January 23, 2026 – Outside, it was a bitterly cold Friday night, the kind you don’t get often anymore. Inside, it was the opposite: a packed house at Philly’s Milkboy, shoulder to shoulder, already warm before the band even walked out.
Photos + Review by Steve Cerf @SteveCerf
Modern Nature is on the road behind The Heat Warps, their latest album, and the room felt ready for it. The quartet is led by founder Jack Cooper on vocals and guitar, with Jim Wallis on drums, Jeff Tobias on bass, and Tara Cunningham on guitar; the newest member and a big part of the band’s expanded sound. They play with a calm confidence, letting songs unfold rather than forcing them.
The Heat Warps feels like a step forward for the band, and live it carries even more weight. Cooper remains the center, but Cunningham opens the music up, giving it more shape and space. In a room this full, on a night this cold, the timing felt right.
They opened with “Jetty,” easing the room in rather than making a statement. It moved slowly, steady and patient, setting a tone that asked everyone to lean in. “Pharoah” followed with more weight, grounded and deliberate, letting repetition and mood do the work.
With “Glance,” the edges softened without losing tension. The melody felt gentle, but something underneath kept it from settling. “Radio” sharpened things, its rhythm locking in and shifting the set from drifting to physical, the first real grab.
“Source” opened things back up, hovering between motion and stillness. That opening run closed with “Totality,” unfolding slowly with a sense of scale that felt bigger than the room. It didn’t hit, it settled, shaping the night from the start.
Modern Nature didn’t overpower the room, they filled it. The night unfolded the same way their songs do: slowly, deliberately, and with purpose.
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