Hugh’s “Sense To You ft. Bonjay” feels like rainy day either traveling some distance by train or looking out the window into the overcast evening contemplating what could be and what could have been with while nursing a melancholic loneliness. The lush synthscapes hang close and flow with a shifting opacity to carry you adrift with the wash of complex emotions flavored with a sense of muted yearning. The highly processed vocals late in the song are like the voice of the room around you saying what is oft wondered if walls could speak the un-mediated truth. The small sonic details really anchor the hazy melody like lights on the side of roads in the distance and lend to a sense of aural depth and not layers so much as a complete musical environment through which the listener moves along with song’s narrators. Listen below and give the band’s links a visit to further explore its beautifully moody music.
The main progression of “still love” by Ghost Against Ghost is reminiscent of that of the otherworldly and chilling Goblin composition “Tenebre” from the soundtrack for Tenebrae. And from there the song sweeps with multiple streams of sound into an emotional peak before soaring off into ethereal minimalism held aloft by the main melodic theme. At a little over ten minutes the song sounds like the official music for a far future artifact that one would expect to see in a Moebius or Alejandro Jodorowsky comic complex machine that brings culture, art and technology across parallel universes appearing like a divine sculpture, an abstract expression of the local culture’s mythology. Its elegant sonic architecture is massive and cascades tones in what feels like great forward momentum. Composer Christopher Bono worked with drummer Thomas Pridgen and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Molina on this piece and it is obvious all the combined talent came together to create a powerful listening experience. Informed by classical music it’s the kind of art/progressive rock that belies the notion that it is all of the head and not the heart. If a movie is made of the comic series Saga, the producers should consider contacting Ghost Against Ghost because the music is on a scale worthy but as unpretentious as Bryan K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples creation itself. Listen below and follow Ghost Against Ghost on the Spotify account.
Krept & Konan’s “Ban Drill” is a harrowing and poignant song about life on the lower rungs of society and the desperation and dream crushing aspects of a social reality that seems aimed at undermining anyone’s efforts to escape the cycle of poverty. Much as in the USA in the 80s and 90s, so-called “gangsta rap” that dared to accurately depict life in impoverished urban life mixed with a sometimes nihilistic sometimes aspirational mythologizing and swagger was targeted as being inherently dangerous to society, especially when it started to become commercially successful and popular outside the areas that spawned it. Drill music, its artists and its culture have been seen in a similar light whether in the USA where it spawned as a form of trap in Chicago or in Brixton in the UK. But “Ban Drill” and its video shows not just the down side of how that subculture is treated but also its promise as reflecting a life that isn’t 100% positive so it doesn’t have to hide or be swept aside or unacknowledged. Watch the remarkable video below a dollow Krept & Konan at the links provided.
Ramz recently released his Blockbuster EP and the single “Don’t You Play With Me ft. LD” and its attendant video are a peek into a life of a corner of London that not a lot of people not from the city know about. And he does so with such vivid storytelling, teaming with Doom-esque, bemasked rapper LD, that you feel like you were with him on the journey to chase a dream of making music that impacts a wide audience with the challenges in your way and the temptations that can trip you up along the way. The diverse influences on the track make for an enriching listen threading together hip-hop/trap, club music and modern dancehall—influences one hears in weirdo post-punk band Sleaford Mods. Ramz embraces his roots and where he’s from as a place where respect and authenticity are the social currency valued and it shines through in every moment of the song. Watch/listen below and follow Ramz at the links provided.
In under three minutes Los Angeles band eva packs a lot of power and imaginative songwriting into its single “venacava.” Practically the whole history of post-punk, dark glam and 80s New Wave Goth is deconstructed and put back together in a song that crackles with a brash energy with an appeal beyond the obvious. It’s raw and sleazy guitar riff reminiscent of Daniel Ash gives way to a Gary Numan-esque robotic mid-secton with nods to Fad Gadget’s depth of field. The vocals are in your face with the guitar the way a gloriously borderline trashy glam band should be. But underlying this aggressive stance is a rich background of electronics giving a sense of space that in the end is the most surprising and striking with the contrast. Bold and introspective both, “venacava” hits many emotional spots in your field of listening in a way rare in the current field of post-punk and the new dark wave. It is unabashedly rock and roll and shamelessly arty.
LP sounds on the verge of breaking down while embracing the inherent power of her sensitivity and vulnerability on “Shaken.” Rather than out on a tough front after a break-up, LP feels that moment with every fiber of her being and speaks to that moment of intense pain with an unvarnished honesty and the knowledge that to deny the hurt is to dishonor your own reality. LP knows the peaks and valleys of love and when it ends, for whatever reason it ends, putting on dispassionate airs may make it easier to get through the worst of those moments but just feeling it with immediacy can so often make it easier to cope. The vocals on the track reach to your core and make it okay to join her in the heights of radical vulnerability throughout the song and beyond. Listen below and follow LP’s musical adventures at the links provided.
Rainbow Riots India is a compilation of music featuring LGBT artists from India and released through the Rainbow Riots organization. The video for “Never Look Back” isn’t just a music video, it’s a documentary short about Paras, a member of Dancing Queens. Though the music is written and produced by Rainbow Riots founder and creative director Petter Wallenberg, an artist and musician in his own right in Sweden, the performances showcase the talents of noteworthy Indian musicians including, for “Never Look Back,” India’s first openly lesbian singer Pragya Pallavi. The song is reminiscent of Madonna circa the early 90s or Donna Summer and her collaborations with Giorgio Moroder in that sense of forward momentum into a more fulfilling future. At a time when the cultural currents of reactionary politics are trying to turn back the clock on progress in the realm of furthering human rights, this documentary shows how even in a fairly conservative country like India that strides are being made and the song the triumphant embodiment of those efforts. Watch the video below and check out more Rainbow Riots content at the link provided.
What:Earth w/Helms Alee When: Thursday, 06.27, 7 p.m. Where: The Marquis Theater Why: Earth is as much an influential and pioneering drone metal band as it is an avant-garde blues folk group imbued with mystical overtones. It’s 2019 album Full Upon Her Burning Lips finds the trio channeling more than the usual measure of its crawling, Black Sabbath-esque gloom. Seeing the live show it’s always fascinating to see how Adrienne Davies moves in an orchestrated string of slow sweeping moves and fast, accenting flourishes as Dylan Carlson and their collaborators of the moment drone with a smoky fluidity.
What:Meet the Giant, The Jinjas, Monty O’Blivion and Zealot When: Thursday, 06.27, 7 p.m. Where: Thought//Forms Gallery Why: Zealot would be a Mountain Goats cover band but Luke Hunter James-Erickson would find that too rote so he injects his own eclectic tastes into the songwriting. Recently released the “Snake Goddess” single, a typically eccentric, high energy, angular indie rock gem. Meet the Giant, informed by electronic music and hip-hop beat-making, write and perform deeply evocative, brooding rock songs that maybe now would overlap with the whole darkwave thing except that Meet the Giant often crosses over into the realm of hard rock in a way most of those bands don’t.
What:Cholo Goth Night featuring Dave Parley of Prayers When: Thursday, 06.27, 9 p.m. Where: Streets Denver Why: Just like it says, Cholo Goth Night at Streets Denver with Dave Parley of Cholo Goth and spinning Darkwave and Goth for the evening. When this event happens in the Los Angeles area and select other cities Parley brings in other darkwave musicians of note to guest a set but not for tonight.
Friday | June 28
Blue October, photo by Chris Barber
What:The Kinky Fingers w/Vic N’ the Narwhals and Colfax Speed Queen When: Friday, 06.28, 8 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: Now that the Denver “party rock” scene has withered away and garage psych/surf is going the way of pop punk in the early 2000s only the strong and more interesting survive. In the case of these three bands it’s partly because their songwriting was always good and their individual sounds not so susceptible to the blowout of trendiness. Each has also evolved.
What:Tyto Alba and Steele Douglas When: Friday, 06.28, 5 p.m. Where: Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Why: Tyto Alba is always surprisingly evocative with music coming from the tender places of the psyche and coloring the tones in warm, incandescent tones and hypnotic rhythms. Seeing them on a rooftop while a thunderstorm threatens to hover in but never does? Seems symbolic and entirely appropriate.
What:Blue October w/Mona When: Friday, 06.28, 7 p.m. Where: Ogden Theatre Why: Blue October has been around for nearly a quarter of a century now and its career has crossed over from the old way of major labels and the album release cycle to the modern mess and disarray of the industry now that offers bands to connect directly to an audience more so than ever before but to earn far less for their efforts. That the group has weathered that period is impressive itself. Oddly enough its own style of power pop seemingly inspired by late 80s proto-alternative rock like Icehouse and The Outfield and their dramatic presentation of being a bit on the outs of true emotional fulfillment but yearning for that special connection with another human with music that is a little too triumphant in tone and uplifting to be sad bastard music. But Blue October didn’t stay trapped in a past style and its newer music reflects a diversity of newer influences.
What:Westword Music Showcase When: Saturday, 06.29, 12 p.m. Where: Golden Triangle Neighborhood Why: This is the longest running music festival of its type in Denver. Held on just one day in the Golden Triangle neighborhood near the Westword offices off Tenth Ave and Broadway, it is arguably the most concise way all year to see a broad spectrum of the local scene without having to walk too far. This year’s line-up includes several of the local luminaries. Here is a list of see-if-you-can acts at each of the stages and a given set time. Tastes will vary and I’m certainly no expert on big chunks of the local music world.
Breckenridge Brewery Stage
12:25 YaSi
6:10 Jai Wolf
White Claw Stage
7:20 CHVRCHES
Vinyl Main
12:50 Techno Allah
2:30 Erin Stereo
#vybe
12:50 Venus Cruz
6:40 Lady Gang
7:30 RARE BYRD$
Stoney’s Main
12:35 Gora Gora Orkestar
5:35 Wes Watkins
7:15 Roka Hueka
8:05 Los Mocochetes
Bar Standard
12:50 Hail Satan
2:30 Ghosts of Glaciers
5:50 Fathers
6:40 Plasma Canvas
7:30 Cheap Perfume
Temple/Mirus Gallery
3:20 Starjammer
Stoney’s South
1:40 Brianna Straut
2:30 Bevin Luna
5:50 Florea
The Church
12:00 eHpH
2:30 Ramakhandra
5 Vic n’ the Narwhals
5:50 Spirettes
6:40 The Hollow
100% Agave
1:40 Bret Sexton
5:50 Los Dog Ensemble
6:40 The Maybe So’s
7:30 Joshua Trinidad Trio
What:PUP w/Ratboys and Beach Bunny When: Saturday, 06.29, 9 p.m. Where: Gothic Theatre Why: PUP started making waves a handful of years ago outside its hometown of Toronto, Ontario among aficionados of pop punk and emo who missed that brashly confessional style of songwriting before the music hit maximum saturation level in the early-to-mid 2000s. When the band began in 2010 a quasi-movement was under way across the North American continent in making fun, melodic punk that was raw and expressive. With PUP and others the key difference was embracing the relatively unrefined side of that songwriting and how that opened possibilities for the music to go where it will rather than fall directly in a worn out style. This has given PUP’s songwriting a freshness that even if at first it seems completely within the realm of standard pop punk. Its new record, 2019’s Morbid Stuff, arguably its best to date, revealed the influence of the more vital garage punk and 2000s lo-fi noise rock on its sound. Like the Reatards and perhaps No Age. Its irreverent spirit and deft local cultural references that are relatable to people who experience similar social phenomena in their own cities makes for a consistently endearing listen.
What:Luxury Hearse, Timelord SFX and blank human When: Saturday, 06.29, 7 p.m. Where: Tennyson’s Tap Why: Luxury Hearse combines the forces of blank human’s ambient/noise sound sculpting and Psychic Secretary’s beat-driven experimental electronic music. What to call it? Some might think industrial because of its sometimes sharp edges but it’s more in the vein of edgier yet dream-like dance music.
What: Blue October w/Mona ogdentheatre.com/events/detail/369899
When: Saturday, 06.29, 8 p.m.
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: For Blue October see above for 6.28.
Monday | July 1
Culture Abuse circa 2018, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Culture Abuse w/Tony Molina, Young Guy, Dare, Regional Justice Center and Cadaver Dog When: Monday, 07.01, 7 p.m. Where: Marquis Theater Why: Culture Abuse has big melodic hooks for a band that came up through the milieu of garage punk. It’s 2018 album Bay Dream greatly expanded its range as a band both tonally, dynamically and emotionally as it’s informed by a sensitivity to the inevitability of the death of those close to you and a wry sense of humor and irony. After all Culture Abuse has a song called “Dave’s Not Here (I Got The Stuff Man)” referencing the classic Cheech & Chong skit. While there’s plenty of wiry punk energy behind the material, especially live, it’s really more of a great power pop record. Tony Molina got started in music playing in hardcore bands but his solo work is more in line with jangle pop and C86 with a sprinkling of The Byrds. His own 2018 record Kill the Lights wouldn’t have been out of place in the same musical realm as Teenage Fanclub circa 1992. Except with more folk-inflected, introspective songwriting throughout.
What:Muscle Beach, Buildings (MN) and Simulators When: Monday, 07.01, 8 p.m. Where: Streets Denver Why: Buildings form Minneapolis is a vital cross between a math-y noise rock and post-hardcore. Muscle Beach is of similar mind but its own version of post-hardcore is a splintery assault on the senses that drags you down emotional pathways that purge angst and personal darkness – all done with a cathartic sense of joy. Simulators are an angular noise rock duo whose music is both cutting and unhinged yet mathematically precise. It’s always an interesting contrast.
Wednesday | July 3
Total Trash, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Bud Bronson + the Good Timers, The Right Here, Bad Licks, DJ Sara Splatter When: Wednesday, 07.01, 8 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: Bud Bronson + The Good Timers are always surprisingly good. Its earnest power pop sounds like it’s of today but has a quality and a vibe that is reminiscent of the stories and sentiments one heard in the music of late 70s/early 80s Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Also on the bill is Bad Licks who somehow do a kind of psychedelic blues rock that is legitimate and high energy because good songwriting transcends pre-conceptions.
What:Weird Wednesdayl: Total Trash, Pretty Loud, Klaus Dafoe When: Wednesday, 07.01, 9 p.m. Where: Bowman’s Vinyl Why: Total Trash is a band comprised of luminaries of Denver’s indie rock scene going back nearly two decades and yet it’s not all middle aged people. If you remember Fissure Mystic, Fingers of the Sun and Lil’ Slugger, it’s people from those bands. It’s psychedelic, shoegaze-y jangle pop is transporting yet relatable and down to earth. Klaus Dafoe is an instrumental band that collides together 2000s math rock, weirdo punk and indie pop for a sound that is familiar yet unusual.
What:Pale Sun, Palehorse/Palerider, Random Temple and Grass When: Wednesday, 07.01, 7 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Palehorse/Palerider’s drummer Nathan Marcy said to bring earplugs. Good idea, because his own group is the kind of doom/shoegaze/dark desert psych band that makes beautifully dark, atmospheric, consciousness expanding music with ritual/tribal flourishes that is, yes, in fact, quite loud. In good company with gritty psych band Grass and Pale Sun. The latter’s dreamy yet dense rock music will take you to a different psychological space than the one with which you walked into the show. Includes former members of Bright Channel, Space Team Electra and Snake Rattle Rattle Snake.
Tony Njoku uses truly unconventional sounds and layers of rhythm on “HAPLESS.” A mid-range bass line seems to be the through line in the song but the sounds of springing and warping synths, staccato synth figures, whorls of ethereal tone like something from the welcome screen of a 90s video game, what seem to be the sharp, insistent samples of insect noises amplified or a typewriter EQ’d to sound like sub-industrial clicks and Njoku presiding over this organized chaos like a trickster omniscient narrator reflecting on his life and changing aural shape at will. No need to slap a genre designation on this song but fans of Prefuse 73 and Autechre will appreciate Njoku’s sonic gyrations and trips to colorful Weirdsville. His next album is due to drop in October but for now listen below and follow Njoku at the link provided.
HELGA, photo by Erik Larsson of Apocalypse Orchestra
HELGA’s origin story to some extent is that she lives in a cabin in the forests of Dalarna, Sweden where her main companion is her guitar and, one would presume, communing with her own demons and the ghosts of her ancestors. The video for her “Haunted” single appears to be the story of a bride who killed her wealthy husband and now wracked with guilt faces the consequences of her actions in the community and to her own psyche. While it may be sort of horror story it’s also a metaphor for feeling as though you’ve take action in your life with irrevocable negative consequences. The guitar swirls around driving drums in and out with abstract tones and fiery riffing. Visually its reminiscent of Valhalla Rising or The Witch with the colors, the pacing and the ineffable sense that something sinister is afoot just out of conscious perception. Epic in its melodramatic strains, “Haunted” sounds exactly like it is so. HELGA recently performed her first lives shows accompanied by Jonathen Hulten of Tribulation and the photographs from the event are promising. Watch below and follow HELGA at the links provided. The Autumn Lament EP is due out later in the summer.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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