You don’t need me to tell you that 2020 was a crummy year, for musicians especially. That certainly didn’t stop the flow of great songs though. Artists channelled collective fear and frustrations in a variety of ways. One song on this list is literally titled “2020.” Another complains about masks fogging up your glasses. Most, though, are not that literal. Some offer upbeat escapism; others complain about more personal problems than those in the news. They really only have one thing in common: I can’t wait until I can see them performed live.

40. McAsh – Oi (Dang)

A few of these songs have Covid-19 echoes, but this one is less like an echo than someone shouting it directly in your ear. Jokes about bored Googling and supermarkets running out of supplies abound, but one line really sums everything up: “Goddamn you 2020!”

39. Eoin Noonan – Yesterday

This song shares a title with a Beatles song and quotes Meredith Brooks (inadvertently perhaps), but doesn’t sound much like either. Noonan wrote on Bandcamp, “This song came out of thin air. It was beautiful but then it went away. This song came back months later and it was quickly recorded in a spare bedroom. Then the world got really crazy. That uneasiness somehow subconsciously seeped into this song. Real natural like.”

38. Reid Parsons – Alone

“Alone” is a timelier song than Reid Parsons intended. Though the title screams “lockdown,” she first began recording her “bristly, bluesy anthem of self-reliance” in January, and actually completed it just before quarantine began. That’s probably why it has a killer band feel; they, all together, recorded a song about being alone. Sure enough, a couple weeks later, it felt like everyone was.

37. The Young Love Scene – Honey

The dream of the ’90s is alive in The Young Love Scene’s “Honey.” Shoegaze with a side of guitar theatrics – think My Bloody Valentine with a J Mascis guest appearance.

36. Abby Sherman Band – The Road

“The Road” is the first song on Bandcamp that Vermont singer-songwriter Abby Sherman has billed as being by the “Abby Sherman Band.” A minuscule rebranding, but one that feels significant. Whereas her best song last year was a stripped-down dirge, “The Road” features a muscular alt-country backing group giving her melody some heft. Special props to whoever played the country-Mark-Knopfler guitar solo.

35. GOOD WTHR x SkySplitterInk – Tell a Friend

It may be rap on Soundcloud, but GOOD WTHR is far from “Soundcloud rap.” It hits harder, for one, drawing more from the aggressive energy of old-school MC’s than the chemically-laid-back young guns. On their new single “Tell a Friend,” producer SkySplitterInk gives rappers Pro and Kin a lilting beat to rhyme over while otherwise staying out of the way. There’s some definite “if you like it, like and subscribe!” energy as they encourage listeners to spread the word about independent artists.

34. Guthrie Galileo – Repeat

It starts out sounding like music they might play at a massage place, but stay with it! Producer Guthrie Galileo, known around Vermont for falsetto skills so strong he fronts an Usher tribute group, dispenses with vocals entirely for an engaging instrumental that reminds me of Icelandic folk-electronica groups like Múm. Video comes with bonus weaving footage.

33. George Nostrand – A Million and One

This song’s been kicking around for over twenty years. Nostrand says he first recorded it in 1996, shortly after a summer working on Martha’s Vineyard: “I had just gotten off the boat and was planning on staying the summer and working there. I said something about playing the guitar and this guy quipped, ‘You and a million other people on this island.’ Being a brash 19 year-old at the time I responded, ‘I guess now it’s a million and one.’”

32. Kingfisher – Blue Skies

No, it’s not a cover of the Irving Berlin song. Rock quartet Kingfisher deliver an original both memorable and meditative, jazz-piano flourishes laid atop dream-country (that’s like dream-pop, but, you know). Their self-titled EP has tracks with more energy and tempo, but they do this sort of mellow reverie extremely well, and, right now, I’m in the mood for something soothing.

31. Miku Daza – Dolls

Miku Daza calls herself “the queen of nightmare pop.” You get a taste of that in the single cover for “Dolls,” which sounds at times like a punk band covering the Go-Go’s. You get the full dose in a Lynchian live version.

30. Justin LaPoint – Wide Open Spaces

No, this isn’t a Dixie Chicks cover. Sonically, though, it’s close enough that I could imagine that trio doing a nice job with Justin LaPoint’s quiet folk-country. Particularly on that infectious chorus, where it already boasts a Chicks-ready backing arrangement.

29. Moira Smiley ft. Sam Amidon – Days Of War

Former folkie Sam Amidon has gone over to the avant-garde jazz world on recent releases, but he dips back into his banjo-pluckin’ past on Moira Smiley’s new protest song, written with recent Vermont transplant Seamus Egan.

28. Lily Wade – I Don’t Wanna Be 5teen

“I don’t wanna be fifteen” goes the chorus and Lily Wade is in luck: She turned 16 a few days after it came out. Her influences, from Liz Phair to Babes in Toyland, speak to someone older. So does her talent.

27. Emily Dumas – It’s a Wealth

Writing all these blurbs at year-end time is a daunting prospect, so, as regular readers might have noticed, I crib lines from my monthly song roundups when possible. All I wrote for this song back in May was “More folk songs should include jaunty trumpet solos.” But I stand by it. More folk songs should include jaunty trumpet solos.

26. Willverine ft. Francesca Blanchard – Hope It All

“Synth-pop plus trumpet” used to be the extremely idiosyncratic sound of Will Andrews aka Willverine (it worked better than you’d think). He’s broadened beyond that recently, and on his latest single teams up with Francesca Blanchard, another musician whose made a genre transition in recent years. When the trumpet does finally make its appearance in the last thirty seconds, it sounds more like a National-esque horn flourish than any sort of gimmick.

25. Levi Barrett – Thoughtless Word

Poetry buffs might recognize the lyrics; Barrett borrowed them from poet Olivia Ward Bush-Banks’s poem “Regret.” Barrett wrote, “when I read it, I felt that it was begging to be sung and accompanied with a solemn guitar part.” His arrangement is very Simon and Garfunkel, except his voice is about an octave lower than Simon’s (and about a dozen octaves lower than Artie’s).

24. James and the Giant Sleep – My Friend the Apostate

Lotta Roald Dahl fans in Vermont, apparently – the aforementioned Couchsleepers recently changed their name from The Giant Peach. Christian James apparently doesn’t fear the Dahl estate’s litigious wrath, and more power to him (James and the Giant Sleep is a solid band name). This twisty rocker recalls any number of emo-adjacent bands on the Tooth & Nail roster in the ’90s – plus they might be drop a word like “apostate” too. If Bandcamp is to be believed, it’s only his second single. Off to one hell of a start.

23. Eastern Mountain Time – Dolores Park

On a recent Instagram live stream, Sean Hood’s mom popped up in the comments requesting “the song about crying trains.” That’s as apt a description of “Dolores Park” as any (though it’s also a song about crying moms). Inspired by a cross-country train ride he took only a few years ago, “Dolores Park” brings dose of gritty country-rock to the old genre of the train song. Singing Brakeman not included.

22. Lissa Schneckenburger – Labor On

The title and lyrics to “Labor On” sound like a Woody Guthrie song – maybe one of those hundreds of unrecorded lyrics people keep setting to music. But it’s an original, and inspired by a more recent struggle: The 2019 protests at Merrimack Generating Station, the last large coal plant in New England. Though Schneckenburger’s sound is nothing like Guthrie, the fight remains the same.

21. Madaila – 2020

“2020” is, admittedly, a slightly on-the-nose title for a song trying to sum up this garbage year. Surprisingly, a note of optimism shines through this charming heavily-harmonized folk-pop song. It makes you feel that a song called “2021” could, just maybe, be even more positive.

20. Rough Francis – Teen Zombies

Bandcamp says “Teen Zombies” was released in 1991. That’s an error; it was 1981… I’m kidding about that last bit. It’s new, like everything here. But the verses sound straight out of the post-punk playbook, bass-led with just a shimmer of guitar. Joy Division wouldn’t have gotten so righteously loud on the chorus though.

19. Falgar – Ritos en la cueva

At first listen, you might think this was Gregorian chant music. But the songs are in Spanish, not Latin. And Falgar aka. Etienne Tel’uial brings in instruments and sounds you might hear in his native Puerto Rico, which contrast beautifully with the soaring cathedral melodies.

18. Guest Policy – IDontKnow

Elsewhere on their album Four Year Bend, Guest Policy delivers healthy doses of ’90s-inflected alt-rock, but they veer into glitchy piano-tronica on “IDontKnow.” Portishead and the xx both poke their way into this mesmerizingly strange little pop song. In fact, after writing that sentence a minute ago, I discovered the latter band’s Jamie XX released a song with the exact same name – no spaces and all – the same wee. It’s not the same song, but maybe there’s some spiritual overlap.

17. Kris Gruen – Nothing In The World

Kris Gruen comes from rock and roll royalty; his dad is legendary photographer Bob Greun. That famous photo of Lennon, arms folded, with the New York City t-shirt? The one of Zeppelin standing in front of their plane? Both Bob Gruen. Kris’s own music doesn’t share much in common with his dad’s ’70s-rock compatriots too. The catchy “Nothing In The World” leans alt-country with a healthy dose of blues grit. He does nod to he heritage on a new cover though – of Johnny Thunders.

16. Dead Man from Mars – daBadBoy

Have you heard 100 gecs? If you have, you probably have a strong opinion about them. This buzzy duo’s spastic 2019 debut often got tagged as the sound of the internet, all sorts of unrelated genres violently smashed together (they cite the “Hamster Dance” as a formative influence, which says it all). Dead Man From Mars’ new EP Fruity has that same unhinged energy, at times sounding like a half dozen radio stations playing at the same time. I mean that as a good thing. Your mileage may vary.

15. Oldboys – Die to Defy

I don’t know what “moon music” is – it appears to involve a lot of cello – but Oldboys’ debut album stands just to the side of traditional bluegrass. Aforementioned cello adds a twist to the typical formula of fiddlin’ and mandolinin’ (of which there is still plenty).

14. Henry Jamison ft. Lady Lamb – Orchardist

The lyrics of “Orchardist” jump from Tennessee to Switzerland, but what Jamison does everywhere remains the same: walk around, mostly killing time before shows. “The walking is memorable (in that it’s always somewhere new) but also fairly pointless (I’m not really going anywhere, just away from the van or the venue into some neighborhood or other),” he wrote for Consequence of Sound. “The aimlessness of it, coupled with the novelty, feels like a good symbol for my experience in tour-heavy years.” So he wrote a song about it.

13. Phil Henry – Saturday Night At The Hot Sara

Phil Henry’s new album Chasing Echoes leans Americana, but for “Saturday Night At The Hot Sara” he takes a swerve towards ragtime jazz. I even Googled to see whether “Hot Sara” was a venue in New Orleans. It’s actually a hotel in Upstate New York apparently. Nevertheless, I expect to see a busker playing this in the French Quarter before long.

12. Ben Patton – What a Shame About Benjamin

The most meta song on this list, “What a Shame About Benjamin” finds a bunch of friends and gossips talking trash about the prolific singer-songwriter. Complaints range from the plausible (not accepting Facebook friend requests) to the far-fetched (going in and out of the looney bin). In the midst of all the hilarious self-deprecation, he gets in one nugget of promo: “I haven’t heard his latest LP yet, but it’s supposed to be great.”

11. A2VT – You Ma Numba 1

This infectious love song doesn’t hit as hard as some of the higher-energy songs on their great new album Twenty Infinity – early singles from which appeared on our last couple year-end lists too – but the joyous and insanely catchy chorus will burrow its way into your brain for days.

10. Clever Girls – Spark

Singer Miriam Bernardo’s debut album has been a long time coming. In her many years performing around Vermont, she’s connected with many of the local folk musicians, most notably recent Tony-winner Anaïs Mitchell. Mitchell even contributed a song to open Bernardo’s album, the beautiful “I Got a Well.” When they one day stage the Hadestown revival, this could fit right in.

9. Eben Ritchie – The Architects

Eben Ritchie says he aims to make music with an inherent optimism – a tough assignment in 2020. But you can hear that from the extremely infectious guitar hook that opens “The Architects.” Every bit of it is catchy, from the vocals to the mid-song synth solo, but it’s the guitar line I can’t get out of my head.

8. BABEHOVEN – Asshole

Babehoven’s dream-pop song sounds so pretty it takes you a few listens to notice the lyrics. “In the morning I want to see your asshole”? Weird. Great song though.

7. Teece Luvv – SHEESH

Teece rocks the Lonely Island’s “Turtleneck & Chain” look on the cover of his new single “SHEESH.” It’s not comedy rap, exactly, but he does ride a plastic dinosaur on the cover (and, again, the title is “SHEESH”). Silly or not, he’s a capable rapper – I hear echoes of J-Kwon’s “Tipsy” in the verses – riding a super catchy beat.

6. Couchsleepers – On Your Mind

At 6:25, “On Your Mind” is the longest song by far on Couchsleepers’ debut album Only When It’s Dark. It doesn’t feel that way. Buoyed by lush electronics and gentle guitar plucks, “On Your Mind” coasts along for the first chunk of its runtime before exploding (in a gentle sort of way) into a supercatchy synthpop song.

5. The Bubs – Planet

Off the 22 songs on Mark Daly’s sprawling double album I’m Gonna Do It (Anyway), probably half were in contention for this list. He divided the set into electropop and Americana halves, and proves equally adept at both genres. From the former half, “Wish I Knew” doesn’t bounce as much as some of its competitors, but the catchy ballad (is “catchy ballad” a contradiction? Not in Mark Daly’s hands) showcases the inventive production touches and beautifully layered vocals.

4. Troy Millette – Runaway (Live at Higher Ground)

I liked country singer Troy Millette’s 2019 debut EP fine, but his live version of “Runaway” takes the song to another level. More muscular than the quieter studio version, Millette’s gruff voice and a knockout country-rock band turns the song into a beers-up southern-rock anthem. There’s polished Nashville country in his songwriting, but there’s Allman Brothers rawness in this delivery. Can’t wait until he’s able to get back on the road again.

3. Francesca Blanchard – Like a Hurricane

No, “Like a Hurricane” is not a Neil Young cover. But then again, the lead single on Francesca Blanchard’s new album Make It Better was titled “Baby,” and that wasn’t a Justin Bieber cover either. (Though I’d like to hear the covers album that tackles both Bieber and Young – after a few minutes looking, the closest I found was Florence and the Machine, who has covered them both live). Blanchard’s “Like a Hurricane” sounds nothing like Neil’s, but, in it’s quieter way, it’s just as turbulent.

2. Jer Coons x PREECE x Learic – Sleeping On My Own

Few genres get as ridiculed as rap-rock, and for good reason (two words: Limp. Bizkit.). But, in their new single “Sleeping On My Own,” these three recombine rock and rap in a much more palatable way. “Sleeping On My Own” is mostly a punk song – and an incredibly catchy one at that. Singer/bassist Jer Coons and drummer/guitarist Sean Preece channel their inner Bad Religion on one of those I’m-so-much-better-since-you-left breakup songs where you suspect the narrator might be protesting too much. Then rapper Learic takes a guest verse. And not one of those “I had some unrelated bars sitting around” rap features, but an appearance with every bit as much punk-rock angst as the actual punk parts.

1. Sarah King – Nightstand

“Nightstand” is Sarah King’s Revenge of the Murder Ballad Victim anthem; a new murder ballad where the woman does the murdering for once. As King put it to me, when she started digging into the folk tradition of the murder ballad, “I started paying more attention to the lyrics and how people kept saying ‘oh, I’ve never heard a woman sing that song’ because they’re all about men killing women. I’m still here, so nobody’s killed me yet, and I got to feeling the men in these songs may have sorely underestimated some of the women they encountered.”

Click here for the Best Vermont Albums of 2020 and here for the Best Vermont EPs of 2020!

The post The Best Vermont Songs of 2020 appeared first on County Tracks.

A2VT – You Ma Numba 1

“African refugees in Vermont” is the elevator pitch, but their music offers so much more than just the human interest story. A duo of singers and rappers who go by Jilib and Pogi, augmented by a rotating cast of friends, they sing in English, Swahili, Maay Maay and a combination they refer to as “Swahenglish.” This infectious love song doesn’t hit as hard as some of the higher-energy songs on their great new album Twenty Infinity, but the joyous and insanely catchy chorus will burrow its way into your brain for days.

Couchsleepers – Half the Night

’70s pop-rock balladry meets Grizzly Bear on Couchsleepers’ new single, maybe the best preview yet for the band’s forthcoming debut album. Bonus points for one hell of a guitar solo, evocative and moving without wearing out its welcome.

D. French – Early

“I got the whole city jumping,” Dominic French exclaims at one point on “Early.” Presumably he means somewhere bigger than his hometown of St. Alban’s, Vermont (pop 6,918). But wherever he plays this, vertical motion may be incurred. As someone who grew up in Chicago in the ’90s, I appreciate any Dennis Rodman shoutout. And bonus points to producer GC Beats for the killer Eastern-inflected beat. I want whatever record he sampled that from.

Dead Man From Mars – daBadBoy

Have you heard 100 gecs? If you have, you probably have a strong opinion about them. This buzzy duo’s spastic 2019 debut often got tagged as the sound of the internet, all sorts of unrelated genres violently smashed together (they cite the “Hamster Dance” as a formative influence, which says it all). Dead Man From Mars’ new EP Fruity has that same unhinged energy, at times sounding like a half dozen radio stations playing at the same time. I mean that as a good thing. Your mileage may vary.

Eric George – The Fix

“All I got are these songs and a few good magic tricks,” Eric George sings on the chorus of “The Fix.” In his hands, that ain’t nothing. He third album of 2019 snuck in just under the wire in late December, a spare Americana set that blends solo folk songs like this one with full band roots-rock.

Garret Harkawik – A Collection of Works

Garret Harkawik is not the polo shirted man on the album cover. That’s Steve Kohlhase, the subject of a documentary about the man’s ten-year quest to find the source of a strange hum in his house. I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t tell you whether he succeeds, but Harkawik’s soundtrack is one sound you won’t want to get rid of. The first eight tracks expand upon cues he created for the film, then this 13-minute closer pulls them all together into an intriguing ambient piece.

GOOD WTHR x SkySplitterInk – Tell a Friend

It may be rap on Soundcloud, but GOOD WTHR is far from “Soundcloud rap.” It hits harder, for one, drawing more from the aggressive energy of old-school MC’s than the chemically-laid-back young guns. On their new single “Tell a Friend,” producer SkySplitterInk gives rappers Pro and Kin a lilting beat to rhyme over while otherwise staying out of the way.

James and the Giant Sleep – My Friend the Apostate

Lotta Roald Dahl fans in Vermont, apparently – the aforementioned Couchsleepers recently changed their name from The Giant Peach. Christian James apparently doesn’t fear the Dahl estate’s litigious wrath, and more power to him (James and the Giant Sleep is a solid band name). This twisty rocker recalls any number of emo-adjacent bands on the Tooth & Nail roster in the ’90s – plus they might be drop a word like “apostate” too. If Bandcamp is to be believed, it’s only his second single. Off to one hell of a start.

Justin LaPoint – Wide Open Spaces

No, this isn’t a Dixie Chicks cover. Sonically, though, it’s close enough that I could imagine that trio doing a nice job with Justin LaPoint’s quiet folk-country. Particularly on that infectious chorus, where it already boasts a Chicks-ready backing arrangement.

PREECE – Take Our Time (Acoustic)

Any number of rock bands have been padded out EPs with superfluous “acoustic versions,” where the band makes their songs sound worse by playing them on an acoustic guitar while otherwise changing nothing (Jimmy Eat World just this week tried this live on “The Middle” – it didn’t work). Sean Preece’s Give Preece a Chance EP isn’t that. For one, he includes only acoustic versions. But more importantly, he dramatically twists five of his volume-knob-to-10 punk bangers into wholly new, quieter shapes. “Take Our Time” becomes a peppy strum-along. If the Ramones had taken to playing around campfires, it might have sounded like this.

Quasar Valley Band – To Be Absorbed

Releasing an EP on December 27 ensures a band will never appear on anyone but the biggest procrastinator’s year-end list. If the simply-titled QVB had come out a month prior, though, it would have earned a spot on our Best EPs of 2019 list. Because it is one of the best EPs of 2019 – even if it came out with only four days to spare.

Roost – Winners

“I hope it gets better!” Zack Schuster hollers repeatedly on “Winners,” as his eerily pitch-shifted echoes him back. One part post-punk and two-parts dance music of the sort that might get booked at a jam-band festival, it’s an odd and mesmerizing mix. The eight-minute runtime may seem excessive, but it just grooves along blissfully. Until the surprise ending, that is.

The Röse Parade – Mrzim Te

Who says guitar solos can only come in when the vocals drop out? On The Röse Parade’s album Hyena Dream Machine, guitars seem to solo whenever they damn well please. “Mrzim Te” eschews classic rock wankery, though, going for the dark and weird. Like Nine Inch Nails, but with Miguel on lead vocals.

SACHEM – Winter

Looking at that amazing album cover, it will not surprise you to learn this is a metal band. The Bandcamp description is equally memorable: “Evocative of frigid northeastern winters, “Hymns of Hunger” honors the liminal zone between times of dearth and times of hope. It pays homage to a dire, eternally famished demon whose hunt never ceases. It lulls you into trances with the sonic replication of a glowing horizon, red before an early sunset. And finally, it brings you high into the hills with ice tipped cliffs and miles of skeletal arms, bare and reaching toward a vacant light. Here, we are born into the cold. Here, we embrace it.”

Seamus Egan – Welcome to Orwell

Veteran traditional Irish musician Seamus Egan recently moved to the town that gave the song its name, and it forms a centerpiece of the Solas bandleader’s first solo album in 20 years, Early Bright. He writes of its inspiration: “After living in Philadelphia for many years, I moved from The City of Brotherly Love to the Green Mountains of Vermont. After many miles in a U-Haul I was ill equipped to drive, I came across this friendly sign. It made me feel better.”

Thomas Gunn – Virginia

You know the song “A Horse with No Name”? Well as Thomas Gunn makes clear right at the start here, his horse has a name: “Virginia.” Gunn: 1, America: 0 (actually, -1, just for naming their crappy band “America”). Gunn’s horse song starts with a similarly mellow folk-rope lope before going full grunge gallop in the chorus. Your shlocky-’70s-Neil-Young-ripoff fave could never.

Transitory Symphony – Robert Moses Causeway

Though he lives in Vermont, there’s a strong Long Island theme running through Jim Heltz’s latest album. Two separate songs are named after Oyster Bay; even Billy Joel doesn’t drop that many references! The beautiful instrumental “Robert Moses Causeway” might make the perfect soundtrack when you read Robert Caro’s Pulitzer’d Moses tome. You’ll just need to repeat the song a few (thousand) times.

Western Terrestrials – Automated Trucker Blues

The video for “Automated Trucker Blues,” off last year’s excellent The Clearlake Conspiracy, takes the band name literally: “Western” with the guys rocking some pretty swank Nudie suits and “Terrestrials” with unexplained UFOs hovering over the proceedings. The secret star of the show, though, is the old cowboy in the background flipping them off.

Check out the out previous best-of-the-month lists here.

The post The Best New Songs of January 2020 appeared first on County Tracks.

Adaline – Genese’s Song

“Genese’s Song” sounds like a Simon & Garfunkel tune recorded on the Mountain Goat’s early tape deck. Like Adaline Bancroft’s entire album, there’s a hiss and fuzz (the songs were indeed recorded on a four-track tape machine) that adds a haunting distance from the music. It feels like unearthing a dusty old recording, weathered with time, but with the tenderness and beauty shining through the decay. Fellow folkie Eric George joins on upright bass for this song, though that’s an instrument the tape recorder can’t really capture.

Bishop LaVey – Foes From Our Friends

Bishop LaVey dubs himself “Doom-Folk-Punk,” a label that’s both clever branding and also pretty damn accurate. Like Frank Turner at his loudest, or an acoustic performance by Bad Religion, Kane Patrick Sweeney doesn’t let “acoustic” mean “soft.”

Chris Weisman – I’m Lo-Fi

Extremely prolific singer-songwriter Chris Weisman titled a song on his 30-track new album “I’m Lo-Fi.” Very to-the-point. It serves as sort of a statement of purpose. As always, he delivers beautiful melodies with minimal instrumentation. His new album reminds me of the so-called Esher Demos on the recent White Album deluxe addition, casual and ramshackle home recordings of rock-solid songs. No demoes here though; this is it. Like with the Beatles, there’s humor aplenty. You just have to lean way in to hear it.

Eoin Noonan – Calling Me Names

Singer-songwriters Eoin Noonan and David Anderson did their time in a variety of alt-country bands over the past couple decades, but their new single together – the first in some time – ditches the acoustic guitars for a harder edge. Post-punk riffs lead into alt-rock choruses on “Calling Me Names,” with a touch of catchy backing vocals adding an element of sweetness. They pack a dozen different hooks into the three minutes. Hopefully this one-off marks the start of a creative rebirth.

Evergreen Avenue – Fear of Hell

There aren’t songs on Alec Critten’s new minimal ambient album, as much as moods. I like this mood particularly.

GOOD WTHR – Make Me Feel

Newish hip-hop duo GOOD WHTR kicked the year off on January 1st with a instantly catchy single (props to the uncredited hook singer) that recalls The Aztext’s “Everyday Summer,” one my favorite songs of 2018, which was made by some of the same people.

Kristina Stykos – River of Light

Kristina Stykos wears many hats at her rural recording studio: Songwriter, producer, engineer, landscaper, and general Jill of all trades. She’s recorded several artists who’ve graced these proverbial pages, so no surprise her self-produced new album River of Light sounds superb, from the killer band she employs (special shoutout to Val McCallum’s guitar solos) to her husky voice, the result of losing it entirely for a couple years (like John Prine, she turns an impediment into a strength). She writes songs that earn the production too, as on this title track, a song both lyrically wise and musically arresting.

The Pilgrims – Fav New Kid

Christmas Eve is maybe not the best time to drop a new music video, but garage-rockers the Pilgrims have never followed any drummer but their own. The band blends a super goofy sense of humor with an aptitude for crunchy powerpop hooks on all their songs, and adds a new layer here: backing singers.

Reed Foehl – Stealing Starlight

Songwriting veteran Reed Foehl has had a couple years of geographic instability. After living in Colorado for almost two decades, he planned a big move to Nashville in 2017, to capitalize on new opportunities opening up after country icon Lee Ann Womack recorded his song. On his drive down, though, his mother called. She had lymphoma, and needed him at home in Massachusetts. He turned around, and spent the next year and half there caring for her. After she passed, he headed to Austin to record the songs he’d written during that time with Band of Heathens, then moved to a barn in the tiny town of Pownal, Vermont. It’s a stark and moving journey, reflected in the songs on his upcoming fifth album Lucky Enough.

Roost – The Ball

Groove dance-rock with elements of post-punk. Think Kraftwerk meets Devo meets The Residents. Also, best Bandcamp bio of the month: “Roost is like finding an old pair of rollerblades in the closet… tossing em on and boogyin on downtown to the laundromat, next to the graveyard, to pick up your clothes you forgot the other day. Then on a joyous afternoon ride home you spot Eugene at the ‘ole full service gas station and stop to smoke a few smokes and talk about things that just don’t matter.”

SkySplitterInk ft. DJ Kanga – Triage

Gotta appreciate a track that adds a feature credit just for “scratches.” Although, just is perhaps the wrong word, as DJ Kanga’s scratches form the backbone on one of the highlights of SkySplitterInk’s fascinating instrumental hip-hop album. So much that gets billed as “instrumental hip-hop” are really just beat tapes – SoundCloud producers throwing out ideas hoping for an MC to complete them. The songs are incomplete, and sound like it. SkySplitterInk, by contrast, build a fully formed product on their instrumental album XIX. Not only that, he plays all the instruments – yes, real instruments – himself. Come for the scratching, stay for everything else.

Will Stamp – Not Good Enough

Pop-country crooner Will Stamp adds a welcome element of Stax soul on the second single from his upcoming album. This slow-burn ballad doesn’t skimp on the production (how often do you hear xylophone in the mix?), and the backing singers push it over the top. Bonus points for Will’s quick Elvis homage when he nears the title phrase.

Yestrogen – Someone Else

A lo-fi garage rock take on girl group music has been in vogue for a few years, from Shannon and the Clams to Hunx and His Punx. Yestrogen (great name) enter the arena strong on this track from their debut She EP. With a whole lot glossier production, this could be a Marvelettes song in the 1960s.

Check out the Best Vermont Songs of 2018 here.

The post The Best New Songs of January 2019 appeared first on County Tracks.