20. Narrow Shoulders – Now Be Here

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

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.

18. The Faux Paws – The Faux Paws

The rustic setting. The three beardy dudes. The guitar and fiddle. All signs point to your traditional old-time folk music combo. And the Faux Paws grow from deep roots there, to be sure. But there’s a twist: The third instrument is not the expected banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, etc. It’s a saxophone. It brings a surprising new sound into their otherwise very traditional music. I’m christening the genre “blue-brass.”

17. Amy Anders – Flea at the Opera

Flea at the Opera is a killer album title, though it does have the unfortunate side effect of making me picture Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Met. Thankfully, the album sounds very little like the album’s accidentally-titular bassist. Big Thief is the more obvious touchstone. Anders delivers slightly off-kilter folk-rock songs that take strange twists and turns, piano cabaret at one moment (“You Lose”) and a woodwind-guitar duet the next (“Great Life”).

16. Hellish Form – Remains

Props to Hellish Form to committing to the genre. Everything about their album seems as metal as possible, from the metal band name (Hellish Form) to the metal album name (Remains) to the metal song titles (“Your Grave Becomes A Garden,” “Ache,” “Shadows With Teeth,” and “Another World”). Okay, they lost the thread a little with that last one, but the hooded-figure-in-graveyard cover artwork more than makes up for it.

15. The Wet Ones – The Monster of Jungle Island

An instrumental concept album is a tough trick to pull off, and doubly so when the concept is as specific as The Monster of Jungle Island. Luckily, Vermont surf-rockers have a trick up their sleeve to help the narrative: A B-movie style video, filmed on what looks like a budget of $20 and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. As the band’s Amy Wild wrote, “Never did we think our +35-year-old selves would be running around Burton Island with a paper mache monster head and machete, but here we are.”

14. Kris Gruen – Welcome Farewell

“This is the sound that brings broken hearts back to life,” Kris Gruen sings on the opening track of Welcome Farewell. It’s a lofty promise, but one could easily picture him getting the sort of devoted Americana-world following of a Tyler Childers or Billy Strings. He’s capable of surprises, too, as on the folky cover of punk icon Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.”

13. Wool Drive – Dive In

Though Anders Magnus’ musical moniker starts with “wool,” I keep wanting to write “woozy.” That’s the feel of the chillwave-y Dive In, a slide of hazed-out bedroom pop that is so chill it might take a second to realize these songs are catchy as hell.

12. Father Figuer – Jack of All Fruits

Good thing I was running behind on this list this year, or I would have missed Father Figuer’s Jack of All Fruits, which came out December 10. The trio’s Bandcamp bio simply reads “taking our time,” and that’s exactly what they do on this album. The almost-nine-minute-long opening track runs over three minutes before a single word is sung. The journey to get there shows what makes them so great though. It’s the most gradual of builds, spacey vocals and instruments gently layering up, to the point where, when the sound finally bursts open six minutes in, it comes as a jolt. No other songs are quite that long or epic, but that mix of music, slightly withholding while you await the big burst that may or may not ever arrive, remains steady.

11. KeruBo – Hali Ya Utu

The title of Kenyan-American singer KeruBo’s debut album Hali Ya Utu translates to “state of humanity.” It, like many of the songs on the album is in Swahili. A great Seven Days feature breaks down what many are about: “Hakuna Lolote” about the plight of New Americans during Covid. “Inga Obwanchani,” in the language of Kisii, addresses children begging for money on the streets of KeruBo singer Irene Webster’s native Nairobi. Knowing the stories enriches the songs, but you don’t need to do any homework to enjoy Hali Ya Utu, an upbeat blend of African rhythms that, for westerners, will most immediately recall Angelique Kidjo.

10. Zachary Melton – Northland

The acoustic-guitar fantasia or Northland draws on the so-called “American primitive” greats like John Fahey and Glenn Jones – not to mention a whole new crop of talented artists. Zachary Melton crafts a lot of sound with just six strings and some fancy finger-picking.

9. Eric George – Mostly Ghosts / Valley of the Heart

I’m cheating a little bit here, but I couldn’t pick just one of Eric George’s two 2021 albums to include. Though they’re not a double album, they work as one: One side folk, one side punk. The folk “side,” Valley of the Heart, finds a killer roots band spicing up his Guthrie-esque songs with brushed drums and twangy guitar solos. The “punk” side, Mostly Ghosts, finds him turning the volume way up, channeling Bad Religion and The Black Keys as he lets it rip. But the boundaries may be more porous than they seem: He covers punk-in-spirit John Lennon on the folk album and sings about folk hero Joe Hill on the punk one.

8. Ivamae – Tender Meat

Tender Meat certainly wins the longest-awaited album award. When I first wrote about her debut EP, I figured a full-length was forthcoming. And it was…five full years later. “I’m a total workaholic,” Mae explained to Seven Days. “I push myself, and I crash. That’s why the album took so long, I think: I’d push, then crash, then repeat. I had to learn to let go of how I wanted it to sound.” The result sounds like the product of all that much work, but only in the best ways – dense and innovative, yet never overthought. Her crack band and inventive production touches serve the songs, never obscuring the real star of the show: her stunning voice.

7. Madaila – Good Lord Nancy

Good Lord Nancy is a concept album. And not a concept album like “all the songs are about a breakup”; a real, old school, prog-style concept album. The genre is new-wave though, mixed with indie rock and Americana. The concept is too long to compress in a blurb (you can read it here), but every song traces the titular Nancy’s journey to the City of Sin. One way it differs from many similar albums though is that it’s compact, eight songs, every one catchy as hell with not a moment wasted. What a concept.

6. Patrick J Crowley – All Was Set Fair

Patrick Crowley has popped up here in a couple different guises before – Deep River Saints, Quasar Valley Band. He makes music of the cosmic-Americana sort, using traditional country-rock instruments to go to some weird places. Fitting that the album cover is a picturesque log cabin…that’s on fire.

5. Clever Girls – Constellations

Clever Girls songs thrive on tension. At any moment, they sound like they’re about to explode. Sometimes they do, usually in a roar of distorted guitar noise. But just as often, they hold something back, gliding along on frontperson Diane Jean’s mesmerizing vocals. Who knew “And I’ll get arrested by the neighborhood watch” could be such a catchy sing-along line? Inspired in part by Jean coming out as queer and gender-nonconforming, Constellations mixes big rock hooks (“Remember Pluto”) with quieter moments (“Come Clean”…quieter that is, except for the the really loud parts) for a set that makes a hell of a calling card as they begin to play bigger stages.

4. Coyote Reverie – Imah

Coyote Reverie, the new hip-slash-trip-hop duo combining singer Meadow Eliz and rapper Stresselbee, stuff their debut album Imah with quotable lines. To pick out one that jumped out at me, from the song “Lotus Leaf”: “I solved the riddle of the universe once / And I got it done before I served lunch.” Or one more, from lead single “Piranhagon”: “It’s the lion, the witch, and the warship / The penguin is mightier than the swordfish.” Of course, no rhyme would be worth savoring if the music didn’t match up, but they collaborate with a number of different underground producers to create beds that boost the clever rapped verses and the earwormy sung choruses.

3. Lily Seabird – Beside Myself

“I’m just a bug underneath your shoe,” Lily Seabird (real name Lily Seward) sang on “Bug,” the lead single off her terrific debut album Beside Myself. The melody jumps around in surprising leaps – I imagine this would be a tough karaoke track – but Lily carries it through all its winding turns, leading to a wonderful Dinosaur Jr.-esque squalling guitar solo. Her album mostly leans on the quirky indie pop side of things, channeling Warpaint or Fiona Apple, but will occasionally explode into a pedal-to-the-metal rocker like “Fire Song.”

2. The Burning Sun – Marrow

In April, the album Marrow came out under the band name Ruby. I gave my post the Clash-pun title “Ruby Can’t Fail,” but, apparently, they could. In the age of the internet, singer Katy Hellman soon released Ruby was un-Googleable – she found over 80 other artists named Ruby on Spotify – and changed the moniker to The Burning Sun, after the album’s second track (personally, I think she should have picked track title number four, “Carnivores,” and make everyone think it was a militant hardcore band). Either way, Marrow is a mesmerizing album, Mazzy Star by way of Dirty Projectors. It doesn’t matter what they call themselves. To misquote Shakespeare, a Ruby by any other name smells as sweet.

1. Black Fly – 01

Bedroom electronic artist Joseph Rittling aka Black Fly brings a lot of influences into these ten tracks. He cites inspirations from experimental composer Gavin Bryars to ’50s pop star Connie Francis to re-learning to play piano after an accident that cost him part of a finger (ouch). And that’s all just for a single song (“No Fool”). His must-watch music videos, too, contain multitudes, placing these tracks in an eerie sci-fri dystopia like something David Lynch would dream up. But, high-concept as the songs’ origins may be, the results are immediately accessible, catchy piano-electronica that recalls M83 at one moment, Jon Hopkins at another.

Best Songs is here and Best EPs is here. In an effort to broaden the lists and avoid redundant blurb-writing, every list this year has a totally unique group of artists.

Note: This will be the last County Tracks post for a while. To get updates when/if the site returns, follow @CountyTracks on Facebook or Twitter. Until then, thanks for reading.

The post The Best Vermont Albums of 2021 appeared first on County Tracks.

25. Jade Relics – With You

My main gig is covering cover songs, so I appreciate a song that shouts out “Nina Simone covering Bee Gees” (that’s the 11th Best Bee Gees Cover Ever, in case you were wondering). A new production trio from three veterans of Vermont’s hip-hop scene – Elder Orange, IAME, Rico James – “With You” brings some freak-funk vibes, like some old Stevie Wonder sample. Maybe someone will cover this soon.

24. The Pyros – King of the Internet

“King of the Internet” is not just about the internet – it sounds like the internet. A rock band temporarily taking cues from chiptune, the sonics recall the MIDI soundtracks of pre-YouTube Flash videos.

23. Tom Pearo & Michael Crain – Love Wave

No song came with a better backstory than Tom Pearo’s “Love Wave”: He recorded the entire thing submerged in a lake. But you don’t need all the details to enjoy this new age-y guitar instrumental. A few years ago, Pearo released one of the best albums of 2019 with I Am a Mountain. Though “Love Wave” is only a small fraction of the album’s length, it offers a miniature sample of the composer’s sonic mind at work. And underwater.

22. Bilé – New Kid

Quoting British theologist Alan Watts talking about Carl Jung to open your rap song seems like a flex Drake might make. “New Kid” echoes streaming’s reigning champion musically too. Bilé’s debut album INSULT TO INJURY came out in April and he seems to have already taken it off streaming services. At least this song is still up…for now.

21. Trackstar – Hello Easy

“Hello Easy” is the title track of Trackstar’s new EP, and “easy” is the perfect word. A little easy-listening, a little soft-rock, all filtered through a supremely chill delivery. Recordings likes that sometimes fall into the trap of being all vibe with no actual song behind them, but Trackstar buttressed all that relaxation with some solid hooks.

20. Abby Sherman – I’ll Be There

This past July, when I first wrote about this track, I complimented “Sherman’s bluesy belt in the Susan Tedeschi vein, which she really unleashes near the end.” And, get this, just a few days after I wrote that, Susan Tedeschi actually performed this song with her! I’d take credit…except I hadn’t actually published my writeup yet. Damn. Tedeschi kills it, of course, but Sherman holds her own standing right beside her.

19. Omega Jade – MommiEbonics

It’s no coincidence that Omega Jade’s new EP Elevate: The Rise of Mama MC dropped on May 9: This year, May 9 was Mother’s Day. The EP is a hip-hop tribute to motherhood and all its joys and struggles, never more so than on the witty and moving “MommiEbonics.” As the hook goes, “I love my kids, but they get on my nerves.”

18. Nate Gusakov – Coming Apart

On “Coming Apart,” banjo player Nate Gusakov sounds like an old blues singer growling over an outtake from Mark Knopfler’s Sailing to Philadelphia. That’s his dad on the fiddle, too.

17. Troy Millette – Stay (Please)

Country singer Troy Millette’s new song “Stay” has been kicking around unrecorded since 2016, but when he began to record his new album with producer Chris Hawthorn, he decided to give it another shot. He explained the back story in an email: “I wrote it about a girl who was in a pretty serious relationship, but I was convinced that I was the better choice. When we went back into the studio to start recording our new record, the melody just seemed to fit the vibe of the other songs, so I revisited it and finally finished a full draft in the studio with Chris Hawthorn. I loved the sentiment of the bridge, looking back on how I actually would have been TERRIBLE for her in that situation, but the melody felt jagged and forced, so Chris suggested that we just talk it out, and it played out into one of my favorite moments in the song.”

16. Leon Ampersand – These Blue Skies, They Are a-Callin’

The title “These Blue Skies, They Are a-Callin’” sounds like an outtake from Oklahoma!. The actual song, an inviting slice of breathy Britpop, very much does not.

15. Portraits of Sawyer – Mullet Action

Ben Wiggins and Adam Henry Garcia of Portraits of Sawyer released two very different songs in advance of their album Whatever You May Say. The title track is a lighters-in-the-air piano ballad, while “Mullet Action” is a hearty ’80s-inflected rocker. Though the genre is experimental indie-rock, the combination of a big holler-along rock jam and a sensitive piano ballad feels very hair metal. I like them both, but “Mullet Action” takes it by a – ugh sorry – hair.

14. Francesca Blanchard – Loon Song

Depending on your age and scene, the phrase “loon song” might conjure up visions of Bon Iver or Tom Green. For those unfortunates in the latter camp, any memories of Green putting his bum on things should be wiped (no pun intended) out by Francesca Blanchard’s beautiful synthpop song, which channels the energy of Lorde’s effervescent Solar Power summer. (And don’t miss Blanchard’s other killer 2021 single either, and a timely one right now: “New Year’s in Paris”).

13. Eastern Mountain Time – A Little Bit of Rain

Remember the days of the CD single? Where you’d pay for the one song you wanted, and then, to try and make you feel less ripped off, they’d throw on a couple extraneous versions – a crappy remix, an instrumental? Eastern Mountain Time’s new single has that throwback energy, with his version of “A Little Bit of Rain” followed by a cover of the exact same song by Willoughby J Morse. They botched the retro execution, though, by accidentally making both versions essential. Too late to add a “Tambourine Part Only” remix?

12. Strangled Darlings – Terrible Monsters

Shortly before Covid hit, I saw David Byrne’s Broadway show American Utopia. When I listen to new-weird-Americana duo Strangled Darlings’ “Terrible Monsters,” I picture Byrne’s army of barefooted percussionists marching around on stage. From the ominous chorus – “All that I want, and it’s good, is the terrible monsters” – to the propulsive rhythms waterfalling around the melody, it’s peak Byrne. Add some nonsense words and you’d get “I Zimbra.”

11. Robscure ft. Eva Rawlings – Echoes

Vermont Hip Hop, which follows its titular scene at a granular level, recently wrote, “Even among the most packed & diverse crop of young talent [Vermont] has ever seen, Robscure has distinguished himself with a prolific and adventurous body of work.” And that was before his new single “Echoes” came out. A collaboration with singer Eva Rawlings on the indelible hook, it’s a great showcase for a rapid-fire rhymer.

10. Ryan Montbleau – Ankles

The tasteful folk-rock opening doesn’t exactly scream “comedy song,” but then the first line comes in: “I am thankful / for my ankles.” It continues like that for a bit before impressively pivoting back to not-a-comedy-song territory, as Montbleau delivers a sincere and heartfelt ode to music itself. Then, bam, we’ve boomeranged back to Montbleau talking about his pancreas. These is-it-a-joke-or-not transitions sound jarring on paper, but somehow when he sings it all makes sense.

9. New Erotics – Thicc Thighs

A silly and extremely fun new-wave dance song, the only thing that dates “Thicc Thighs” as not hailing from 1986 is the spelling of “thicc.” It could be an old Go-Go’s or Cars song, only with lyrics that sound like a Sir Mix-a-Lot who’s gotten some lessons on body positivity.

8. Dave Richardson – Keep Trying

The first time I wrote about Dave Richardson this year, I said he seemed like a super positive person. At the time, he had released a song called “It’s Gonna Be OK.” The follow-up track, the opener of his album Palms to Pines, came with a similarly encouraging title: “Keep Trying.” In this case, it’s clearly him talking to himself, offering a bit of encouragement to a shy person doing his best to avoid social isolation over some extremely catchy folk-rock.

7. A2VT – I’m a Soul Survivor

A2VT’s new single blends the group’s trademark sounds of Afropop, R&B, and hip-hop with a surprising twist: ’80s metal. After three extremely catchy minutes of singing and rapping, an epic guitar solo bursts forth by an actual ’80s-metal vet, Andre Maquera of 8084. It reminds of that time Kirk Hammett guested on a K’naan song, in the best way possible.

6. Repelican ft. Sam Herring – All Our Heroes

Repelican aka. Jon Ehrens recruited a host of collaborators to co-write and sing almost all the songs on his new album I’m Not One: Vol. 1. It was hard to pick a favorite. For a while, it was the soft-funk of “Oh My God” with Giant Wave. Then it was the folk-rock “Wrong End of the Rise” with Tom Vollmer. But I finally landed on the indie-synth-rock of “All Out Heroes,” which features Future Islands frontman Sam Herring.

5. The Silent Mile – Better Days

The extremely catchy “Better Days” brings a healthy dose of Blink-182 pop-punk with surf-rock drums and a snotty sneer. Some killer lines too, both funny and honest about struggling with depression, starting with the opener: “I’m fucking crazy, but not in a fun way.”

4. Lowell Thompson – Blood Season

Lowell Thompson is a great and extremely un-prolific singer-songwriter. He hasn’t released an album since 2014, well before I started this site, so I haven’t been able to write about his music as much as I’d like. But he snuck out two singles this year. The first, “Doorstep Religion,” is excellent. The second, “Blood Season,” is excellent-er. It’s a very Neil Young and the Stray Gators vibe (minus the honeyslides…I assume), country-rock with some real grit.

3. The Smittens – Year of Happiness

A pure little blast of pop balladry that barely tops a minute, “Year of Happiness” seems destined to serve as a concert intro number. After all, it ends with “Let’s start with a song / let’s start with a beat / Let’s start with a 1-2-3 / 3-2-1 / Let’s go.” From there they could segue right into the indie-pop vets’ similarly-themed “Year of the Lake.” Also, I appreciate the audacity of naming a song “Year of Happiness” in 2021. It’s kind of like the new Band of Horses album title: Things Are Great.

2. Liz Simmons – When the Waters Rise

Liz Simmons had logged time singing backup for Melanie. Yes, that Melanie, of Woodstock and “Brand New Key” fame. On her own new album Poets, Simmons stays more in the singer-songwriter Americana lane than Melanie’s ’60s pop, but she knows her way around a hook, and has a hell of a voice to deliver it. Nowhere is that more true than opening track “When the Waters Rise,” which evokes current Newport Folk Fest-type mainstays like The Lone Bellow and Lake Street Dive.

1. Jesse Taylor Band – Disaster

When I first wrote about Jesse Taylor Band’s EP Ever-changing, I focused on the song “Blue.” When I wrote about it again, I switched to the title track. Now, after almost a year of listening, I can say I got it wrong both times. Both those songs are great, but the best of the EP – and the entire year – is “Disaster.” It’s a hooky alt-rock look at growing up, drawing from Taylor’s contemporary influences like Courtney Barnett and Big Thief as well as further back to ’90s college-rock stars like Dinosaur Jr. and Pixies. The song came out on January 1st. The competition was over before it even began.

Note: Best Albums is here and Best EPs is here. In an effort to broaden the lists and avoid redundant blurb-writing, every list this year will have a totally unique group of artists.

The post The Best Vermont Songs of 2021 appeared first on County Tracks.

10. Lavenderlux – Nest Inertia

A remote collaboration between Vermont singer Amelia Wilcox and Washington musician Joseph Human, Lavenderlux arrives fully formed on their debut EP Nest Inertia. “Itching” touches on depression and boredom with phase-shifting guitars and Wilcox’s buttery vocals, while “Hold Out” features chiming instrumentation and a catchy slow-burn melody.

9. Guthrie Galileo – Balladeer

Typically, one might point out moments when a soaring singer Guthrie Galileo leaps into falsetto. But on Balladeer, it might be quicker to note the moments when he’s not singing in falsetto. He’s a sultry R&B crooner par excellence, singing catchy pop melodies over production full of layered background vocals and unexpected electronic flourishes. Francis and the Lights strikes me as a good comparison point, but the fact that Galileo moonlights as an Usher covers singer will come as no surprise either.

8. Days on End – Decade

The title Decade sounds like a greatest hits record (perhaps because, for someone else, it was a greatest hits record). But for pop-punk trio Days on End, it’s a new EP, and an extremely catchy one at that. For fans of so-called “emo revival” bands like Modern Baseball who want something new to make your voice hoarse screaming along to, Days on End will fit right in.

7. Go Outside – Modal

The person behind Go Outside helpfully includes two descriptions of his new EP Modal. The first is for the electronic-music gearheads: “This is a collection of songs based around a single sound source. The synthesizer that provides every sound you’re hearing is the Arturia Microfreak. There is a particular oscillator called the modal oscillator that provides the plucky, nasal sound that you hear throughout the album.” The second is for the rest of us: “This album is about connecting with the rhythm of life. It’s hard to describe or even point to, but you can feel it when you’re in the groove.”

6. Ben Watson – Ulterior Motive

As the Bandcamp description puts it, “Some acoustic guitar I recorded in the past few months. I hope it makes you feel something.” It does! You have to be deeper in the American Primitive world than I to pinpoint the differences among the many John Fahey acolytes, but if you’re looking for some pleasant finger-picked instrumental music that never gets new-agey or boring, Ben Watson’s new EP is a good bet. Good luck picking out favorite tracks though; they’re all named after numbers (area codes?), except for final track “Noise Machine,” which isn’t any noisier than what came before.

5. Sarah King – The Hour

Sarah King’s murder ballad “Nightstand” topped our year-end songs list in 2020, and it anchors her 2021 EP The Hour. The other songs earn their place next to that classic. “Poison” explores a similar theme of bloodthirsty revenge against a dirty-no-good lout (though, unlike the very literal gun in the nightstand, the titular elixir is a metaphor, ), while “Not Worth the Whisky” brings a gothic True Detective energy. An eerie acoustic cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” fits right in to the dark-Americana vibes.

4. Freddie Losambe – Pray

Freddie Losambe’s EP Pray sounds like Kanye West’s Donda at – quick napkin math – 1/20th of the run time. Like Kanye, Freddie draws from hip-hop, gospel, and a wide array of unexpected influences (“Mercy” starts off like the Beach Boys). But he’s a keener editor, delivering a wealth of ideas in barely five minutes. “We know this pressure make diamonds,” he repeats on the title track. It certainly seems to have here.

3. Isabel Pless – Too Big for the Playground, Too Small for the Big Leagues

Isabel Pless has a sense of humor. Her EP title is Too Big for the Playground, Too Small for the Big Leagues. The cover features sitting on a child’s swingset. Her Bandcamp bio is “Former gifted kid, current broke college student.” And her lyrics embody that same energy. For instance, the chorus of “Burn Out” goes, “And I smoke out the window / When my parents are home / Leave a light on at night / If I’m sleeping alone / And my mailbox is full / But no one calls my phone / Anyway.” The music, though, is unequivocally mature, beautiful and catchy and hard to get out of your head.

2. Glorious Leader – Glorious Leader & The Analog Cabin Mystery

If the title and cover of Glorious Leader’s new EP looks like the cover of a book, that’s no coincidence. It literally is, a small hardbound book packaged like an old Hardy Boys mystery which expands on the plot of the album and offers some bonus guitar tabs to boot. It’s more a travelogue than mystery though, exploring Kyle Woodard’s actual home of rural Vermont and musical home of Iceland. Whimsical and hooky with strings, banjo, and French horn, it’s an indie-pop symphony in miniature. Sufjan Stevens doesn’t need to make his Vermont album; Glorious Leader’s done it for him.

1. Couchsleepers – Monsters

In a transparent effort to dominate our Best of the Month lists, Couchsleepers released every track on this EP individually over an extended period of time. Sadly, try as I might, I was helpless to resist Harrison Hsiang and co’s craven attempts to game the system. Every track on this thing is undeniable. From the explosion of distortion that kicks off opener “All the Worst Things” to the jazzy closing ballad “After All,” Hsiang packs in more hooks into six songs than most artists manage in an entire discography.

Note: Best Albums is here and Best Songs is here. In an effort to broaden the lists and avoid redundant blurb-writing, every list this year will have a totally unique group of artists.

The post The Best Vermont EPs of 2021 appeared first on County Tracks.

Abby Sherman – The Weight

Take a load off, Abby… Wait, wrong “Weight,” sorry. This “The Weight” is an original song by Vermont singer-songwriter Abby Sherman, a heartfelt acoustic ballad with nary an appearance from Miss Moses or Crazy Chester. Sherman’s been dropping another killer single every few months for a while now, presumably (hopefully!) leading up to another record.

Coyote Reverie – Lotus Leaf

Hip-slash-trip-hop duo Coyote Reverie’s debut album Imah is positively stuffed with quotable lines. But, to pick out one that just jumped out at me, from the song “Lotus Leaf”: “I solved the riddle of the universe once / And I got it done before I served lunch.”

Craig Pallett – Light in the Sky

The album Sugarhouse (very Vermont title) offers a slice of energetic and adventurous jazz from composer and trumpet player Craig Pallett alongside guitarist Mohammed Nazam and saxophonist Michael Morera. The second track, “Light in the Sky,” sees the guitar and sax take center stage in an aggressive duet that veers into hard-rock territory, with keyboards and the occasional synth burble in the background.

Days on End – Carved Away

The title Decade sounds like a greatest hits record (perhaps because, for someone else, it was a greatest hits record). But for pop-punk trio Days on End, it’s a new EP, and an extremely catchy one at that. For fans of so-called “emo revival” bands like Modern Baseball who want something new to make your voice hoarse screaming along to, Days on End will fit right in.

Eric George – Joe Hill

Folkie goes punk…again. Singer-songwriter Eric George usually operates in a Woody Guthrie vein, but, for the second time in recent years, he’s turned to the Bad Religion template. His political passion hasn’t changed, though: He’s still singing about folks like union organizer Joe Hill, who also inspired songs by Phil Ochs and Joan Baez. His take is currently just much louder than theirs.

Jobu & Rico James – $ Vs Earth

On “$ Vs Earth,” rapper Jobu goes hard against climate change obstructionists and capitalism in general. Near the end, he even glancingly echoes the knocked-up-the-earth opening of Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain.” When world leaders meet in Scotland for the climate summit in a couple weeks, it’s probably too much to hope they’d keep some of these messages in mind.

Lightcrusher – Coursing Through Black Veins of Earth

Would you believe me if I told you “Coursing Through Black Veins of Earth” by the band Lightcrusher was a peppy folk-pop song inspired by Taylor Swift? Yeah, it’s not. It’s extremely heavy and tormented metal by the sort of band whose name is so stylized on their logo as to be almost illegible. But the guitar riffs are furious, the drummer plays like he’s outrunning the devil, and the lyrics – well, who knows what exactly he’s shrieking, but it sounds cool.

Lily Seabird – Bug

“I’m just a bug underneath your shoe,” Lily Seabird (real name Lily Seward) sings on “Bug,” off her terrific debut album Beside Myself. The melody jumps around in surprising leaps – I imagine this would be a tough karaoke track – but Lily carries it through all its twist and turns, leading to a wonderful Dinosaur Jr.-esque squalling guitar solo.

Wool See – Hail Ratmaa

The first of a couple Halloween-themed selections, “Back To The Lodge” comes from Wool See’s spooky new beat tape Woolloween Vol. 3. As he writes about his first no-vocals album, “‘Tis the season for mischief and mayhem and beats! Woolloween Vol. 3 is a fully instrumental album to smash squashes and horde gourds to.” Extra kudos on the best cover art of the month.

The Young Love Scene – Psychology

The Young Love Scene’s Gordon Goldsmith channels the great monkey band Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution (unintentionally, perhaps) in his new Halloween-themed music video for “Psychology.” The music, though, sounds less like ’60s-rock chimps and more like Jimmy Eat World meets The Ramones, catchy rock with a strong sense of hooks.

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

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

Alice Damon – Treetop Winds

In 2013, revered reissue label Light in the Attic dug up an obscure artist named Alice Damon for their compilation I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America 1950-1990. They drew the track “Waterfall Winds” from an album she’d recorded in the early ’80s in northern Vermont and, apparently, never released. She died several years ago, but her album, Windsong, is finally getting its four-decades-delayed release next month. The breathy, wordless vocals sound like Juliana Barwick long before her time.

Bilé – New Kid

Quoting British theologist Alan Watts talking about Carl Jung to open your rap song seems like a flex Drake might make. “New Kid” echoes streaming’s reigning champion musically too. Bilé’s debut album INSULT TO INJURY just came out in April and he seems to have already taken it off streaming services, so better listen to this song now while you still can.

Chris Weisman – The Orange Car

You know that old line about listening to someone sing the phonebook? Bedroom pop musician Chris Weisman practically does sing the phonebook. He puts out god knows how many albums a year – I can’t keep up – and at that pace, I can’t imagine he’s spending that much time fine-tuning the lyrics. But he sounds great, even when he’s singing about a GPS (“The Orange Car”) or Tracy Chapman (“I Need a Broom”).

Coyote Reverie – Piranhagon

“Piranhagon” is what lyric videos are made for. Hip-hop/pop/trip-hop duo Coyote Reverie have a ton of fun playing around with language right from the opening lines (“It’s the lion, the witch, and the warship / The penguin is mightier than the swordfish”). Meadow Eliz sings and Stresselbee raps and the combination is mesmerizing.

Dharma – 90’s Baby / Blue

Thanks to Night Doll’s virtual music festival for cluing me in that Dharma Ramirez, who used to front the great indie rock back The Snaz, has returned with a solo project. She’s released a few singles, all great, and you watch hear her play a couple in this live video.

DonnCherie – For Keeps

Adam Rabin, whose songs I’ve posted a few times, is a wild prog-rock experimenter. But he’s clearly got a light touch as a producer, as the two new songs he produced for DonnCherie McKenzie follow her lead entirely. And what a lead it is, with soulful but restrained vocals that draw on gospel and R&B.

Flypaper Scissors – Modern People

Flypaper Scissors, the rechristened, easier-to-Google moniker from the artist formerly known as Obq, starts new album Life After Tomorrow in epic fashion. In the first moments of “Modern People,” you think you’re in for a sparse synth ballad. Then the backing vocals and handclaps join in. But it’s still not done, with a funk bass riff soon sashaying along. A fiery guitar solo roars in not long after. Did I mention this all happens in well under three minutes?

Francesca Blanchard – Loon Song

Depending on your age and scene, the phrase “loon song” might conjure up visions of Bon Iver or Tom Green. For those unfortunates in the latter camp, any memories of Green putting his bum on things should be wiped (no pun intended) out by Francesca Blanchard’s new synthpop song, which channels the energy of Lorde’s effervescent Solar Power summer.

Freddie Losambe – Mercy

Freddie Losambe’s EP Pray sounds like Kanye West’s new album Donda at – quick napkin math – 1/20th of the run time. Like Kanye, Freddie draws from hip-hop, gospel, and a wide array of unexpected influences (“Mercy” starts off like the Beach Boys). But he’s a keener editor, delivering a wealth of ideas in barely five minutes.

Kin – A Year Old

Easily the corniest rap song about fatherhood since “Just the Two of Us.” Thing is, just like Will Smith’s hit of yesteryear, it is extremely effective. Or maybe it’s just that I have a one-year-old daughter too. Your mileage may vary.

Peg Tassey – Queen of Flowers

The title “Queen of Flowers” sounds like something from Hair – you know, flower-power – but Peg Tassey’s gritty new single is more like a ’60s pop song covered by a ’70s punk band at CBGB.

Phantom Suns – Cordyceps

“Riffy” is the first word of Phantom Suns’ Bandcamp bio, and it’s also the first thing you notice in “Cordyceps.” In the brief interlude when the guitars stop riffing during the intro, a bass riff pops up to take their place. Eventually vocals come in and the riffs subside, but they can’t be kept at bay for long.

Shrimp Mash – Riding on My Bike

Vermont-California duo Shrimp Mash write about their almost-self-titled debut album Shrimping & Mashing, “This album represents the body of the Knee-scraped 10 year old, who dreams of exploring the world.” That is, obviously, a metaphor, though a title like “Riding on My Bike” makes said knee-scraping almost literal. Layers of vocals and synths soar as high as the bluebird they sing about, bringing in touches of neo-soul and indie-pop.

Voronda – Dying Solar Winds

“Dying Solar Winds,” off Voronda aka Etienne Tel’uial of Falgar‘s ambient-synth EP The Pagan Summer, is both majestic and spooky. It moves slow – real slow – changing tones like a glacier melting. I was going to say the haunting wordless vocals brings a touch of humanity, but now I’m wondering if those vocals are just a synth that sounds like a person. If this is the sound of the robots taking over, I say bring it on.

Wool Drive – Soak It Up

Though Anders Magnus’ musical moniker starts with “wool,” I keep wanting to write “woozy.” That’s the feel of “Soak It Up,” an inviting slice of wistful bedroom pop. The haze and far-away sound doesn’t hide the fact that this is a killer song; for people who’ve been reading this blog since the early days, it reminds me of Violet Ultraviolet.

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

The post The Best New Songs of August-September appeared first on County Tracks.

Abby Sherman – I’ll Be There

Abby Sherman’s “I’ll Be There” is not a Jackson 5 cover, but the sentiment is much the same. It rocks a lot harder though, with some punchy swagger in the instrumentation and a killer guitar solo. The sound underpins Sherman’s bluesy belt in the Susan Tedeschi vein, which she really unleashes near the end. [Update: I must be prescient – a few days after I drafted this blurb, Susan actually sat in with Abby on this exact song!]

Adam Rabin – Maiden Voyage of the Acrolite

The slide guitar on “Maiden Voyage of the Acrolite” at first sounds like early Fleetwood Mac, but over the course of the two minutes the song morphs entirely, to a electro-prog-funk mash. It’s weird, but all those genres packed into such a small package works far better than you’d expect.

Bark Dog – American Spirit

“American Spirit” is named after, yes, the cigarette. The yearning in Bark Dog aka musician Blair Jasper’s voice recalls Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, double-tracked for twice the emotive power.

Beneath Black Waves – Rites and Passages

Brothers Nathan and Jesse Meunier deliver doomy Cure on their duo Beneath Black Waves’ self-titled debut EP. Nathan’s low voice adds a post-punk grandeur, theatrical and brooding with music to match.

Francesca Blanchard feat. Vermont Symphony Orchestra – Like a Hurricane

Blanchard’s “Like a Hurricane” (not a Neil cover) was my third favorite song of 2020, and it gets appropriately lush and reverent treatment in a new live video with musicians from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. If MTV Unplugged ever gets rebooted, this would fit right in.

Isabel Pless – Call My Own

Hell of a timely opening couplet: “I kinda hope the billionaires will stay in space / And I hope that I will finish my degree.” Every line of Pless’s new single is that good, so much so she needs nothing more than a simply strummed acoustic guitar to get her point across.

Lavenderlux – Itching

A remote collaboration between Vermont singer Amelia Wilcox and Washington musician Joseph Human, Lavenderlux arrives fully formed on their debut EP Nest Inertia. “Itching” touches on depression and boredom with phase-shifting guitars and Wilcox’s buttery vocals.

Portraits of Sawyer – Mullet Action

Ben Wiggins and Adam Henry Garcia of Portraits of Sawyer released two very different songs in advance of their album Whatever You May Say. The title track is a lighters-in-the-air piano ballad, while “Mullet Action” is a hearty ’80s-inflected rocker. Though the genre is experimental indie-rock, the combination of a big holler-along rock jam and a sensitive piano ballad feels very hair metal.

Reid Parsons – Here Comes My Baby

Reid Parsons can make a meal of even the simplest line. At one point, she sings the word “arm” with six or seven different notes, leaping across octaves like a rock skipping over water. But her vocal prowess isn’t show-offy. Though she could probably deliver some American Idol belting-to-the-rafters were she so inclined, she keeps things in service to the song.

Rivan C – Tom Hanks Freestyle

“Tom Hanks Freestyle” is not, to be clear, a freestyle by Tom Hanks (though if he ever wanted to, maybe his son could teach him how). It’s a freestyle about Tom Hanks – for the first two lines or so, at which point, like any good freestyle, it veers off into some surprising and inventive connections.

Rough Idyll – Jacks, Kings & Queens

Michael Metivier’s simple acoustic ballad is beautiful enough in its demo version he put on the flipside of his new single. But, on the main track, the offbeat production touches like a backwards-sounding guitar and an explosion of brushed drumming – bet you didn’t think brushed drums could explode – steer it into wonderful old-weird-America territory.

The Smittens – Year of Happiness

A pure little blast of pop balladry that barely tops a minute, “Year of Happiness” seems destined to serve as a quick concert intro number. After all, it ends with “Let’s start with a song / let’s start with a beat / Let’s start with a 1-2-3 / 3-2-1 / Let’s go.” From there they could segue right into their similarly-themed old song “Year of the Lake.”

The Young Love Scene – It All Leads Down From Here

The Young Love Scene’s debut single “Honey” landed on my aforementioned Best Songs of 2020, so the bar was high. “It All Leads Down” doesn’t disappoint, even as it gets decidedly more low-key than the ’90s shoegaze of its predecessor. Double-tracked vocals and downcast acoustic guitar set the scene for a surprise guitar-hero finish.

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

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

Bull’s Head – When He Speaks

No idea what the opening verse means, but I dig this creepy David Lynch energy: “When he speaks it’s all poetry / And he claims that his words are free / But under the table he’s / Got a gut and it’s full of bees”

Couchsleepers – Just a Minute

Indie-pop band Couchsleepers have been releasing songs from their upcoming EP Monsters for months now, and “Just a Minute” might be the best yet. High energy and catchy, the song works in blasts of Booker T organ and ’80s guitar-hero squalls around Harrison Hsiang’s buttery vocals.

The Faux Paws – The Road from Winchester

The rustic setting. The three beardy dudes. The guitar and fiddle. All signs point to your traditional old-time folk music combo. And the Faux Paws have deep roots there, to be sure. But there’s a twist: The third instrument is not the expected banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, etc. It’s a saxophone. It brings a surprising new sound into their otherwise very traditional music.

Francesca Blanchard – Free (Willverine remix)

A lot of remixes feel like movie sequels – it works better if you’ve seen the original. Willverine’s remix of Francesca Blanchard’s “Free” requires no such prep. This version stands on its own as a catchy electro-folk ballad that blends Blanchard’s ethereal vocals with electronic production touches that give the song a little extra juice without ever overwhelming it. Once you get into this, though, you’ll probably want to go back to compare it

Ivamae – Nope

Primary-colored rollerblading and a succession of wild wigs give Ivamae’s second music video promoting new album Tender Meat a throwback vibe, even if the fact that most roller-dancers are wearing masks sets it squarely in the present. Similarly, the music brings in touches of modern hip-hop production behind soaring vocals that sound like an old torch song.

Jack O’ the Clock – You Let Me Down

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 to “You Let Me Down,” but a whole host of other instruments make appearances, from violin to harp to sudden bursts of choir. It also features truly bonkers verses like this: “Death came up like a bubble in the night and it popped in my face / What a mess. No picnic! ‘ Do you want me to tell you how I cleaned it all up? / Well, I can’t! You missed it!”

Juni The Wiccan – Still Here

In the space of a couple lines, Juni The Wiccan compares himself to both Jimmy Neutron and a crouton. The joy-of-wordplay goofiness recalls Lil Wayne at his most delirious (still a classic: “real G’s move in silence like lasagna”).

Phil Henry and Nick Grandchamp – Les Paul

“Folk-punk” typically evokes the genre-smashing likes of Violent Femmes, but on “Les Paul,” the combination is literal, with a longtime folk signer (Phil Henry) pairing up with a punk vet (Nick Grandchamp). Sonically, the music leans more towards folk, but lyrically it brings in the punk experience, reminiscing about a lost black jean jacket covered with patches – not to mention the titular Les Paul itself, the guitar favored by punk legends like Johnny Thunders and Steve Jones.

R.O.D. – Usually

“I wrote this song to speak on the issue of generational wealth and to be a good influence for young people of color in manifesting it,” said rapper R.O.D. aka Real Ova Deceit, a Florida-to-Vermont transplant. His flow is extremely catchy and, if he spits too fast, the video helpfully comes with emoji-packed subtitles.

The Silent Mile – Better Days

The extremely catchy “Better Days” brings a healthy dose of Blink-182 pop-punk with surf-rock drums and a self-deprecating sneer. Some killer lines too, both funny and honest about struggling with depression, starting with the opener: “I’m fucking crazy, but not in a fun way.”

Western Terrestrials – Space Cowboy’s Got the Blues (Live)

No, this “Space Cowboy” isn’t a cover of Kacey Musgrave or Sly & The Family Stone. For a recent livestream from Rutland, Vermont’s A Sound Space, the UFO-obsessed honkytonk band twanged their way through one of the catchiest songs on Back in the Saddle of a Fever Dream, one of my favorite albums of 2020.

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

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

Babehoven – Bad Week

No, indie-pop duo Babehoven “Bad Week” isn’t a play on R.E.M.’s “Bad Day.” “Bad Week” is a moving electro-shoegaze dirge about fighting through depression. As singer Maya Bon sings, “It’s hard to talk about it being a bad week / When it’s been a bad week / For so many weeks now.” She elaborated:

This song is a hand reached inward to the swelling and amorphous cavities of grief. As time keeps moving forward, I have found that it can feel as if the ‘bad days’ keep going, growing into ‘bad weeks,’ ‘bad years,’ into new levels of struggle that are hard to move through. Though this realization can feel staggering, it can also feel like an honest admission to self: these times are very hard and yet I want to move forward, I want to feel, I want to grow. ‘Bad Week’ is my attempt to commit to myself in these feelings.

Barbacoa – Staten Eye

Veteran Vermont surf-rock band – yes, you read that right – Barbacoa returns with their first album since 2014. Surf-rock has not been in vogue since The Ventures (who were way bigger in their day than you might expect – 38 separate albums landed on the charts!), but Barbacoa keep the tradition alive with a healthy added dose of spaghetti-western grandeur

Ben Watson – 502

As the Bandcamp description puts it, “Some acoustic guitar I recorded in the past few months. I hope it makes you feel something.” It does! You have to be deeper in the American Primitive world than I to pinpoint the differences among the many John Fahey acolytes, but if you’re looking for some pleasant finger-picked instrumental music that never gets new-agey or boring, Ben Watson’s new EP is a good bet.

Couchsleepers – Creature Comforts

“LOUD-quiet-LOUD” was the Pixies’ mantra for the dynamics of their songs. “Creature Comforts” is more like quiet-quiet-quiet-quiet-LOUD-quiet. Harrison Hsiang holds his punches for when they’ll really count, this gentle ballad suddenly exploding in quick dramatic bursts before burbling back under again.

Eastern Mountain Time – A Little Bit of Rain

Big Dylan-in-the-’60s vibes on the beautifully melancholy “A Little Bit of Rain,” with some imagery that sounds like a “Visions of Johanna” outtake. For example: “June retires to the attic / pulls the moon into her chest / while Miss Q’s speech starts slurring / smoking all my cigarettes.” I assume from there Miss Q went off sniffing drainpipes and reciting the alphabet.

Guthrie Galileo – Ethylene

“It’s such a perfect day out my window,” Guthrie Galileo begins “Ethylene.” Sounds like a real positive song! Then the kicker: “But I wouldn’t know.” The emerging-from-quarantine hesitancy feels strong, even if it’s never explicitly stated. “I’m scared to death that I might suffocate if I leapt out of my fishbowl,” he sings. And after hearing the smooth R&B groove, it will not surprise you to learn that Guthrie Galileo moonlights as an Usher covers singer.

Lissa Schneckenburger – Bedlam Blues

Lissa Schneckenburger’s last single, “Labor On,” was a fiery environmental protest song. Her follow-up “Bedlam Blues,” keeps things far more personal, a pretty folk song that at times almost could pass for an old Child Ballad.

Omega Jade – MommiEbonics

It’s no coincidence that Omega Jade’s new EP Elevate dropped May 9. This year, May 9 was Mother’s Day. It’s a hip-hop, tribute to motherhood and all its the joys and struggles, never more so than on the witty and moving “MommiEbonics.” As the hook goes, “I love my kids, but they get on my nerves.”

Remi Russin – I’m Trying

“I’m Trying” only has a few lyrics, but, for a veteran of great post-rock instrumental band Plastique Mammals, a few lyrics feels like a lot! Remi Russin describes the song’s origins: “Somewhere in that middle ground between young adulthood and vanilla adulthood, you suddenly become cognizant of everything you’ve built for yourself, and the things you have to lose. At the same time, life’s still unstable and feels like it could fall off the rails with a single unforeseen event. It’s only a couple lines long, but when you’re feeling that weight, clawing out of the overwhelm for just a second to ask for help can be a feat in itself.”

Soule Monde – Strut

Soule Monde’s Ray Paczkowski & Russ Lawton play in Trey Anastacio’s solo band, but for the jam band-averse (present company included), don’t worry. Their instrumental drums-and-organ blend percussive jazz with Booker T. funk. Aimless noodling not included.

Trapper Keeper – Half Past Midnight (Motown R&B)

Trapper Keeper blends a lot of genres on their new album. This can be said for many bands, but most aren’t so explicit about it. Trapper Keeper literally includes the genre name in the song title. So you’ve got “In Front of You (Garage Punk)” followed by “Every Moment Matters (Dream Folk)” followed by “Paved with Good Intentions (Hip-Hop).” I like his Motown pastiche best.

Xander Naylor – Export For Screens

Xander claims everyone from soul giant Isaac Hayes to electronic duo Autechre as influences, and sure enough you can hear some of each on “Export For Screens,” with some freeform jazz energy mixed in too.

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

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

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

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).

Bow Thayer – Earthling

Bow Thayer moonlights in a Sun Ra tribute band, so no surprise he’s talking about Zen and Earthlings. Recordings under his own name don’t veer too near Sun Ra’s freaky jazz, but, in their own folk-rocking way, they are plenty cosmic.

Dave Richardson – Apology to Mouse (Recently Deceased)

A chipper folk song by a bearded dude about a mouse sounds a lot like Raffi. Except Raffi wouldn’t have killed the mouse. “Apology to Mouse (Recently Deceased)” is equal parts humorous and earnest, with verses like: “If I could talk and you could listen / I would have tried employing reason / But there’s just no getting through / I took no joy in ending you.”

Eric George – Blue Plate Special

Singer-songwriter Eric George’s jaunty “Blue Plate Special” probably isn’t a deliberate bid to get himself booked on the roots-music NPR show of the same name, but, if it is, it’s not a bad gambit! Then again, the BoDeans released a song called “Jay Leno” some years back and, try as the publicist might (ahem), it did not in fact get them booked on Jay Leno. The fact that the song was about a horrible murder probably didn’t help.

Fate – Sierra Leone

The “oh-whoa-whoa”s that underpin this track remind me of “Viva La Vida.” And there’s where the Coldplay comparisons end. Fate delivers a dark and claustrophobic electro-industrial production that sounds like it should soundtrack some paranoid-dystopia movie trailer.

Giovanina Bucci – Go Easy

Giovanina Bucci channels a slow southern-soul groove on “Go Easy.” Dusty in Memphis feels like an obvious sonic touchstone, and, as if hitting those marks wasn’t impressive enough, she’s a visual artist too, painting an impressive mural in the music video.

Glenn Weyant – first

The first of a couple of solo-guitar pieces in this month’s playlist. The second is quiet and meditative. This one, most decidedly, is not.

Hellish Form – Shadows With Teeth

Props to Hellish Form to committing to making everything about their album as metal as possible. I don’t mean the music itself – thought satan knows it certainly is – but everything from the metal band name (Hellish Form) to the metal album name (Remains) to the metal song titles (“Your Grave Becomes A Garden,” “Ache,” “Shadows With Teeth,” and “Another World”). Okay, they lost the thread a little with that last one, but the hooded-figure-in-graveyard artwork more than makes up for it.

Ivamae – The Reality of It All

Ivamae brings some powerful Sinéad O’Connor energy on her new single, from the spare and mesmerizing vocal to the occasional noisy eruptions all the religious imagery in the music video. Vermont music fans have been waiting on Ivamae’s debut album for years and this, the first single off it, sounds like it will be worth the wait.

Jesse Taylor Band – If You Want Me

Jesse Taylor’s last EP Ever-changing featured song titles like “Disaster,” “Come Down,” and “Blue, which tells you the general lyrical mood. One song bemoaned a failed long-distance relationship, another detailed a streetside confrontation with an ex’s new partner. Things are looking brighter on new single “If You Want Me,” on which she puts the ’90s rock sonics to the side for a sprightly acoustic number.

Kat Wright – Take Me With You

“Take Me With You” is about wanting to run away and join the circus. And not just any circus. Wright and her two compatriots are singing about the beloved hippie institution Bread and Puppet Theater, based in their home state of Vermont. So when you hear Wright suddenly harmonizing about “slick capitalism” and “slippery rhetoric,” the connection might make more sense.

Lowell Thompson – Blood Season

“How many fingers are you willing to give up?” singer-songwriter Lowell Thompson asks in his new single “Blood Season.” It’s a very Neil Young and the Stray Gators vibe (minus the honeyslides…I assume), country-rock with some real grit. Love the guitar-and-piano duet coda.

Ula Blue – Hang Up the Phone

This jazzy Lana Del Rey-esque piano ballad comes with a powerful story, via Ula’s Bandcamp:

I started ‘Hang Up The Phone’ on a flight from someplace I can’t remember to Ottawa, Ontario. I had just gotten off of the phone with my dad for the last time. He was unable to talk or move after complications with stage 4 stomach cancer, so my mom put the phone to his ear. In that moment, any words I could say felt meaningless and all I could tell him was to ‘hold on and be strong’ like so many times he had told me.

As I sat crying with my face pointed out of the window so as not to disturb the stone clad businessman sitting next to me, I pulled out my keyboard and looking out at the land and sea disappearing into transient shades of pink, purple, and blue, I recorded the piano part that you hear as the intro to this song.

It would take me over another year to finish it as I have poured so much of my grief into its expression. Now that it’s done, my grief will shapeshift and mold itself into my next project. I don’t want to rely on songwriting to allow me to feel, but I come to recognize that it is in so many ways a gift and not a burden. It is a way of showing the beauty in the most heartbreaking moments of life. It is my form of acceptance.

Zachary Melton – Northland

Do you still need something to come down from that distortion assault of the first solo guitar piece? Well here’s the second, and it is much more calming, drawing on the greats like John Fahey and Glenn Jones – not to mention a whole new crop of talented artists – as does his entire album of the same name.

Zesty – Tarantino Flick

“Tarantino Flick” brings some Outkast energy, especially when Zesty switches into an Andre 3000-esque affected drawl.

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

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

Aspetuck – Rescue Mission

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.

Black Fly – Kingdom

Strictly speaking, not much happens in the video for Black Fly’s new song “Kingdom.” But what there is is supremely eerie. Black Fly is Vermont-based musician and visual artist Joseph Rittling. He said, “This is the first in a series of visualizers that were partially inspired by the artwork of Simon Stålenhag and his depiction of a dystopian suburban Sweden. I too wanted to create scenes where rural landscapes, technology, and people were intertwined. A sort of sci-fi depiction of where I live. It also feels representative of the music, a clash of organic and technological textures.”

Boys Cruise – House of Horror

Boys Cruise are the sort of punk band that has synchronized dance moves. (Actually, is that even a type? Maybe they’re the first.) In the dirgy first thirty seconds of their new single, the “grunge Sisters of Mercy” vibe made me wonder if they’re moving in a different, more subdued, direction. Then everything explodes and they’re back to shouting their anguish very loud and very fast. I look forward to live shows returning so I can see the choreo.

Clever Girls – Come Clean

Clever Girls released five of the ten songs on Constellations in advance. You might think only the dregs remained. Not even close. Opener “Come Clean” is a righteous explosion, frontperson Diane Jean delivering a bravura near-a cappella vocal performance for most of its runtime. But when the band kicks in, they kick in hard. One day soon this is going to make one hell of a show-opener.

Clover Koval – Chasing My Own Tail

When I first wrote about singer-songwriter Clover Koval, I mentioned “lyrics that echo Courtney Barnett over music that sounds like a lo-fi Best Coast.” The lyrics are still clever, but the music on her new song “Chasing My Own Tail” sounds more like drum-machine dreampop than Best Coast. Apparently I’m not the first to notice her trying on different genres. The lyrics includes the verse: “i joked for how my next song / i would sound like miss parton wrote a doom metal album / cuz i can’t decide anything anymore.”

Couchsleepers – All the Best Intentions

“Wait, didn’t Couchsleepers release this song already?” I asked myself. No, but you can understand my confusion – they released the similarly-titled “All the Worst Things” a few months back, and this new song includes lyrics about “worst things.” It’s very confusing. Couchsleepers’ Harrison Hsiang talked me through it:

“Worst Things” and “Best Intentions” definitely form a thematic couplet – actually one set of three on the upcoming EP, along with “Monsters” & “Creature Comforts” and “Just a Minute” and “After All”. In some sense they’re sides of a coin. “Worst Things” is about the self-destructive impulse, of seeking more emotional punishment and misery even though you know you shouldn’t. “Best Intentions” takes the opposite approach; it’s the “I know I shouldn’t but I’m going to do it anyway” moment, wanting the best for yourself when you don’t deserve it – wanting the perfect girl when you’re petty and cruel, or wanting the perfect reputation when all you do is get drunk and lie around all day. As a whole the EP is an exploration of my worst qualities, taken to their extremes – self-pity, greed, envy, addiction, conciliation, dispassion. All of which, thankfully, have always remained balanced in my life, but I see their potential to spiral out of control and I wonder what I might be like if they did. I hope not to be that person, but there are also times I wish I could be more like that person as well.

Dave Richardson – Keep Trying

Last time I wrote about Dave Richardson, I said he seemed like a super positive person. At the time, he had released a song called “It’s Gonna Be OK.” Now he’s back with another upbeat anthem, “Keep Trying,” about being a shy person who’s doing his best. Both songs come off his upcoming Palms to Pines, which feels like it’s bound to be the feel-good album of the spring.

Glorious Leader – November Moon

Good news, Sufjan finally did a third state in the series: Vermont! Only he recorded it under the name Glorious Leader. And…okay, no, it’s not really Sufjan. Glorious Leader is really Kyle Woolard, who recorded a tribute to his home in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. In a very cool touch, it comes with an entire hardbound book done up to look like an old Hardy Boys mystery, with the backstory plus tabs for oddly-tuned guitar, banjo, and ukulele.

Isabel Pless – Burn Out

Isabel Pless has a sense of humor. Her album title is Too Big for the Playground, Too Small for the Big Leagues. Her Bandcamp bio is “Former gifted kid, current broke college student.” And every lyric in “Burn Out” embodies that same energy. Here’s the chorus: “And I smoke out the window / When my parents are home / Leave a light on at night / If I’m sleeping alone / And my mailbox is full / But no one calls my phone / Anyway.”

Jade Relics – Start Over

New hip-hop banger “Start Over” sounds vaguely like an old Kanye production, with a dusty old soul sample flipped to form the hook and new rap verses added over top. Turns out, though, that old-soul chorus is new too, sung by Elder Orange aka. Matt Scott while rapper IAME aka. Ryan McMahon handles the verses. Producer Rico James rounds out the trio of local hip-hop favorites around their native Vermont.

Jake Ratelle – Take

Performed solo on an extremely effected-out electric guitar, “Take” brings a host of emo-esque emotion in a quieter package. Well, quieter until the songs throat-shredding conclusion. It’s Julien Baker meets Jimmy Eat World.

Liz Simmons – When the Waters Rise

Liz Simmons had logged time singing backup for Melanie. Yes, that Melanie, of Woodstock and “Brand New Key” fame. You can hear some overlap in her own new album Poets. Simmons stays more in the singer-songwriter Americana lane than Melanie’s ’60s pop, but she knows her way around a hook, and has a hell of a voice to deliver it.

Marcie Hernandez – Light a Torch (Urian Hernandez remix)

I first posted Marcie Hernandez’s bilingual ballad “Light a Torch” back in July 2019, and it formed the grand finale of her recent album Amanecer. Now it’s back again, in the form of a new dub remix from Urian Hackney. The fact that Urian Hackney is a drummer (for punk vets Rough Francis) will not surprise you, as the song gets a second (third?) life as a percussion-forward thump. From now on, I’m not considering any song’s journey complete until it gets a Urian Hackney dub remix.

Ruth Garbus – We’ll See Eachother Soon

Love the stage direction that opens the written lyrics of “We’ll See Eachother Soon.” It reads: “[to be sung in a British accent].” Sure enough, she does. As you’d imagine, this is not exactly a conventional composition. She said this and one other song were meant for an album to be recorded in March of 2020, but…you know. She held them back in hopes of “some imagined perfect release,” and came to regret it. “By holding back when the songs were fresh I maybe missed the opportunity to provide some solace during a really rough time,” she wrote. “Now that the vaccines are rolling out, I hope it’s not too late, and that these songs will still serve a purpose in this world!” I’d argue a song called “We’ll See Eachother Soon” actually hits better now, with a new note of optimism.

Ryan Montbleau – Ankles

The tasteful folk-rock opening doesn’t exactly scream “comedy song,” but then the first line comes in: “I am thankful for my ankles.” It continues like that for a bit before impressively pivoting back to not-a-comedy-song territory, as Montbleau delivers a sincere and heartfelt ode to music itself. Then, bam, we’ve boomeranged back to Montbleau talking about his pancreas. These is-it-a-joke-or-not transitions sound jarring on paper, but somehow when he sings it all makes sense.

Saints & Liars – Middle Sister

The song may have “Sister” in the title, but it reminds me of some bands called “Brothers.” – I’m talking about the Avett, Wood, Barr, and Felice variety. Maybe even a touch of Flying Burrito. Definitely not Isley though. Or Chemical.

Trackstar – This Old Life

Hello Easy is the title of Trackstar’s new ep, and “easy” is the perfect word. A little easy-listening, a little soft-rock, all filtered through a supremely chill delivery. Recordings likes that sometimes fall into the trap of being all vibe with no actual song behind them, but Trackstar buttressed all the relaxation with some solid hooks.

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

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