Best Potential A24 Soundtrack 2024 | IncorporealSpiritual Poison | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best Potential A24 Soundtrack

Incorporeal
Spiritual Poison

Ethan Lee McCarthy is no stranger to conjuring terrifying sounds. In fact, the longtime local musician and producer takes pride in delivering scathing reverberations. But somehow, McCarthy's latest album, Incorporeal, from his solo project Spiritual Poison, is the scariest, most disturbing music he's ever pulled from the recesses of his morbid mind. When the first single, "Place of Peace," came out, he said he "wanted it to sound like a long journey through an otherworldly doorway." Yeah, a doorway to horrors previously unknown to mankind. Then there's "Summon," which just might awaken a long-dead deity buried 20,000 leagues under the sea. If Robert Eggers needs a composer for his next period-correct film about a Victorian-era insane asylum, Spiritual Poison would be perfect.

spiritualpoison.bandcamp.com

Best Post-Breakup Music

Cherished

Cherished, formerly known as Lowfaith, has been around for nearly a decade, but hadn't been very active in recent years — until the group released a new four-song EP, other bodies, at the beginning of the year and reinvented itself. With Cloe Madonna (also of local hardcore band Destiny Bond) on vocals, Cherished oozes pensive indie pop. "Weekend Girlfriend" is a heartbreaking ballad about unrequited love, while "Petals" ponders a similar sentiment. Elsewhere, "Slaughterhouse, Where I Laid" and "False Chorus" come to grips with that feeling of being strung along for too long. There's something melancholic yet comforting about Cherished's music. It's the soundtrack to a breakup, but it feels more like an empathetic friend who's going through their own heartache yet is still there for you.

cherishedsound.bandcamp.com

Best Moody Band

Creek

Not too long ago, emo bands were known for being whiny and melodramatic. But that woe-is-me stereotype is tired and gone, thanks to groups like Creek. The four-piece marries emo and shoegaze to make moody "emogaze" that hits like a Charles Bukowski poem about life's inherent banality. Creek recently announced it had finished working on its third EP at Lakewood's Swadley Studios, which is owned and operated by the group's guitarist and vocalist, Jared Barnes. But until that doom-and-gloom opus is released, a trio of singles — "Moving On," "Forgetting" and "Past Lives" — should be more than enough to hold you over, if not send you into a downright spiral about all your mistakes and misgivings, you sad sap.

creekco.bandcamp.com

Best Reminder of Your Angsty Teen Years

Hellocentral

Hellocentral's music can't help but make you feel like you're on the bus to school, in all black, with headphones over your ears. The indie band's lyrics are the perfect mix of rage and angst that take you right back to being sixteen and smoking cigarettes behind your high school. If you were an avid listener of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "American Idiot" back in the day, you'll be a fan of Hellocentral. This is your cue to grab a ticket to one of the band's next shows, and don't forget your black eyeliner and beanie.

hellocentral.live

Best "Stadium Emo" Band

Broken Record

Broken Record vocalist/guitarist Lauren Beecher told us that back when the band got started in 2017, its sound was "between genres." But it's safe to say that she and members Corey Fruin (bass), Nick Danes (drums) and Matt Dunne (guitar) have found their rhythm in the emotive, powerful "stadium emo" that's showcased on the band's August 2023 record, Nothing Moves Me. The ten tracks were recorded in Beecher and Fruin's basement studio, but the sound begs to be blasted in a stadium — and Broken Record achieved that when its song "See It Through" was played at an Avalanche game last December.

brokenrecordisaband.com

Best Band Deserving of a Hot Topic Deal

Bury Mia 

Bury Mia proves that pop-punk wasn't just a phase, Mom. Justin O'Neal (guitar/vocals), Devin Martinez (bass/vocals), Stevan Alt (guitar) and Marcus Allen-Hille (drums) have stayed true to their roots since 2015 and are now finally reaping the benefits of keeping the energetic genre alive. Since dropping the album Somewhere Between Where We Are and Where We've Been in 2022, the Bury Mia boys have been busy sharing several singles, including the most recent, the Zoolander-inspired "What Is This? (A Song for Ants)." In a parallel universe in which Hot Topic still featured the Gates of Hell entrance, Bury Mia merch would be proudly displayed on the T-shirt wall alongside that of Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World.

burymia.com

Best Band That Should Play Sturgis

Pink Fuzz

Grip it and rip it. Full throttle. Boneshaker. These are all biker terms that also describe the rowdy rock and roll of power trio Pink Fuzz. Brother-and-sister duo John and Lulu Demitro, along with drummer Forrest Raup, embrace the free-spirited ethos perfectly, particularly on their 2018 debut album, Speed Demon. Pink Fuzz released the single "Decline" at the beginning of the year, and yep, it kicks ass. Even if you've never experienced life on two wheels, Lulu's psychedelic vocals and John's crunchy guitar work will have you feeling as cool as Peter Fonda on Captain America. After a brief tour run to kick off 2024, don't be surprised if Pink Fuzz lands a gig at the Full Throttle Saloon during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this summer.

pinkfuzz.bandcamp.com

Best Country Band

CW & Twenty Hands High

Pure Colorado country is found in CW & Twenty Hands High; the band even won Entertainer of the Year from the state's Country Music Hall of Fame last year. And it's all thanks to legendary local musician Hazel Miller, who encouraged Chad Wooten to start the band after hearing him sing at a karaoke night in 2016. Within seven months, Wooten had formed Twenty Hands High, which has gone on to win fans with its nostalgia-inducing country tunes and covers of songs by such artists as the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Grab your cowboy boots and two-step your way to a CW show!

twentyhandshigh.com

Best Alt-Country EP

40 Grit
Bison Bone

Country music meets folky Americana with a twist of grit in Courtney Whitehead's project, Bison Bone. On the outfit's new EP, 40 Grit, Whitehead (vocals/guitar), Tony Piscotti (bass), Adam Blake (drums) and Eric Tate (guitar) apply country's classic twangs to melodic vocals and rhythmic guitar over earnest lyrics on such songs as opening track "Blue Collar Hard." Each song paints a clear picture with sentimentality and romanticism, making it the perfect Sunday-morning album to soothe the blues. Bison Bone will open for Buffalo Nichols at Levitt Pavilion on June 13.

bisonbone.com

Best Neo-Soul Vocalist

Coy Lim of Jade Oracle

The musical stylings of neo-soul band Jade Oracle always captivate its audience, thanks in part to the dulcet voice of lead singer Coy Lim. Lim is a classically trained vocalist, pianist and composer who studied with several notable musicians at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Although her résumé is impressive, her voice speaks for itself — literally. She possesses an impressive range that exceeds four octaves, and her sweet, clear vocals add a mystical touch of siren song to Jade Oracle's bewitching, jazzy soundscape. Lim's debut EP, Mirror, Mirror, dropped on Spotify in August 2022.

jadeoraclemusic.com

Best Of Denver®

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation