Our Favorite New Music From Colorado Artists This Month

Denver musicians provided a sonic shower of new releases in April, including a few debuts, a couple live albums and a poignant farewell from one of the city's most beloved acts. So without further ado, here are the best releases from Colorado artists this month (no need to grab an umbrella):

Barbara
SO THIS IS LIVING
Denver indie trio Barbara is back with its sophomore album, SO THIS IS LIVING, released independently on April 4. The follow-up to its 2022 debut, Escape Artist, the record’s nine new tracks see vocalist-guitarist Camilla Vaitaitis, drummer Anna Panella, and bassist Bridget Hartman further cement their unique indie sound, which includes slowcore, Brazilian bossa-nova, and shoegaze. Check out “My Birthday Party” and “Dark Water Disco” to get the vibe.

Cipriano Ortega
Lo Lo House
Denver musician Cipriano Ortega spent a three-month residency in Breckenridge writing his debut record, Lo Lo House, which was released independently on April 4 under his Dark Room Productions banner.

A Breck Create program, the summer stay in posh digs allowed the queer Indigenous artist to explore themes of isolation and identity through amped-up alt-Americana. The eleven tracks, particularly “Curb My Appetite” and “Summertime Blues,” are equal parts moody and melodic, making for a heavy-hitting first impression.

Covenhoven
The Color of the Dark
Joel Van Horne knows how to write soothing-yet-heart-wrenching folk songs. The Denver artist known as Covenhoven is back in the spotlight with his latest “masterpiece,” The Color of the Dark, released independently on April 11.

Covenhoven showcases his knack for weaving tales about everything from the beauty of the mundane to that overall sense of existentialism pretty much everyone can relate to nowadays on the ten latest tunes. “Only Time Can Tell,” “The Rhyme Is Not The Meaning” and “Brighter Days” stand out, but the whole record is a must-listen.

Cryptic Witch
Eons of Chaos
To celebrate 4/20 this month, local stoner-doom trio Cryptic Witch released Eons of Chaos independently on April 22. The second installment in what the band plans to be a trilogy of albums, the sophomore release hits like a distorted bong rip, as guitarist-vocalist Tommy Murello, bassist Patrick Young, ;and drummer Conor Amanatullah lead listeners through eight tracks of Lovecraftian dread via sludged-up doom.

“…It Comes from Below” is the longest tome at nearly nine minutes, but the shorter “Eons of Chaos/Starkiller” blazes along just as hard.

Dead Pioneers
Po$t American
If you’re not familiar with Colorado Indigenous punk crew Dead Pioneers, it’s time to change that. The thought-provoking quintet of vocalist Gregg Deal, drummer Shane Zweygardt, bassist Lee Tesche, and guitarists Josh Rivera and Abe Brennan put out its second album, Po$t American, on April 11 via Hassle Records, and its fifteen tracks serve as a call to arms.

Such songs as the title track, “My Spirit Animal Ate Your Spirit Animal” and “Working Class Warfare” take aim at the country’s decaying, backward politics, courtesy of Deal’s searing spoken-word delivery.

Float Like a Buffalo
Float Like a Buffalo Live with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra
Denver funk-rockers Float Like a Buffalo often mix it up live, so when the six-piece teamed up with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Theatre in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a special show on June 7, it decided to capture the magic.

Float Like a Buffalo Live with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, released independently on April 18, is the band’s first-ever live album and a medley of setlist staples.

“Our Colorado fans have seen us do it all, but nothing like this,” lead vocalist and guitarist Cory Pearman says of the dozen selections. “These aren’t the songs we play every night and hearing them come alive with an orchestra took them somewhere brand new.”

Jeff Cramer
Live at the Bluebird
Speaking of live releases, Denver singer-songwriter Jeff Cramer shared his own in the form of Live at the Bluebird, released independently on April 18.

Featuring nine songs from the hometown show, the album captures the warmth and grit of Cramer and his band of local vets — guitarist Dave Devine, bassist Emma Rose and drummer Tyler Lindgren —  during a set highlighting his latest full-length, Forever Morning (2024).

Melodious Gaeng
Satyr’s Sun
Brothers Harrison and Liam Gaeng are best known as members of Denver bluegrass troupe the Deer Creek Sharp Shooters, but the two recently introduced jam side project, Melodious Gaeng, with debut EP Satyr’s Sun, released independently on April 5.

The four-song inauguration is a mix of jazzy instrumentals (“Beedoodoo” and “Leeway”) and upbeat yacht rock (“Dorian Gray” and “Licking My Wounds”). There’s more to come from studio-focused endeavor, too, in the form of second EP, Melodious Twang (release date TBD), so stay tuned.

Mountain Climer
“Not Friends Anymore”
Colorado singer-songwriter Jeremy Climer knows how it feels to lose a friend. That’s why he wrote “Not Friends Anymore,” released via his independent label Four Lane Road Media on April 18.

The artist who performs under the moniker Mountain Climer is prepping to share new album Before You Turn Out the Lights later this year, but the single is the first taste of his current indie-Americana sound.

Percipient
Apparitions
No Denver band captures the dread of walking through a cemetery at midnight better than Percipient. The death-doom five-piece has been around in some form or another since 2020, but just released its debut album, Apparitions, on April 5 via drummer Ivan Alcala’s Cadaver Audio Recordings.

The six songs, particularly “Marionette” and “And The Stars Fell,” are “rooted in the paranormal and unexplained,” Alcala explains, and heavy enough to wake the dead. But that’s how he, vocalist James Cummings, bassist Creg Matthews, and guitarists Rich Delk and Aaron Martinez like it. And we do, too.

Tennis
Face Down In the Garden
Denver dream-pop mainstay Tennis is calling it quits. But thankfully, the husband-and-wife duo of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moor put out one last album, Face Down In the Garden, released on April 25 through the couple’s Mutually Detrimental label.

Knowing Tennis isn’t coming back after this makes the nine songs even more bittersweet, but tracks such as “12 Blown Tires” and “At The Apartment” offer those signature sounds that fans fell in love with one last time.

The Barlow
High Spirits
The Barlow likes its Red Dirt country, but the Arvada quartet “tossed out the rule book,” according to vocalist-guitarist Shea Boynton, for its new record, High Spirits, which was released independently on April 25.

“Our goal was to create great songs, regardless of genre,” he adds. “This time around, we made a point to be more open to different sounds and approaches.”

Boynton, drummer Ben Richter, bassist Jason Berner and guitarist Brad Johnson do just that on the ten latest tracks, which include a little honky-tonk (“High Spirits”), outlaw country (“It Ain’t Mine”) and rock (“Standing Next to Me”).

White Rose Motor Oil
“Hit in the Face!”
Cowpunk couple Eryn DeSomer and Keith Hoerig-DeSomer, the duo behind Denver’s White Rose Motor Oil, keep it simple on new single, “Hit in the Face!” — released independently on April 19.

“Using art to process anger is important, and there’s lots to be angry about right now,” the two share. So that’s why they wrote a “fight song full of fightin’ words,” a catchy middle-finger to the patriarchy.

“While listening, we recommend punching the air, punching a pillow, punching a punching bag, but please, don’t actually hit anyone in the face,” they add.

White Oak Doors
“Summer’s End” and “Thought Eater”
White Oak Doors popped up late last year with a pair of singles, but the Denver melodic hardcore outfit isn’t wasting time showing what it’s all about.

This month, the band released two more songs — “Summer’s End” and “Thought Eater” — independently on April 18. The first is more of an emo metalcore slow burn, while “Thought Eater” goes straight for the throat and refuses to loosen its grip.

While much isn’t publicly known about the group (the lineup is listed as Christian, Hunter, Jane, Louise/Elliot and Richie online), expect to hear more about White Oaks Doors this year.

Want your music to be included in our monthly roundup? Email it to [email protected].