Put It on Your Playlist: New Music Released in Denver and Beyond

While the pandemic has definitely been a drag, live music has come back to Denver, the Front Range and beyond, so go catch a show if you can or feel so inclined. But if you are an agoraphobe, a misanthrope or just too damn tired this week, there’s plenty of great Colorado music that you can enjoy on the stereo, iPhone, laptop or what have you. Take in these jewels from the comfort of your own home and financially support the artists if you're able. Pants are optional.

This week, Joel Ansett delivers a nugget of pensive — and we mean pensive — indie folk with “Layers.” AwareNess, from Denver hip-hop duo Calm., remixes Angelo Moore and the Brand New Step with a verse from Del the Funky Homosapien. Never Kenezzard is releasing a 7-inch of its post-hardcore psychedelic metal that you really need to hear, while Denver post-punk duo Plague Garden releases its third album of future dark-wave classics, and Jukebox Hardknocks drops six gems of Colorado honky-tonk.

Unless otherwise noted, all the music is available on major streaming platforms.

Joel Ansett
“Layers”
The sound of Joel Ansett’s fingers sliding across the opening chords of “Layers,” his latest single, sends a shiver up the spine. The sparse, whispery production brings to mind Elliott Smith’s sparse, whispery self-titled 1995 album. And it stays that way throughout, as Ansett delivers a pensive piece of indie-folk music. Ansett’s vocals are soft but richly layered, which makes them almost an apparition haunting the minimalist instrumental. Lyrically, he’s singing about the difficulty of connecting with other people. That’s apparent when he asks, “Why all the games / When it’s already hard just to know who we are?’”



AwareNess
“Rebellion”
Along with rapper Chris “Time” Steele, AwareNess makes up Denver hip-hop duo Calm. He’s set out on his own  to remix “Rebellion” by Angelo Moore and the Brand New Step, shifting the electric funk of the original into a somber track that flirts with a dancehall reggae-style rhythm. Moore is a legend as the saxophonist and frontman of ska/funk/soul overlords Fishbone. Both the original and the remix include a verse from hip-hop legend Del the Funky Homosapien, perhaps best known for his turn as Deltron Zero in the alternative hip-hop trio Deltron 3030 with Dan the Automator and Kid Koala. True fans of the genre have argued with at least one jerk who swears that Del the Funky Homosapien and Deltron Zero are two different people. The single is available on all streaming platforms, but slide over to the quirky Austin label eMERGENCY heARTS and see what else it has to offer.

Never Kenezzard
“Ra/Genie” 7-inch
Denver’s Never Kenezzard is releasing a 7-inch vinyl on Wednesday, November 9, with the songs “Genie” and an edited version of “Ra,” both off the band's latest full-length, The Long and Grinding Road. Never Kenezzard is one of those bands that begins to blur the lines of genre, but it's safe to call it post hardcore. It’s heavy, for sure, but the band possesses an experimental, psychedelic bent that’s fun to dive into. The vocals veer into black-metal screeching with “Genie,” but the band also breaks into near chanting at one point. The underlying drum rhythm evokes 1980s crossover thrash in places. The new version of “Ra” possesses a sea-sick rhythm that’s hypnotizing in its own way — good for swaying back and forth in a dark room. It’s all very psychedelic, even if taking hallucinogens while listening to it would probably not go well. Maybe stick to coffee. While you're buying the vinyl, cop the whole album on bandcamp.com.
Plague Garden
Blue Captain
Plague Garden is a side project of Fernando Altonaga and Angelo Atencio of Denver industrial duo eHpH, whose 2020 orange-tinted-president-bashing record Infrared is well worth taking for a spin. Blue Captain is the duo’s third album, and Altonaga and Atencio spin six tracks of what you can call post punk or dark wave. To the casual observer, Plague Garden makes music for the goth kids. And it totally does, but Altonaga and Atencio manage to build on the music of bands such as Bauhaus or Pink Turns Blue without ever falling into a parody of it. The record is a fresh take on a style that evolved throughout the 1980s. The band also includes Stephen Hannum on bass and Tom Murphy on lead guitar during live shows.



Jukebox Hardknocks
Songs the Jukebox Taught Us
With the band using a Cramps-saluting title, Songs the Jukebox Taught Us, it would be easy to call its music "rockabilly" or "psychobilly" and move on. But the Hardknocks' fifth EP in two years injects more than a healthy dose of classic honky-tonk into the sound, so much so that it's totally fair to call this an actual honky-tonk band. It gets pretty twangy with Adam Stern's pedal steel guitar contributions and singer Andy Christ's baritone vocals. And the influence is present in the songs. The band drops two originals, but the remaining four songs are covers of masters of the honky-tonk  genre — Hank Thompson, Hank Mills, Faron Young and Buck Owens. They're all artists you might skip over in the bargain record crate, but probably shouldn't.

Are you a Colorado musician with new music? Send submissions to [email protected].