Chicago’s Orlock has always existed on its own wavelength, pulling from punk, metal, and goth without fully settling into any one lane. After an extended hiatus, the band has been active again since 2024, with Chris and Ali Wade continuing to build on a project that stretches back decades.
Orlock’s roots go back to the late ’90s, starting in Richmond, Virginia, before eventually evolving into what it is now. “Ali and I started Orlock while I was still playing in hose.got.cable… it took a few years to actually get going,” Wade explains to No Echo. After a short run of recording and touring, the band went quiet for years before picking things back up recently. “We mostly put the project away until 2024, and we’ve been writing, recording, and playing shows again since.”
Today, No Echo is premiering the video for “Lite Racy,” Orlock’s track from The Four Flags EP, a 4-band split release alongside With Patience, IUIO, and SoundTracks. Shot and edited by the band on an iPhone and co-produced with Landau Creative, the video mirrors the song’s uneasy perspective on modern life. “Our song ‘Lite Racy’ is about the crumbling empire around us that everyone should have seen coming, and how we’re all just desensitized to the worst shit now, like zombies,” says the guitarist. “It’s nice to make something with the same device that serves up all of this doom.”
That renewed activity includes working with J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) on the release of The Four Flags. “He flew in and recorded us in our drummer’s studio and mixed everything at his place in Baltimore,” Wade says, pointing to the collaborative nature of the project, which also features close friends and overlapping band members.
Sonically, Orlock continues to lean into contrast. “We’re definitely a punk band that loves metal, with a goth singer that loves punk and metal,” Wade says. “We draw influence from a variety of bands from Septic Death to The Cure.”
Back home, the Chicago scene is thriving, with venues like Reggies, Livewire Lounge, Book Club, and the Pitt Stop keeping things active. Orlock is right in the mix and will also represent the city at Caterwaul 2026 in Minneapolis. The festival will also feature performances from such bands as Dazzling Killmen, Body Stuff, Season to Risk, and Rye Coalition.
With deep ties to projects like IUIO and their broader visual work through Funeral Recordings and Landau Creative, Orlock isn’t just a band getting active again. It’s an extension of a long-running creative partnership that continues to evolve on its own terms.
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The Four Flags is out now digitally and compact disc via Funeral Recordings.
Orlock on social media: Instagram
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