Bad Luck Bliss, Jug Brook Sessions

(Self-released, digital)

Every year when the sun starts setting earlier, the leaves turn and the temperatures drop, I search out the least wintry sounds I can find — I’m trying to emotionally stave off the dark, y’all.

Marshfield’s Bad Luck Bliss have me covered this year. The self-described “swang-tang” and “space cow punk” band dropped its debut full-length, Jug Brook Sessions, at the beginning of September, as if anticipating the coming chill. And it’s perfect for daydreaming about cold beers on a hot day or driving down a dirt road, blaring some honky-tonk jams.

Things kick off on a proper country-rock note with “(Hey!)… Move It,” a barn-dance rave with furious strumming by lead vocalist and guitarist Aaron Scoti. Things get (belatedly) topical on the second track, “(Been Down Since) Irene,” a punkabilly rocker that recalls 2011’s flood-ravaging Tropical Storm Irene.

“She blew me away with that gale-force charm / Yeah, that lighting-bolt gaze was a thunderclap alarm,” Scoti belts, with backing harmonies from dummer Pamela McCann, bassist Jolynda Burton and lap-steel player Carrie “Cookie” Cook. “Flooded my heart with lies of love,” he continues. “Oh, it’s clear to me now she is the hawk to my dove.”

Amid the cow-punk and rockabilly, the band keeps one dusty boot in blues rock. “Hurts Like Love” showcases Cook’s slide work and Wesley Gruber’s vibrantly melodic keys.

Jug Band Sessions is a hoot of a record, a high-octane fusion of punk, country, Americana and blues. Check it out at badluckbliss.bandcamp.com.

This article appears in September 30 • 2026.

Music editor Chris Farnsworth has written countless albums reviews and features on Vermont's best musicians, and has seen more shows than is medically advisable. He's played in multiple bands over decades in the local scene and is a recording artist in his own right. He can often be found searching for the perfect soft pretzel or listening to a podcast about the X-Men.