Six Album Reviews We (Almost!) Missed in 2022 

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2022 was a banner year for Vermont musicians and their recorded output. Seven Days received so many new submissions that some records were in danger of falling through the cracks. Not on my watch, dammit! Here are six releases rescued from the void. 

Adam Henry Garcia, Letters to Leopold

(Self-released, digital)

Burlington singer-songwriter Adam Henry Garcia has been making music in the local scene for a while as a guitarist for indie rockers Portraits of Sawyer. On his latest LP, Letters to Leopold, Garcia leans into the poppier side of folk music. The record's 11 tracks showcase Garcia's acoustic playing and his hushed yet melodic vocal delivery. A strong, eclectic songwriter, Garcia's tunes run the gamut from cerebral and melancholic to wry and full of humor. Garcia is a winner of regional Emmy awards in video editing and producing, as well as an actor, but Letters to Leopold hardly feels like a side hustle. His compositions and tasteful arrangements, paired with introspective and clever lyrics, make for a pleasant, though at times repetitive, listen.

Key Track: "King" Why: Garcia throws some spectacular shade at a certain would-be dictator with lyrics such as, "Wanna take every little thing / Want them all to kiss your ring / But the underworld draws near." Where: adamhenrygarcia.bandcamp.com

Granville Daze, Some Daze

(Self-released, CD, digital)

The married duo of John and Victoria Crowne specialize in a specific style of Vermont-centric folk music. It's a sort of Grateful Dead-influenced, melodically upbeat sound one might find playing at any number of breweries and coffeehouses across the state. Between a wish for love in the world ("Let There Be Love") and syrupy love songs ("I Guess I Know"), the Granville Daze aren't necessarily breaking any new ground. Some Daze is a record centered on comfort. The laid-back drums and sleepy slide guitar meld with plaintive, often saccharine lyrics, creating a terminally relaxed feel throughout. The Crownes harmonize well, however, and their two voices combine to give the record a much-needed edge.

Key Track: "Just Like You" Why: A welcome change of pace from the rest of the record, the song edges into rock, even featuring a Dobro. Where: Spotify

Matthew Saraca, Moose Hill Lodge

(Self-released, digital)

Singer-songwriter Matthew Saraca has been making Moose Hill Lodge for the better part of seven years. The Burlington-based musician, who played with instrumental folk rockers Silver Bridget, was still single when he began recording his album at Ryan Power's old studio in Essex Junction back in 2015. Now married with two children, Saraca has spent the intervening years slowly building Moose Hill Lodge into a dense record full of introspective, occasionally dark folk music. A sense of home is a central theme throughout: The record's title refers to the street Saraca grew up on in Walpole, Mass., and the cover features a woodcut his parents' friends made for the family when they first moved there.

It all makes for a record suffused with the glow of nostalgia, though cut with a sense of adult cynicism, like looking back through an old photo album.

Key Track: "A Song Before Brooklyn" Why: A country rocker pushing into Wilco territory, Saraca delivers the lines with equal parts melody and world-weariness. Where: matthewsaraca.bandcamp.com

Aluron, Devotion/Fever Dreams

(Self-released, digital)

Lillie Gutoff started composing music a little over two years ago, when the pandemic gave her time to acquaint herself with a digital audio workstation. As she grew proficient with the equipment, Gutoff began crafting dreamy, instrumental synthwave songs at a frightening clip; she's released four albums in 2022 alone.

Combining the word "alula," the part of a bird's wing used for flight navigation, with the word "aileron," which performs a similar function on the wing of a plane, Gutoff dubbed herself Aluron, a fitting name given the soaring nature of her arrangements. Over the mammoth 31 songs on Devotion/Fever Dreams, she layers beats and melodies into sparkling, ambient-leaning creations that rarely stay in one place.

Key Track: "Even in a Static Sky (I love you)" Why: Gutoff creates a gorgeous, crystalline love letter full of echoes and tittering, glitchy beats. Where: Spotify

Astral Underground, Astral Underground

(Self-released, digital)

One of the coolest things about covering Vermont music is finding strange hot spots in tiny, rural towns. Take Enosburgh, for example. Hardly known for any kind of music scene, the little Franklin County burg nonetheless boasts some incredibly talented musicians. Three of them have banded together to form the ambient jazz outfit Astral Underground.

Featuring Margaux Simmons — a founding member of 1970s avant-garde Afro-jazz group the Pyramids — guitarist Ben Maddox from rockers the Mountain Says No and multi-instrumentalist John Notaro, the trio has created a self-titled album that's all over the map. With Simmons' flute front and center, Maddox and Notaro build cosmic, searching grooves for her to use as launchpads. The songs vacillate between traditional funk-leaning jazz and almost post-rock territory, making for a wonderfully unpredictable record.

Key Track: "Do the World a Flavor" Why: Maddox and Notaro immerse themselves in a jerky, Radiohead-esque riff and rhythm as Simmons sneakily weaves her flute around it all like someone creeping up a staircase. Where: astralunderground.bandcamp.com

Levi Kz, Do You Believe in Narwhals?

(Self-released, CD)

Levi Kz has some serious cosmic concerns on his mind on his latest LP, Do You Believe in Narwhals? Yes, he wants to know if you believe in unicorn whales, but it's a deeper question than simply pondering their existence. Do you believe in fate? What's the difference between love and passion? Is the Burlington-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter using these questions to get laid? Possibly. Such is the six-song album's roguish charm. It's a wandering, strange collection of alternating genres and moods, from straightforward ballads such as "Letter #2," featuring a heartfelt vocal and gorgeous acoustic guitar work, to "Rambling Around," a banjo-driven tribute to all the places for which Levi Kz has contemplated leaving Burlington. Fortunately, it seems like he's decided to stick around the Queen City for now. Maybe it's fate. Maybe it's a narwhal?

Key Track: "Do You Believe in Narwhals?" Why: The title track is the weirdest song on the album, coming off like a bedroom funk tune that turns into garage rock. Where: levikz.bandcamp.com