Acid Sentence
“Death Breath”
“Crack a tall boy, and get ready to bang your head” — so proclaims the mission statement of Denver party-thrashers Acid Sentence.
A maniacal vision of Mile High musician Jorge “Moose” Lopez, the crossover project dropped a new rager, “Death Breath,” independently on June 19. The single mixes the best of both D-beat hardcore and thrash metal, which is exactly what catchy crossover is supposed to do. So…Chug! Chug! Chug!
Anthony Ruptak
Tourist
Denver singer-songwriter Anthony Ruptak took to the wilderness to process the suffering he experienced in his first years as a city paramedic. With his wife and dog by his side, he wrote what eventually became his latest album, Tourist, which was released independently on June 28.
“This album grapples with homelessness, addiction and recovery, poverty, loss and grieving, suicide and mental illness, and the paralytic spectatorship of a burning world beyond our saving,” he shares.
Big Gigantic
Fluorescence
Veteran Boulder EDM Big Gigantic is bringing all the vibes on new album, Fluorescence, released independently of June 20. Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken teamed up with a host of collaborators across the twelve new tracks, including DENM and Ganja White Night on “Journey.” Songs “Sweetest Sacrifice,” featuring Parson James and Bryn Christopher, and “Highway” with ProbCause bring the beats, too. In all, Fluorescence is the perfect spin for a pool party this summer.
Cheap Perfume
“Woke Mind Virus”
Cheap Perfume already knows it’s okay to punch Nazis, but the Colorado Springs femme-core punk quartet diagnosed another alt-right degenerative ailment with new single “Woke Mind Virus,” released independently on June 13.
Vocalist Stephanie Byrne, vocalist-guitarist Jane No, bassist Geoff Brent and drummer David "Hott Dave" Grimm don’t hold back on the riot grrrl doo-wop ditty, while throwing shade at the current oppressive governmental oligarchy.
Chris Ramey
Children's Songs for Adults Only
Boulder banjo picker Chris Ramey sings about getting stoned and popping sex pills in his tongue-in-cheek new record, Children’s Songs for Adults Only, released independently on June 2. The dirty dozen sees Ramey bounce between blunts (“Do You Like My Cologne?”) and brashness “The Porta-Potty Peeper”) with an old-timey twang and charm that keeps it all lighthearted and snappy.
CITRA
“Long Way Around”
Denver indie-rockers CITRA cut to the chase on new single “Long Way Around,” which released independently on June 28. The jangly jaunt deals with “chaos of denial, while capturing the restless chaos of dodging reality,” according to the band.
But singer-guitarist Brandon Arndt, guitarist Augie Menos, bassist Devin Hougardy, drummer Dan Naddy and keys player Rem Jaques spice it up and make it sound so damn catchy, it’s hard to feel bad after listening to it.
Disgustingest
Purging Suppuration
If you like pig squeals (raises hand), then check out Disgustingest’s debut EP, Purging Suppuration, released independently on June 10. The latest project from prolific Denver underground musician Kendrick Lemke is ten minutes of pure putrid death metal. The brutal slam of the four tracks is relentless. Closer “Elegy of Human Endurance” is the grossest, so you might need a shower after hearing this one.
Draghoria
Eternal Sleep
NoCo thrash titans Draghoria is back with a new EP, Eternal Sleep, released independently on June 27. The Greeley group teased the latest six-pack with the previously released title track and single “What You Get” earlier this month.
It’s clear vocalist Benjamin Riggs, bassist John Colucco, drummer Alex Carrillo, and guitarists Ron Carrillo and Ryan Nevins are at the top of their game on Eternal Sleep, which is a shred fest straight to the forehead.
feverishh
“camouflage”
There is something so soothing about slowcore, and feverishh seems to have figured out how to make it hit just right. The Fort Collins crew put out its debut single, “camouflage,” on June 13, and if it’s any indication of the ensuing proper premiere, then you’re going to want to check it out.
Maddy Erskine’s vocals are soft but loud, or “sad and slightly strange,” as the band puts it. She also plays French horn and synth on the song, while guitarist Zachary Visconti, bassist Ray Piburn-Burbach and drummer Mason Rogers fill out the satisfyingly plodding soundscape.
Flesh Tape
Gravesite
The Fort Collins alt-rock scene is crazy fertile, with more and more bands coming up seemingly overnight (see the previous feverishh blurb). Flesh Tape is another band that landed on our radar recently, after the quartet of guitarist-vocalist Larson Ross, guitarist Walker Urban, bassist Anders Dahl, and drummer Lauren Beecher shared a new EP, Gravesite, on June 17 via Denver independent label Power Goth Recordings.
The hat trick of a tracklist is nostalgia-inducing, given its distorted filter of indie shoegaze and dreamy radio rock that first bubbled into the mainstream during the 1990s.
“Ripoff” pummels and plumes, while “Band Time” builds on the opener’s energy. Closer “False Desire” brings it home in all its guitar glory and reverb bravado. And we’re here for it.
Gasoline Lollipops
Kill The Architect
Boulder cowpunk crew Gasoline Lollipops marches to the beat of its own drum. That much is clear over the past twenty-plus years, so it’s no surprise that the new album — Kill The Architect, released June 13 via ALP Recordings — covers everything from classic country to roiling indie.
Vocalist-guitarist Rose, guitarist Don Ambory, keys player Scott Coulter, bassist Brad Morse and drummer Kevin Matthews are all amped up on a song such as “Elvis.” But they can cool down with a C&W ballad like “Horse or the Cart,” featuring Fruition’s Mimi Naja. Always expect the unexpected when it comes to Gas Pops.
Glass Human
The Hive
Glass Human gets all up in the feels on latest EP, The Hive, released independently on June 6.
The Denver art-rock quartet puts out the space jams on “Tongue Tied,” while jazzing it up on “The Door” and the title track. “The Garden” is an epic closer, similar to a sci-fi film score.
Vocalist-keys player Emily Shreve, guitarist Dave Sandoval, bassist Lehi Petersen and drummer Dr. J certainly possess some type of emotive alchemy.
In the Company of Serpents
“Endless Well” and “A Patchwork Art”
Denver mainstays In the Company of Serpents uncoiled two new singles this month — “Endless Well” and “A Patchwork Art” — in anticipation of its latest album, A Crack in Everything, set to be released independently on July 11.
The stoner-sludge trio of vocalist-guitarist Grant Netzorg, bassist Ben Pitts (also of local death-prog band NightWraith) and drummer Andy Thomas flexes it sonic range with the sneak peeks. “Endless Well” is a more straight-forward doom-dozer, while “A Patchwork Art” leans in an alt-Americana direction reminiscent of the Denver Sound before morphing into a full-blown slab of sludge.
look at fiona.
“i hope you know”
Merry music-makers look at fiona. swoon on new single, “I hope you know,” released independently on June 28.
The Denver LGBTQ+ project of singer-songwriters Kennady Macdonald and Jeremy Kramer, with the talents of multi-instrumentalists Gabby Trownsell and Charlie Laxague, skip along cheerfully on the latest acoustic dream-pop hymn, making it a refreshing follow-up to the band’s self-titled debut EP earlier this year.
Papa J. Ruiz
“Guadalupe”
Denver hip-hop artists Papa J. Ruiz shows his mom some love on new single, “Guadalupe,” released independently on June 6. A collab with Swiss music producer Flee On The Pads, the soul-stirring song is a heartfelt tribute to what Ruiz considers his “grounding force through life’s trials.”
“Guadalupe is my mom, and I’m God in the sense that I have to hold my world together — protect my peace, stand for something, and never let go of my faith,” Ruiz explains. “Everybody can relate to that, especially if you came up without a map.”
Sour Magic
The Hive
Sour Magic put out one of the most unique concept albums you’re going to hear this year in The Hive (yes, there are two records titled The Hive this month), released independently on June 13.
Drummer Jay Waldrop, guitarist-vocalist Eliseo Salinas, guitarist Mauro Hernandez and bassist Drew Morse took the idea of a bee colony and its inner workings to come up with seven songs that at times parallel current societal ills and norms. And the Denver quartet did so with some funky psych-surf.
“Chocolate & Shrooms,” complete with music video featuring May Be Fern vocalist-bassist Kate Fern, is a standout, while “Trash Wave” is full-throated synth-rock that’ll leave listeners buzzing.
Weir
Sol
Denver electro-producer Weir dispels some chill vibes on his latst EP, Sol, released independently on June 3. The trio of tracks is propulsive yet serene, creating a laidback ear experience. Opener “Golden Hour” features Cassie Wilson and Tanner Fruit, both of whom Weir teamed up with for his 2021 cover of Rufus du Sol song “Innerbloom,” while “Pacifica” and “Todos” are equally vibey and hypnotic.
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