If you're looking for "I Spys," dating or LTRs, this is your scene.
View ProfilesPublished January 24, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
Last week, online music mag Pitchfork was folded into GQ, the men's fashion magazine, dealing a grievous blow to music criticism. We at Seven Days are used to picking up the slack when these sorts of things happen, so this week, instead of our typical two album reviews, we bring you six, all from Vermont artists. Take that, corporate synergy!
(Self-released, digital)
Burlington-based singer-songwriter Ben Dexter released his debut EP, Upstate, late in summer 2023. Amid the sheer amount of submissions I get from Vermont musicians, I have to admit that my initial listen of Dexter's record left virtually no impression. The production was fine and the songs were competent, but I didn't get a sense of a songwriter in there.
Upstate is a more densely packed collection than I realized, however. With each listen, the EP's sparse, pastoral folk character comes into focus. Dexter's hushed vocal delivery gives the songs a warm, encompassing feel over minimalist guitar and piano arrangements. He recorded the album while quarantining during COVID-19, and on "Through the Years" and "Silent Movies," you can almost feel his isolation, the sonic equivalent of watching shadows grow long on the walls.
Key Track: "What I Don't See" Why: Dexter also records ambient music under the moniker Saint Silva, and he channels some of that here. Where: bdexter.bandcamp.com(Self-released, digital)
Few local musicians have been doing it as long as Burlington singer-songwriter Mary McGinniss. The fourth-generation Vermonter has been active in bands since the mid-'70s, though her solo releases have sadly been few and far between. Redtails and the Road (2010) was her last full-length effort, which makes Blue Hour's release even more special.
A talented vocalist and writer, McGinniss also plays guitar, mandolin and bass. She layers Blue Hour with lush harmonies of bittersweet nostalgia. The reflective "You're on My Mind" and "The Wind Is Lonesome" suggest a songwriter unafraid to look back. McGinniss has lost none of her edge over the years; she pivots effortlessly from the loose coffeehouse jazz of "Along This Road" to the Latin-infused "When the Beer Begins to Smell Like Wildflowers in Bloom."
To mark the new album, McGinniss and her band, the Selkies, will play a release show at Burlington's Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge on Friday, February 2.
Key Track: "By Your Side" Why: McGinniss pays tribute to her late brother, bassist Jim McGinniss, covering this classic from his legendary Vermont bluegrass act Pine Island. Where: marymcginniss.bandcamp.com(Self-released, digital)
Burlington has always been a safe haven for the good ol'-fashioned college jam band. For all their subtle defining characteristics, by and large, they sound pretty similar. Think Grateful Dead covers honed in a shitty Burlington basement.
But every now and again, one of these jam bands ascends and becomes something interesting and unique. Zonkey are among the better bets to do just that. The recent University of Vermont grads' Small Table, Outside is an album looking to shed the kid gloves. Despite moments of UVM jam band homogeneity, such as on "Mustang," the record exhibits some clever songwriting.
"Lilac Sea" and "Strawberry/Waves" dip into indie rock and Americana, respectively, showing Zonkey's range. The band makes excellent use of space throughout the album, knowing when to stay sparse and when to show off. While uneven, Small Table, Outside bristles with potential and tightly knit jams.
Key Track: "Sunday" Why: A possible glimpse of the band's future, the song builds on icy synths and guitar arpeggios into a moody, subtly funky track. Where: Spotify(Self-released, CD, digital)
Québec- and Vermont-based folk trio Triton features Jeremiah McLane on piano and accordion, Timothy Cumming on pipes and whistles, and Alex Kehler on violin, vocals and nyckelharpa (a sort of cross between a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy). Though Rule of Three is their debut, Triton sound like they've been around for a century or so.
Melding traditional dance and folk music from northwestern Europe, the trio gives old classics new twists with daring arrangements, as on Scottish folk song "The Shârpe Sea," which gets a frenetic, almost electronic sound. While the uninitiated might not grasp the demarcations between Swedish folk and traditional dance tunes from Brittany, there's no mistaking Triton's skill in weaving old-world melodies into a gorgeous, highly danceable polyphonic sound. A history lesson that doubles as an eclectic, foot-tapping collection of music, Rule of Three is a powerful and beautifully recorded debut.
Key Track: "Les Filles des Forges" Why: Originally from the French village of Paimpont, this traditional tune recounts a confrontation between an abusive priest and several young women, with Kehler singing in French. Where: triton3.bandcamp.com(Self-released, digital)
Burlington-based Jack Cattabiani, who handles bass for Middlebury band the Big Sip, has been isolating himself in a cabin for four-day stretches, each time writing and recording four songs on the fly. His resulting "cabin sessions" trilogy started with Owl's Head in 2021, continued with Rousseau the following year and concludes with Treetop, released in November.
It's an interesting way to make records, but Treetop doesn't sound DIY or rushed. With go-to modes somewhere between smooth jazz and yacht rock, Cattabiani's erudite and rarely static music can slip into soul and hip-hop. Despite the spartan conditions he imposes on himself, songs such as "Mood" and "Effigy" are fully fleshed out and intriguing.
Like the first two installments, Treetop is a lonely piece of work, not just because Cattabiani sequestered himself in the woods but because most of the songs deal with love gone wrong. It's a big mood that he handles well, keeping the record sonically adventurous throughout.
Key Track: "Wait That Long" Why: A slow-burning, soul- and jazz-leaning tune, the song showcases Cattabiani's vocal delivery. Where: Spotify(Self-released, CD, digital)
It's rare to hear an album on which the headliner doesn't perform, but such is Jim Ryan's debut, Free Now. The Wolcott resident tries his hand as a lyricist, cowriting 12 songs with some of Vermont's most talented musicians. The result is a collection of soul, blues and folk music featuring Dave Keller, Colin McCaffrey and Lizzy Mandell lending their talents to Ryan's words.
A farmer by day, Ryan writes lyrics full of romantic whimsy and themes of home and family — true roots music. He pairs well with his writing and musical partners, and perhaps most seamlessly with Mandell, whose voice matches the album's rustic overtones perfectly. On "Saline Skies" and "My New Old Friend," the two writers shine, with McCaffrey stepping in to provide some key harmonies.
Free Now also features some of the last music recorded by the late, great Pete Sutherland, who died in 2022. He lays down sweet banjo on "Judevine," and it's a treat to hear him one last time. His playing gives that extra Vermont stamp to an album packed with Green Mountain talent.
Key Track: "Strange Things Happening" Why: The album's most up-tempo number features a soaring vocal from Washington, D.C., blues singer Carly Harvey. Where: SpotifyTags: Album Review, Ben Dexter, Upstate, Mary McGinniss, Blue Hour, Zonkey, Small Table Outside, Triton, Rule of Three, Jim Ryan, Free Now
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