Illuminati Hotties: Tiny Desk Concert

Lars Gotrich | April 14, 2025
It’s really hard for us to say no to a confetti cannon. They’re so loud and unexpected! And make our messy Tiny Desk even messier! When used correctly, it adds an exclamation point to just the right note; rest assured, Illuminati Hotties punctuates this Tiny Desk with a burst of color… and, yes, an actual confetti cannon.

Illuminati Hotties’ punky indie-rock songs are silly, sophisticated and scrappy — Sarah Tudzin affectionately calls this music “tenderpunk.” There’s always a catchy hook underpinned by a sweetly devastating lyric, or a clever turn of phrase subverted by some stank-faced skronk. Tudzin, who leads Illuminati Hotties, elevates the band’s sound design through her job as a recording engineer and producer. If you’ve listened to recent albums by Speedy Ortiz, Weyes Blood and boygenius and wondered how they sound so good, Tudzin is part of the reason why.

Tudzin and her band hop, skip and jump through the Illuminati Hotties catalog, rearranging her songs along the way. “Pool Hopping” features a 10-second ska riff. Free I.H. mixtape favorite “freequent letdown” gets a little twang singalong. POWER’s “Didn't,” originally a Weezer-indebted rocker, becomes a banjo-led hoedown. It all speaks to the malleability of Tudzin’s songwriting. “We’re here to share joy. We’re here to inspire resistance,” Tudzin says in a mission statement before the satirical and sneering “MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA,” which gets a pointed last-minute lyric change of its own. “That’s the least we can do with our art.”

SET LIST
“Can't Be Still”
“Pool Hopping”
“freequent letdown”
“MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA”
“Didn't”

MUSICIANS
Sarah Tudzin: vocals, keys, percussion
Brian Robert Jones: guitar, banjo, music director, background vocals
Jake Noveck: guitar, background vocals
Mal Hauser: guitar, background vocals
Zach Bilson: bass, background vocals
Brendan Philip McCusker: drums

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Lars Gotrich
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#tinydesk #nprmusic #illuminatihotties