The latest album from local duo Dwight and Nicole runs the gamut from retro blues and soul tomodern R&B, with Nicole Nelson’s powerful vocals, Dwight Ritcher’s passionate guitar, andoverall uplifting vibes as common threads throughout. Track Picks: 1, 6, 9, 11FCC: CleanRIYL: Yola, Son Little, Durand Jones, Ali McGuirk
Label: Linda From Work (Self-Published)RIYL: Veruca Salt, Letters to CleoFCC: Safe! Slightly grungy girl-rock, interesting vocals and guitar. Play!
Blending hardcore and metal, Jesus Piece has returned with melodic yet hard-hitting guitar riffs and lyrics for a brutal second album. Frontman Aaron Heard’s screams will call you into the pit and ring in your ears for days. Label: Southern Lord Start w/ 3, 5, 7 FCC: Clean, except for 1, 2, 4 RIYL: Knocked […]
Local artist Verboten (aka Foster Powell) writes and performs retro piano-driven power pop gems with a soft-spoken vocal delivery. Track Picks: 1, 2, 3 FCC: 4 RIYL: Jon Brion, Elliott Smith, The Lemon Twigs, Sage Hatfield
Guitarist Michael Chorney teams up with violinist Dana Lyn for a series of beautiful acoustic duo reworkings of compositions previously performed by Chorney’s band Freeway Clyde. All the pieces hold up on their own, but they also flow brilliantly together as a single listening experience. Track Picks: 1, 3, 7 FCC: Clean RIYL: John Fahey, […]
Ethereal vocals and vibed-out electronic instrumentals make up the latest album from local indie pop artist Amelia Wilcox. Track Picks: 2, 4, 7 FCC: 1 RIYL: Mitski, Marika Hackman, Sufjan Stevens, Francesca Blanchard
Some lovely works in tribute and memorium to individuals murdered or dead.
Varied works for orchestra–jazz, minimalism etc. all contemporary.
For voice, with abstract, mostly quiet chamber/electronics.
Label: Epitaph Release Date: May 5, 2023 Drain injects a serious dose of relatability—not to mention catchiness—into hardcore’s penchant for toughness and brutality. FTS (KYS) is an ode to sobriety where chainsaw guitars and a brawling rhythm section battle against rousing roars to reinvent yourself and ‘kill all the parts that you don’t love’. There […]
Label: Spinefarm Release Date: January 6, 2023 Pittsburgh punks Anti-Flag may just have written the soundtrack to the greatest underdog story of all-time: The People vs… well, all of the insane nonsense we’re up against right now. Sure, that’s a relatively small silver lining in the scheme of things but, c’mon, they’re just one band. Lies They […]
Release date: May 9, 2023 RIYL: Squid, The Lounge Society, Parquet Courts FCC: 2 (one instance of “motherf*cker at the very end of the track – easy to censor) Like classic rock shot through with weirdness. A little punk, a little country, a little discordant, a lot chaotic, and a lot of fun!
Release date: February 27, 2023 RIYL: Momma, Castlebeat, Superchunk FCC: None Noisy, fuzzy, run indie rock track about the dangers of over-idealized self-expectations. Play!
Label: Self-Released Incredible new single released by Alice Phoebe Lou. The piano melodies give the piece a sort of oldies, jazzy feel, but the vocals and percussion bring the song to a modern indie rock genre. Open My Door features unbelievably beautiful lyrics centering around self-reflection. RIYL: Adrianne Lenker, Billie Marten, Lucy Dacus, Kate Bollinger […]
Label: Fiction Records (Universal Music Operations Limited) Palace’s newest release includes two new singles, “How Far We’ve Come”, and “All We’ve Ever Wanted”. Like most of Palace’s work, the songs have a very dreamy, spacey vibe driven by a repetitive but strong drum beat. These tracks have a bit more of a darker feel compared […]
The 2nd full-band release by local jammers Moondogs harkens back to the psychedelic hip-hop flavor of their debut album with spacey synths and an unexpected rap verse from frontman Will Sturcke, but the group’s togetherness as a unit is what allows this song to take off into the stratosphere. A killer Santana-esque guitar hook and […]
From promoter: Shir Frum (pronounced sheer froom) and collaborator Yotam Agan have crafted a debut album “full of heavy emotions but playful melodies, classical guitar and a drum machine, light touches of piano, and Frum’s multiple, beautiful voices. Totally self-recorded inside their shipping container studio over the next two years, Party Pooper is the sound […]
From promoter: “After two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has clearly seeped into [Eric D.] Johnson’s already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band. A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of Johnson’s creative vision to date. It’s a […]
Various Artists/Weedian- 420Release date: 2023Apr20Label: Heavy Psych SoundsRating: 4/5 Released on 4/20, this is a compilation of thirteen excellent tracks. Baby Goat Sick from Dopefight drips with sludge. Hippie Stick from Bongzilla is lush with bluesy riffs. Can’t wait to get in-depth with the new album soon! 9 Joint Spiritual Whip from Iron Monkey is […]
The debut album from Piles of Smiles, the duo of Burlington’s Derrick Burt and Brooklyn’s Liam Wynne, is a dirty, fuzzy collection of homespun lo-fi rock tunes. Amid crushing distorted guitars and drums, off-kilter vocals deliver lyrics ranging from abstract imagery to clever slices of life. Fellow local musician Aida O’Brien contributes guitar and songwriting […]
Local singer-songwriter Lillian Leadbetter (of Lillian and the Muses) takes her sound in a folkier direction on this new single, a warm-hearted, slightly melancholy message to a friend living across the ocean. FCC: Clean RIYL: The Innocence Mission, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Francesca Blanchard
Brattleboro folk group Low Lily’s tight harmony vocals pair brilliantly with their Appalachian-flavored folk sound showcasing strings both bowed and plucked. The songs mostly consist of timeless-sounding originals (with lyrics occasionally venturing into timely politics) and a few choice covers ranging from Shawn Colvin to Jethro Tull. Track Picks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9 FCC: […]
Local vocal trio Honey and Soul explore a variety of sounds on their debut album, from blues to folk to neo-soul. Their enveloping harmonies and spiritually evocative lyrics linking these potentially disparate elements together into a cohesive whole. Track Picks: 3, 5, 6, 9, 14 FCC: Clean RIYL: Lucius, May Erlewine, Brandi Carlile, Low Lily
Ayden Flanigan continues to prove himself one of Burlington’s greatest songcrafters on his latest album, which brings a greater sonic diversity to his established brand of twangy lo-fi rock by dabbling in Beatles-esque piano pop, funky wah-wah grooves, retro drum machine beats and more. Track Picks: 2, 3, 6, 9, 10 FCC: Clean RIYL: Wilco, […]
The latest album from Sean Hood’s project Eastern Mountain Time (in this incarnation, largely a collaboration with Albany-based musician Willoughby Morse) is a plaintive, heartfelt and downbeat collection of country-folk laments. It’s a melancholy affair (understandably, since it was largely a lockdown project), but there are glimmers of hope. Track Picks: 3, 4, 5, 7 […]
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