MX LONELY, the New York band that describes its sound as heavygaze, will release its new EP PERFECT HOUSE on Julia’s War Recordings this fall. Singles from the project have already appeared on streaming platforms, and the band has a Pitchfork London booking. Singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Rae Haas describes the live show as “a professional exorcist on an increasingly larger scale.”
From Cadonia to Perfect House
Asked what has changed since the band’s first album, MX LONELY said the EP follows a trip to an 1800s schoolhouse converted into an Airbnb in Caledonia, NY. The band misremembered the town as “Cadonia,” which became the title of the record.
“HONESTLY, thank you for asking! WE GOTTA KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS. Perfect House isssss out this fall. Four years have passed since we all went upstate into an 1800s schoolhouse this guy turned into an Airbnb in Caledonia, NY. We all misremembered the town as ‘Cadonia’ (title of record), which is not a real place.”
Haas also referenced a 1908 English play, The King of Cadonia, about a young king and radical political revolutionaries; it ran for 333 performances. “‘Cadonia’ went to a haunted house, and ‘All Monsters’ comes from hell. ‘Perfect House’ calls from your bedroom closet,” Haas said.
The EP follows the single All Monsters, which arrived six months earlier. Haas listed Deftones, Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins as core influences: “We be reheating the ’90s nachos with different sauces.”
Inside “March 16th”
Haas said Caitlin spearheaded the track. “March 16th” began as a Jake Harms voice note, an instrumental automatically titled with the date. “I loved the riff and could only hear the counter-melody parts I eventually added,” Haas said. “It just needed some love.”
The song came together when Caitlin arrived to record guitars and harmonies for “Ex Rae” on 12/14/25. Haas described a heaviness in the room: Caitlin had been up all night with a friend whose younger sister attended Brown, and that friend had been one of the victims.
“Everybody knows somebody who knows somebody. With the genocide in Gaza and violent injustices all around, I think it’s important to really fucking notice things AND personalize them. ‘We’ve been here before; why do we keep coming back for more?’”
After a solo on “Ex Rae,” Caitlin sang the full melody for “March 16th.” Haas compared piecing together the band’s elements to solving a Rubik’s Cube for hours, then watching someone finish it in 15 seconds. “I love songs like lightning,” Haas said. “I like to think of this as the start of Cait and I’s (best?) friendship.”
Live sound and the road
On larger stages, Haas said, “The bigger the stage, the greater the opportunity to challenge the dogma. It’s an honor to get to be a professional exorcist on an increasingly larger scale.”
For soundcheck, Haas uses an xvive in-ear monitor with only vocals to avoid feedback. “What’s the point of having stacks if you can’t just relish in the best spot in the room for volume?” Haas said. Gabe and Jake’s feedback through tube amps requires the amps to be cranked, so a quiet MX set is not sonically possible.
Haas said soundcheck reflects the engineer’s taste, and the band’s mix of loud playing and soft harmonies benefits from a sound person who treats the chaos as a challenge. Some engineers embrace that challenge, which Haas said can reach “Fifth Beatle territory.” “A good sound person can basically change the entire listening experience.”
Asked about memorable concert moments, the band said something special happens at every show, and Haas often talks with parents of trans kids, “probably the most special thing I could ever get to do.”
The band’s live schedule has shaped its songcraft. “There is a ferocity and speed that we’ve adapted from playing so many live shows. I like to think of the songcraft as ever-shifting,” MX LONELY said. Haas added that the band does not take days off on tour: “We’re psychotic and don’t take days off on tour. We are either driving or playing a show.”
On the road, Haas said, “You have to believe that all the microplastics in your body are like army men that protect you from getting sick. When I sleep, I imagine these Army men marching out of my ears back out to the van to protect it from getting broken into.” Favorite gas station items include:
- DIY Dirty Soda
- Mexican Tamarind Candy
- Cajun Boiled Peanuts
