Sara Gougeon’s “Invisible Closet” calls for coworkers, friends and family to respect the space of those who are not ready to come out yet. The spare guitar and gently strummed guitar melody and Gougeon’s intimate vocal delivery could apply to any situation calling for grace, sensitivity and respect for the boundaries of other people. The hush cymbals and minimal percussion and strings bring out the delicacy of the composition beautifully. While not obviously influenced by “Silent All These Years” by Tori Amos and “If It Be Your Will” by Leonard Cohen it shares with those songs a tender and compassionate sensibility that is rare in popular music where often ego, swagger and brashness are the most valued qualities. Sometimes a gentle touch is much more powerful and benevolent sensitivity a more effective frame of mind in songwriting. Listen below and follow Sara Gougeon at the links provided.
Like beams of sunshine streaming deep into the algae rich waters of a hidden lake, the melodic drone of “Lightworker” by Aura Gaze brings a sense of calm and wonder. The enigmatic wind chimes and breezy white noise swirl around a shimmering synth figure, following it beyond the immediate reach of that solar illumination, which in the field of sound becomes a vague notion in the blue green mist. Alternately it suggests great vistas of arboreal splendor protected from the ravages of human industry by mountain peaks forbidding to summit and to descend into the immense valley where earth’s oldest living plants have taken root since time immemorial. It’s reminiscent of Popol Vuh’s work for Werner Herzog’s Aguirre the Wrath of God. But whereas there is an immense sense of melancholy to that work, there is a one of warmth and benign spirits to this song. Listen below, listen more to the full-length Eternal Hymns and follow Aura Gaze at the links provided.
Rubedo at Tree Fort Music Fest circa 2013, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Rubedo’s Independence Day V w/Matt Embree (member RX Bandits, Dispatch and The Sound of Animals Fighting), Poor Bodhi, DJ Reubot When: Thursday, 07.04, 7 p.m. Where: Bluebird Theater
Why: For five years now Rubedo has been doing an Independence Day show that includes friends and comrades in music and cultural resistance. This year includes Matt Embree, frontman of eclectic prog/punk/psych band Rx Bandits who is also a member of post-hardcore supergroup The Sound of Animals Fighting. Rubedo itself is no stranger to being difficult to pigeonhole. All its players have a degree of respectable musical chops and adept at mixing improvised sections in the songs based on the mood of the moment. One might call it a prog band because of the direct influence of The Mars Volta but also psychedelic rock and indirectly the musical thinking and techniques of hip-hop even though its all live instrumentation. The storytelling and themes of Rubedo songs somehow also manage to be positive and aimed toward a better future and celebrating the present without coming off as insincere.
Friday | July 5
Pictureplane circa 2015, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Pictureplane w/OptycNerd and DEBR4H When: Friday, 07.05, 8 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Pictureplane returns to Denver where he first made waves in the underground beyond his home state of New Mexico. As one of the residents of Rhinoceropolis he was a real ambassador to experimental electronic dance bands in Denver and far beyond, evangelizing the DIY ethic and Rhinoceropolis and Monkey Mania to the places far and wide including performances in Russia. His musical style has evolved over the years and recently included more industrial textures and sounds but at his core, he’s an idiosyncratic artist who is trying to push his aesthetic in interesting directions.
Saturday | July 6
Sour Boy, Bitter Girl circa 2011, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Get Your Eyes Swoll: Last Humans, Tears to Li6ht and Gothsta When: Saturday, 07.06, 8:30 p.m. Where: The People’s Building Why: This edition of GYES features dark chillwave artist Tears to Li6ht, lush Americana band Last Humans and Gothsta which is series host Claudia Woodman in her guise as a weirdo Goth pop star known for bizarre covers and even stranger originals.
What:Angry Hand of God, Never Kenezzard, Flat Earth When: Saturday, 07.06, 9 p.m. Where: 3 Kings Tavern Why: A doom/stoner rock show featuring the now active again Angry Hand of God which experienced a bit of a heyday in the late 2000s before Denver metal, with a few notable exceptions, started attracting much attention outside of Colorado. Also on the bill is Never Kenezzard whose mixture of sludge rock, prog and psychedelia pushes the boundaries of heavy rock into innovative territory.
What:Short Shorts album release, Sour Boy, Bitter Girl, Safekeeper and Florea When: Saturday, 07.06, 8 p.m. Where: Globe Hall Why: Short Shorts is a four-piece from Denver who will release their new EP Hang-Ups tonight. Somewhere betwixt surf rock and the kind of punk with a footing in 2010’s garage rock, Short Shorts have a sound that fans of the likes of Tacocat and Bully might enjoy. Echoes of 90s K Records bands. Also with song titles like “Jumbotron Debutate” and “Quantum Entanglement” the band’s pop songs are clearly a cut above and more thoughtful than one might expect from a band with a name like Short Shorts. On the bill are like-minded acts like the dark Americana band Florea and Sour Boy, Bitter Girl. The latter has a real knack for taking down and out sensibilities and turning them into earnest and thought-provoking pop songs with a literary flair.
What:Heart Bones feat. Har Mar Superstar and Sabrina Ellis w/Good Fuck and Mark Mallman When: Saturday, 07.06, 8 p.m. Where: Oriental Theater Why: Two powerhouse performers in the same soulful synth pop band? Har Mar Superstar has long been putting on the most absurdly entertaining performances mixing soul and punk an dance music while Sabrina Ellis has been the animated and powerful frontwoman of A Giant Dog. Also, Good Fuck, the latest project from Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse, is like an experimental electronic German pop band but more like ADULT. than electroclash. Its 2019 self-titled album is a moody and spacious set of dark, noisy, techno industrial dance music.
Sunday | July 7
New Ben Franklins circa 2009, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Priests w/Olivia Neutron John When: Sunday, 07.07, 7 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Fiercely DIY band Priests releases its what might be described as post-punk glam through its own label Sister Polygon Records. With the latter the group has helped to advocate for like-minded artists critical of the oligarchy like Downtown Boys and Snail Mail. It’s latest record is The Seduction of Kansas. Theatrical and dynamic, Priests make its flamboyantly strange aesthetic accessible. Olivia Neutron John is the dark, post-punk electroclash type of solo project of Anna Nasty whose 2019 self-titled debut is driven by brooding and stark low end and plenty of punk attitude.
What:Melissa Etheridge When: Sunday, 07.07, 5:30 p.m. Where: Hudson Gardens Why: Melissa Etheridge is a cultural icon in various ways and beyond being a very public figure in the LGBTQ community going back decades. Before coming out in public in 1993, Etheridge had hit records on college and AOR radio with her 1988 self-titled debut, 1989’s Brave and Crazy and Never Enough from 1992. Etheridge came across as thoughtful, soulful, gritty and she had a kind of gravitas that relatively new artists don’t yet possess. Her songwriting held an appeal that transcended any specific considerations of sexuality and gender and her music even crossed over into the more adventurous radio stations that typically played classic rock mixed with some modern hits. Her first big hits came with “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One” from the 1993 album Yes I Am. In 2019 Etheridge released her latest record The Medicine Show—a strong showing of songwriting prowess and performance for an artist this far into a prolific career. It’s almost a hard rock record with Etheridge sounding more confident than ever and heartfelt odes to life and loss.
Monday | July 8
Melissa Etheridge, photo courtesy the artist
What:Melissa Etheridge When: Monday, 07.08, 6:30 p.m. Where: Chautauqua Auditorium Why: See above for Melissa Etheridge. This show is in the uniquely arranged Chautauqua Auditorium which is a bit like seeing a show in a very large barn with good acoustics.
Tuesday | July 9
Bad Religion, photo by Alice Baxley
What:Bad Religion w/Dave Hause & The Mermaid When: Tuesday, 07.09, 7 p.m. Where: Ogden Theatre Why: Bad Religion has long been reliable for having something to say in its music across its nearly forty year career and its latest album, 2019’s Age of Unreason, is no different. It’s fifteen tracks of anthemic, melodic punk against Trump and the authoritarian program worldwide in general. If any of it is heavy handed the times call for leaving no ambiguity in resisting the rise of fascism. Musically, one either likes the chances Bad Religion has taken or not but at least with its words the band has used its platform to challenging regressive political and cultural forces and to comment on the same with irreverent wit and intelligence.
“Me and Bonnie,” the latest single from the Rio Grande EP by Freedom Fry could be said to simply be an affectionate ode to the duo’s dog. Granted, their dog goes on all their tours and is a constant presence in their life. In the song Freedom Fry takes Bonnie for a walk as usual but this walk, as mundane and ritualistic as it can be, turns into something extraordinary and colorful as both band and Bonnie take in the world’s hidden features by paying closer attention to their surroundings while simultaneously allowing their imaginations to roam and getting into the hypnotic, and inherently gently trippy, aspect of the daily repetition and its endless variety if you’re not tuned out of your everyday world. And when you’re on tour a nowhere town or rest stop can be an adventure if you’re in the right frame of mind. Freedom Fry has a gift for taking simple elements and combining them in a manner that gives repetitive musical figures an expansive and entrancing quality. Check out the video below and follow Freedom Fry at any of the links provided.
If you live in a city of any real size there’s probably an district or oil refinery or a similarly bleak urban/suburban feature that seems at odds with a good human life and yet which offers a kind of tranquil if brutal beauty contrasted with the lights of the city center. “Distance” by Wandour articulates that space, psychologically and physically, well and how they’re often not so far apart and visible to each other. The orange haze of sodium bulbs painting the night sky a pale tangerine unless you’re sufficiently far enough over the horizon to escape its nimbus. The bell tone, on the border of being off-putting, is the sound of the train gates alerting drivers to stop or be aware of a rail-traveling behemoth on the way whether transit or hundreds of coal cars in winter to potentially interrupt your journey through town. It is the sound of the late night when the lights of the city signify mostly signage of corporate giants broadcasting their dominance over the landscape rather than actual human activity. And yet there’s a certain dystopian beauty to it that only people who have lived in towns with ample urban decay can fully appreciate because that distance between the business centers and the spaces where industrial activity occurs is where creative people have long been able to conduct their activities in the passive benevolence of parts of town considered undesirable. Parts of town, frankly, quickly disappearing in most cities considered cool and made that way by the city’s artists and visionary entrepreneurs. Is the song mourning the erosion of that reality? Perhaps but in doing so Wandour has captured the essence of that experience before gentrification and reckless development have washed it all away. The song is from the Night Wandering EP and a more perfect title for this kind of music would be difficult to conjure. Listen below and follow Wandour at the links provided.
When the rain stick and gentle strum come in with Finja Olsen’s all but wordless vocals at the beginning of “Calling You Home” by Olsen’s project FINJA it might make some listeners think of all that New Age/pagan music from the 80s and early 90s that was trying too hard to mix folk with alternative spiritual ideas. Like wannabe Patrick O’Hearn or Clannad. There is some of that here but upon further listening to the song it’s obvious that Olsen and her collaborators are willing to get a little weird as the track progresses with inventive use and processing of sounds like a toy piano and cajon to make for an array of sounds rich in texture and coming together in a complex but never over-complicated dynamics. And there’s no knocking the message about listening to your inner voice, the one connected to a benevolent collective unconscious, when it comes knocking on your conscious, sometimes overly locked into a stream of linear logic, and trust the messages from within, instinct as a tool to trust and have some faith in your own capacities freed of terror the Western cultural conditioning often has of the “irrational” and the dark side of the psyche. As Olsen sings, “fear and insecurity do not look good on thee,” a message inherent in some Eastern spiritual traditions as well as Western mysticism and a theme of Ursula K. Le Guin’s original Earthsea Trilogy in the reconciliation between the dark and the light side, the rational and the irrational. In so many ways it would be easy to dismiss this as some hokey hippie stuff but FINJA aims at a more cosmic perspective with the lyrics and personalizes them and grounds it in music that reflects the paradoxically myriad simplicity of our existence and our interconnectedness with the universe.
Maria Skaaren’s vocals brings a brightness and warmth to “She…Breathes” by Pulseblink. The latter is producer Tim Brookes’ project in which he composes the track and recruits collaborators from around the world including the aforementioned Norwegian singer. The song sounds like a particularly smoothly assembled and laid out set of evocative samples. The short bursts of white noise as percussion, brooding piano, arcs of synth, minimalist bell tones, bubbling electronic sounds and washes of sound give the song a textural and melodic aspect that combines the qualities of both while giving an informal depth of sonic field. It speaks to meticulous and thoughtful editing. There are through layers and sections that repeat but the overall effect is one that envelops you in a shared moment of emotional intimacy and a mutual compassion for human frailty. Listen below and explore Pulseblink’s catalog further at the links provided including his new Reveal EP.
Unwed Sailor’s new album Heavy Age came out in May 2019, its first since 2008. The veteran post-rock band lead by former Pedro the Lion bassist Johnathan Ford excels at a balanced dynamism between all the instrumentation. Too often post-rock bands are dominated by guitar but the main melody at least on the band’s new single “Gone Jungle” is carried and even driven by buoyant bass chords. Keyboard texture-tones shimmer sharply throughout and the percussion switches smoothly between a tribal beat and a more prog rock style compound time signature. That kind of structure to the song, with its interlocking streams of sound, allows for a wide range of expression and an adaptive rhythm. The song evolved effortlessly from great forward momentum to introspective passages where minimal guitar figures stand out by not being flashy. That the emphasis is on the rhythm is what separates this song from a lot of post-rock where the atmosphere and melody is dominant. That Unwed Sailor is a trio makes this an even more impressive feature of the songwriting. “Gone Jungle” was recorded after the Heavy Age sessions and points to an interesting direction for the band going forward. Listen below and follow Unwed Sailor at the links provided.
Grey Mcmurray is a co-leader of Tongues in Trees with Samita Sinha and Sunny Jain. He’s worked as a musician with the likes of Gil-Scott Heron, Tyondai Braxton, Beth Orton, Colin Stetson and John Cale. To name a few. His new solo album Stay Up as represented by the single “Wanting Ways” begins as a kind of alien pop song with his almost spoken tenor spinning a reflective tale of mental and chronic illness and the struggle to keep from going completely over the edge. Throughout Mcmurray exerts an inspired control over where the guitar, nearly unrecognizable as such, to accent and keep pace as synths wash and elevate the mood. The song balances perfectly an enigmatic quality, playfulness and an emotional openness. If the song is the sound of falling apart it is also that of pulling oneself back together through the aforementioned creative capacities and turning turmoil into art. Listen on Soundcloud and follow Mcmurray’s eclectic and distinguished career at the links below.
The melancholic urgency of “Transitory Reality” comes after an impressionistic build like the beginning of a prolonged snowstorm. That such precision in dynamics should come as no surprise with the project NOUS. For this assemblage, composer Christopher Bono brought together a broad spectrum of talent from not only his own other group Ghost Against Ghost, but members of Swans, Liturgy, the ACME ensemble and Ben Frost. Thor Harris, Shahzad Ismaily and Grey Mcmurray comprise the core of the group with guests Clarice Jensen, Caleb Burhans, Laura Lutzke, Alex Sopp, Laraaji and Artji playing on the recordings. “Transitory Reality” comes in like the aforementioned storm and outros like it too with upward sweeping whorls of white noise and mournful strings. It is the sound of the kind of music one might imagine if trapped in a remote house to work on a creative project in the dead of winter as the blizzard of the century hits and you realize that you’re not sure you’ve sufficiently stocked up for the duration. So you set to the work at hand not knowing if you will see it to completion. Fans of MONO and Godspeed You! Black Emperor will appreciate the quiet grandeur of this song. The collective has other recordings in the works and you can follow the group at its website link after listening to “Transitory Reality” below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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