Once in a blue moon, the list of submissions to the Seven Days music desk gets so long, the old two-reviews-a-week system just won’t cut it. So here are six new records from Vermont artists that are worth your time, from experimental to metal to folk. Dig in!
James Kochalka Superstar, BUMP
(Self-released, digital)
The simplest way to describe the musical phenomenon that is James Kochalka Superstar is this: James Kochalka does whatever the hell he feels like. The Burlington singer-songwriter and cartoonist has a deep catalog that is bizarre, adorable, sometimes edgy, childish and occasionally hilarious.
Fresh off of releasing Beats, Motherfucker, an EP full of marquee collaborations and remixes with artists such as Moby, Dan Deacon and Bit Shifter, Kochalka is back on his bullshit with BUMP. It’s a wondrously weird collection of music somewhere between indie rock and kids’ music with lyrics straddling the line between cute and suggestive. The album features Kochalka’s skewed take on: tripping balls, the difference between Black Sabbath and the Grateful Dead, and partying well past your prime. It’s another effervescent release from one of Vermont’s most original and tireless artists.
Key Track: “Bump” Why: Kochalka might have written his finest lyrics on this one, with lines such as “All the ladies in my birth class / Are workin’ on a hard task / They wanna bump tummies with somebody new.” Where: kochalka.bandcamp.com
The Gifts, Slimline Artifacts
(Self-released, digital)
Jeremy Mendicino is one busy dude. The Burlington producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist splits his time among a bevy of projects, from being a part of the team at the music collective/recording studio VT Music Lab in Essex Junction to playing with the likes of singer-songwriter Thea Wren to his own indie-rock project, Holding Napoleon.
Mendicino also happens to own a large collection of what he describes as “rare, strange, and vintage equipment,” which he puts to good use on the latest release from his experimental music project the Gifts. Slimline Artifacts is as much a description as an album title, as the record’s beating heart is a collection of samples of breaks that Mendicino collected on his trusty vintage Panasonic Slimline cassette deck. He then doused the sampled breaks with an array of strange sounds and ghostly hints of melody, creating a sonic cauldron that bubbles with elements of techno, ambient and even flashes of industrial music.
Key Track: “SLIM6” Why: Perhaps the most rhythmic cut on the record, it sounds like being tied to the train tracks. Where: thegifts.bandcamp.com
Morning Giants, Eccentric Beasts
(Self-released, CD, digital)
Burlington progressive rock act Morning Giants first hit the scene with their 2018 EP Creature Kings. It set a marker for the band’s bold, unapologetic fusing of alt-rock, progressive metal and funk, with a few hints of Southern rock mixed in. Their new full-length debut, Eccentric Beasts, raises the bar significantly.
Sonically all over the map, Eccentric Beasts sees Morning Giants flexing some impressive instrumental prowess with searing guitar work from Aaron Cowan and Mike Gaito and a locked-in yet flexible rhythm section of bassist Rogelio Zimbron and drummer Dan Bailey. The band casts out all the bloat that often goes into progressive rock — there isn’t a track more than 10 minutes long on the album — and streamlines movements and changes into hard-charging selections somewhere between art rock and metal. Combined with pristine production from Ben Collette at Tank Recording Studio, Eccentric Beasts is an album bristling with vitality.
Key Track: “Twelve Minutes Til Al Dente” Why: I can’t tell if the song is about mortality, with lyrics like “I fear that no one will remember me / You die in an unmarked grave,” or truly about cooking pasta properly. Where: morninggiants.bandcamp.com
Addy & the Echo, Counting Change
(Self-released, digital)
The Americana and folk scene in Vermont is rich with talent. So when a new band emerges and is able to stand out, it’s certainly worth taking notice. Hardwick duo Addy & the Echo formed after two friends tried to take maple sap and turn it into syrup, easily the most Vermont bio of all time. Failing to make the syrup, they turned to jamming instead and recorded their debut album, Counting Change.
A thoroughly adult record, Counting Change touches on themes such as midlife crises, the ups and downs of parenting, and turning grocery lists into lyrics. Through it all, the band creates a type of tongue-in-cheek folk, caught somewhere between the Mountain Goats and Pavement’s world-weary snark. It might not work if the songs didn’t hit so hard, but they do, from the sweetly romantic “The Lucky Kind” to the fraught, fuck-the-modern-world bite of “Middle Class Fantasy.”
Key Track: “New Disorder” Why: Hey, we’ve all been so bored we thought we might be going crazy. Where: Major streaming services
Shiny New Toyz, Out to Get You
(Self-released, digital)
Shiny New Toyz are a brand-spankin’-new metal outfit from the brutal wasteland that is St. Albans. (Just kidding, St. Albans, you’re beautiful!) The five-piece has a lot of Vermont metal history in its DNA, with members having served time in bands such as Untapped, Mushroom Teeth and Why Not, and it shows. On their debut EP, Out to Get You, Shiny New Toyz hardly sound like newcomers, with powerful, heavy songs featuring sophisticated arrangements, clever time signature shifts and savage dynamic twists.
As opposed to headbangers about death and darkness, Shiny New Toyz and vocalist Suzie Tremblay espouse an almost motivational bent, whether she’s pleading with people to “stop the negative talk” on “Chaos” or balancing imagery of the world’s end with lyrics such as “Remember you’re sublime.” It’s a refreshing combination of doom-laden music and affirming lyrics that are more resolute than contrarian.
Key Song: “Lunacy” Why: It’s the record’s most punishing track as Tremblay gets aggressive on the mic while the band lays down a furious jam. Where: shinynewtoyz.bandcamp.com
Hungrytown, Circus For Sale
(Big Stir Records, CD, digital)
The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson first met in New York City in the ’90s while both were both part-time musicians. They moved to Vermont in 2003, ditched the desk jobs and decided to launch Hungrytown. They announced their arrival in 2007 with a self-titled debut. Over the years they’ve earned a reputation for timeless songwriting and gorgeous harmonies, with their music popping up on shows including “Portlandia” and “The Daily Show.”
Circus For Sale is Hungrytown’s fourth LP but first on Big Stir Records. The duo leans heavily into that ’70s UK folk sound popularized by progressive-pastoral artists such as Vashti Bunyon, Pentangle and Sandy Denny. Many of the songs sound like traditional ballads crafted long ago in bogs and fens, but they came straight from Hall and Anderson, who move through eras with ease.
Key Song: “Tuesday Sun” Why: Hall’s vocal is as ethereal as mist on the moor. Where: Major streaming services
This article appears in The Tech Issue 2024.
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