Gungor

Based on the layered arena-rock peak of the title track of Gungor’s I Am Mountain, which opens the album, you’d think this was a radio-friendly pop effort. And while there certainly are some vibrant pop melodies to be found, the overall aesthetic is far more cinematic in scope. The arrangements…

Finnders & Youngberg

The genre-blurring work of Fort Collins quintet Finnders & Youngberg is so seamless on the band’s newest release, I Don’t Want Love You Won’t Give Until I Cry, that it’s easy to overlook the album’s impressive diversity of sound and structures. With Rich Zimmerman’s speedy mandolin and Aaron Youngberg’s equally…

Escape Goats

There’s lots of variety to be found on On the Lam, the latest album from Fort Collins’s Escape Goats. The bluesy roots of opener “I’ll See You Again” recall the music of the Band — frontman Joe Schicke’s vocals are similar to Levon Helm’s — while the trio locks into…

Genessier

On Genessier’s new album, Graces the Bone, a wash of noise and a dark, abstract melody in the music rush side by side and are often punctuated by menacing electronic beats. “Emlyn,” the album’s opening track, resembles late-’80s EBM with its panning low end, samples and distorted vocals. Think Twitch-period…

See Murder by Death at the Stanley Hotel!

Holy shit! Brace yourself, as this might just be one of the coolest show announcements we’ve ever heard. Ever. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them, Murder by Death is playing a show at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (yes,…

Fiona Apple at Boettcher Concert Hall, 10/11/13

FIONA APPLE @ BOETTCHER CONCERT HALL | 10/11/13 With no opening act, Fiona Apple came on stage stomping as part of the percussion. It was like she wasn’t even thinking about playing in front of a big crowd. And indeed, joined by Blake Mills, drummer Barbara Gruska and upright bassist…

The best concerts to see in Denver this week

MON | JUNIP at SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 10/14/13 Formed in 1998, Junip fuses an acoustic folk sensibility with a meditative psychedelia driven by synthesizers. Before the Swedish outfit took off, guitarist and singer José González had a bit of a successful solo career with songs that were used in…

The best concerts to see in Denver this weekend

FRI | GARY CLARK JR at OGDEN THEATRE | 10/11/13 Austin-bred guitar prodigy Gary Clark Jr. is focused on reconnecting the blues with its roots. The electric bluesman not only cites Jimi Hendrix as an influence, but with his slender frame, long fingers and soaring bellow, he might remind folks…

The best EDM in Denver this weekend

JAMES HOLDEN @ NORAD | SAT, 10/11/13 James Holden has been a household name in tech house since 1999, when he released “Horizons” at the tender age of nineteen. Since then, he’s gained recognition worldwide by launching the esteemed Border Community label in 2003 and using that platform to release…

Jonas Brothers Denver show canceled

Heartbreaking news for fans of the kiddie pop (or more like parents of those fans): The Jonas Brothers have canceled their tour. (Cue: chorus of deflated sighs.) According to the official release, the band, originally due at Bellco Theatre on Friday, November 1, as part of its nineteen-city tour, is…

The Inactivists’ twisted humor shines on their latest release

This band with costumes would be GWAR,” says Victoria Lundy, who plays theremin for the Inactivists, offering one of the most astute assessments that’s been uttered yet regarding Denver’s strangest and most eclectic underground rock band. For a decade now, the Inactivists have amused, confounded, offended and even inspired other…

Katey Laurel

Katey Laurel has arrived. While she’s always shown potential, on Periscope, she really lives up to that promise. Her voice was amiable enough before, but her material just wasn’t that memorable. Here, though, she shows tremendous growth, singing with greater confidence, which adds heft to the overall affectiveness of her…

Lucida Tela

With a moniker that means “lucid canvas” in Spanish, the Littleton-based Lucida Tela draws from a varied palette on this self-titled effort. Prog-rock remnants of the band Tryst — some of whose members are now in Lucida Tela — can be heard on cuts like “Temperal Illusion” and the odd-metered…

Ashen Embers

Ashen Embers’ self-titled debut has the meditative feel of a Rocky Mountain sunset. Chalk it up to the slow tempos, the haunting rounds of slide guitar or the bluesy lyrical plaints — whatever the source, the record offers a strong sense of high altitudes, late-night campfires and small-town calm. That’s…

Crash

Essentially Crash’s swan song, Live — recorded at Herman’s Hideaway on St. Patrick’s Day 2013 — captures the raw, crunchy power of the band better than any studio album ever could. And that undoubtedly has to do with the fact that Crash was always best when allowed to follow its…

Guitar Wolf at Marquis Theater, 10/6/13

GUITAR WOLF @ MARQUIS THEATER | 10/06/13 After Bass Wolf more or less stumbled into place and Drum Wolf sat down behind the kit, Guitar Wolf himself strode on stage and smashed down any unnecessary walls between punk, garage rock, noise rock, R&B, the blues, soul and rockabilly song after…