@amelia.moseman

This House is Creaking took the stage last Thursday night at Sleeping Village, ahead of performances by Her New Knife and NYC-based Water From Your Eyes. The Chicago-based duo of Micah Miller and Ehmed Nauman pulled out all the stops for the hometown show, crowding the stage with six additional band members or maybe, dare I say, friends.

The crew launched into a set that was equal parts whiny guitar and PC noise. Self-described “forward-thinking” with “pop sensibilities”, the band cashes in on a very specific aesthetic circulating today’s youth: heavy nostalgia recreated by uniquely modern technologies. Not only was the band backed by a myriad of instruments and electronic noise, they were also lit up by a series of graphics projected on the wall behind them. The loop contained footage from obscure early 2000s graphic design and television but was remixed with images of a phone swiping on reels and other allusions to modern internet culture.

Their lyrics present a similar kind of confusion yet catharsis—songs like “F*ck You Pay Me” is a very blunt ode to shitty landlords, and who can’t relate to that?

The heavy distortion is eerie and offputting… are they going to kill their landlord? But the words are ever true, relatable, and even borderline unrevolutionary. It’s the combination of experimental production and somewhat universal themes that makes this organism work.

The whole setlist was relatively new stuff, given that their earliest release was in 2024. Despite the short time frame, they have a decently hefty collection to fall back on: two albums and an EP thus far. Their most recent album, I Want to Feel At Home Here, was released mid July of this year, just a year after their self-titled debut.

Bouncing between releases, the band started with heavily produced “If You Want Me To Be” off THiC, maintaining that vibe with 2025 single “What Would You Do?”. The set also featured their newest single, “2 LAMP (lava lamp)”, though there were no props to back it up. Miller and Nauman split time on the mic, going back and forth between loose harmonies and talk-singing.

The latest single and the newest record relied less on the freaky production side of things, highlighting a bit more of the lyricism and musicality of the duo. It’s more melodic and a bit more reflective—maybe they’ve forgiven their landlord. But that’s not to say it’s tame—the title track features what some might call a dance break? An appropriate time to break out your best robot if you know what I mean. It’s still emo, it’s still experimental, and it still rocks.

The whole show felt like escaping reality into a fever dream. It’s a respectable approach: when nothing is making sense anyway, why even try? Give into the demons just a little! Let obscurity be your guide! It’s a mindset that is equal parts revolution and surrender. I see This House is Creaking as participants in a broader cultural shift: celebrating confusion, remixing nostalgia, and just generally not giving a sh*t. They’re an iteration of all the punk bands before, not reincarnated, just reinvented (in the form of oversaturated brain rot). It’s good to know some things never die.