Black Fly Archives - County Tracks

The Best Vermont Albums of 2021

Dec 232021

20. Narrow Shoulders – Now Be Here

<a href="https://narrows-houlders.bandcamp.com/album/now-be-here">Now Be Here by Narrow Shoulders</a>Spare and haunting, the debut release from Narrow Shoulders’ Zach Pollakoff does a lot with a little. Ambient noise, synth tones, the occasional pluck of guitar string, or a simple drum beat get layered just so to create an immersive instrumental world. The fact that Pollakoff works for A-list pop producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim, Vampire Weekend, etc) in his day job is no surprise. Though the genres couldn’t be more different, Pollakoff clearly knows to to construct a soundscape.

19. Jack O’ the Clock – Leaving California

<a href="https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/leaving-california">Leaving California by Jack O’ the Clock</a>
The only progressive rock I have much use for is Jethro Tull and Jack O’ the Clock’s new record scratches that folksy itch nicely (the band name even evokes a Tull song). No, there’s no flute solos, but a whole host of other instruments make appearances, from violin to harp to sudden bursts of choir – and that’s just in one track! Then the next song opens with a clarinet solo. It’s not a flute, but close enough. Continue reading »

The Best New Songs of April

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Apr 302021

Black Fly – Sign 2

Over a propulsive synth hook that recalls M83’s “Midnight City,” Black Fly’s Joseph Rittling delivers a catchy electro-post-punk song that grows and grows into something epic.

boys cruise – The Owls

<a href="https://boyscruise.bandcamp.com/album/boys-cruise">boys cruise by boys cruise</a>
On “The Owls,” punk trio boys cruise deliver an homage to Twin Peaks twice as loud as anything David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti put on the soundtrack. Read the lyrics at Bandcamp if you can’t make ’em out through the distortion to see how many Peaks references you can catch (with a side of Edgar Allen Poe thrown in for good measure). Continue reading »

The Best New Songs of March

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Apr 012021

Aspetuck – Rescue Mission

<a href="https://aspetuck.bandcamp.com/album/the-bees-came-back">The Bees Came Back by Aspetuck</a>
Aspetuck (aka. Griff Fulton)’s bio says his music was inspired by immersing himself in the nightlife of New York and Los Angeles. Yet now he lives near where he grew up in rural Vermont, an area not exactly known for its club scene. Somehow I feel like that dichotomy comes across in “Rescue Mission.” You can imagine it playing on a dance floor somewhere, but it works equally well just sitting at home and vibing out. Continue reading »