Massachusetts