It’s not too often that the members of L.A.-based Bizou can convene on stage. “Honestly, getting everyone together to commit to a single date is kind of a miracle. The stars have to align,” says singer Marisa Prietto. “It’s frustrating, planning everyone’s schedule, but when it happens, it’s so euphoric.” For Angelenos, your next chance to check out the locals is November 3 at Gold-Diggers, where they’ll headline, with support from Landroid and Nightjacket.
The show comes just a little over a month after the release of Bizou’s new EP, Widow, which itself was a long time in the making. It makes sense when you realize how many other projects that members of Bizou have going. Prietto plays with Glaare and Some Ember. Josiah Mazzaschi, best known for band Light FM, is also part of the electro-punk outfit Child Seat and records other artists at his studio, The Cave. Meanwhile, Nicole Fiorentino has been on the road with Garbage.
The five songs that comprise Widow tap into their 1990s industrial, darkwave and shoegaze influences. “Kind of going for that late ‘80s, early ‘90s goth club vibe for music and atmosphere,” Mazzaschi explains. While growing up in Boston, Mazzaschi got into bands like Skinny Puppy, Ministry and Nitzer Ebb. “I guess that was a big influence on this project,” he says. “It’s kind of nostalgic for that kind of sound and that time period, a little bit.”
Mazzaschi moved out to Los Angeles some 20 years ago, after a stint in Chicago, and met Fiorentino (“She joined Light FM for a couple years and then Billy Corgan poached her from my band,” says Mazzaschi of Bizou’s bassist, who has also played in Smashing Pumpkins) and guitarist Nicki Nevlin, who plays with both Light FM and Bizou. Prietto was introduced to Bizou through the band’s former drummer. “I had just left a band. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to do another band after I left my previous project,” she says. Still, she got in touch and Mazzaschi sent over a files of song for her to hear. “They were so beautiful and maximal. I didn’t even really know how I was going to approach it vocally because there was so much going on,” she recalls. “I tried a few things out. We were really stoked on it.”
That was nearly a decade ago. Bizou released their debut album, Tragic Lover, in 2021, and some of the material on Widow stems from recordings that date back to that period. It took some time, though, for Prietto and Mazzaschi to get back to work. “We were like, we should actually just finish this. It’s time. It can’t be rotting on a hard drive forever,” says Prietto. Out of the writing sessions that followed, new material emerged as well.
A standout on Widow is the band’s cover of Wire’s song “Ahead.” It’s something that those who have seen Bizou live might recognize. “It’s kind of a party rocker live, oddly,” says Prietto.
“We also recorded it more like a rock version,” says Mazzaschi. “I kind of took away all the instruments and just left the bass and Marisa’s vocal to make it more of an electronic version of that song.”
As a band of longtime L.A. musicians, Bizou has seen a good amount of change in the local scene, with Prietto and Mazzaschi pointing mainly to the growth of conglomerate-affiliated venues and social media expectations as challenges for artists. “More micro-content needs to be generated than ever,” says Prietto of promotion, “and I personally struggle with that because I don’t engage with enough to even really care.”
But, Prietto says she’s beginning to see a shift happen locally, at least when it comes to playing music outside of the concert monopoly. “At least now, I feel like what we’re seeing is a little bit of a shift away, at least in DIY spaces, from the big conglomerates and just people seem to be willing to throw a show, literally, anywhere,” says Prietto.
She noticed some of this DIY spirit the weekend prior to this interview, during Echo Park Rising. “There were people playing on top of the bus stop,” says Prietto. “Just wherever. Anyplace that was free where you could set up anything people were playing in it. I was so refreshed by how anarchic that is.”
She adds, “I think we’re definitely in a period of heightened misery now…at least there’s some kind of cultural catharsis happening where people simply don’t give a fuck. I need to emote and get some expression out and people want to be doing that together. I think that’s cool.”
Widow by Bizou is out now. Tickets to see Bizou at Gold-Diggers on Tuesday, November 3, are available via Dice.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
Listen to the Beatique Mix for October, 2026, featuring music from Hercules & Love Affair, The Strokes, ADULT., Tinashe, Gorillaz and more.
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