Here is the best new music released by local musicians in July:
Liquid Chicken
Relax and Consume
Liquid Chicken is for the people. The Denver rockers might be new to the game, but the four-piece of Sam Brinkman (guitar), Jude Montanez (bass), Anton Cariffe (percussion) and Jake Fiss (vocals) know just what we need.
The band’s debut album, Relax and Consume, which was released independently on July 4, is a dozen helpings of alternative in the vein of late 1990s and 2000s indie rock. Think the Strokes meet the Front Bottoms.
“She Says to Me” is by far the standout track, but previously released singles “One Thousand Girls” and “Pretty Good Ride” are just as good. “I’m OK” is refreshing with its little country twang. Then there’s a cover of Beatles original “Don’t Let Me Down” for good measure.
A little variety never hurt anyone, and that’s why the group likes to say, “Liquid Chicken is for you.”
Lucked Out
BOTTOMFEEDER
Lucked Out is the most recent band making a name for itself in the healthy Denver hardcore scene. After releasing The ’23 Demo last year, the group shared its debut EP, BOTTOMFEEDER, independently on July 4, and it’s a sonic steamroller.
At just under twelve minutes, vocalist Jerry Nedrow, guitarists Matt Lopez and Alex McCann, drummer Patrick Carney, and bassist Zac Cavaness waste no time across the release’s five songs of metallic hardcore and slam.
Setting the tone with opener “DNFWU,” which references the Flight Club line “Do not fuck with us,” BOTTOMFEEDER launches into the one-two punch of “CASTING STONES” and “BEYOND FORGIVENESS” before taking a short instrumental reprieve with “IF I FAIL (Colin’s Songs).” The title track and album closer, featuring California metalcore band Mugshot, is the longest and heaviest offering, leaving pummeled listeners wanting more.
Tiny Tomboy
“Sandy”
We already know that big things come in small packages sometimes. But Denver indie trio Tiny Tomboy is proof that size doesn’t matter when it comes to loudness, either.
Led by lead singer and guitarist Eliza Neiman-Golden — aka the “tiny tomboy” because she measures in at a tad under five feet tall — the group, which includes drummer Sam Seymour and bassist Ethan Gould, is busy working on a yet-to-be-named sophomore album, the followup to 2022 debut Sunburn.
“Sandy,” the third single Tiny Tomboy has shared this year via Mean World Records, is a dream-pop rocker with a nearly five-minute run time. Neiman-Golden’s voice really shines through the distorted soundscape. Seymour and Gould even step in to provide some backing vocals throughout. The lyrics say “Sandy” is a love song, but a heavy beat and scorned delivery throughout make it hit more like a breakup ballad.
Loki Moon
Loki Moon
Denver electro duo Loki Moon is tricky to describe, but when vocalist Ashley Edwards spells it out, it kind of makes sense: “If James Blake had a baby with André 3000's flute album [New Blue Sun, 2023], and that baby flew off to another galaxy with Sufjan Stevens and Frank Ocean in the CD player.”
Okay, got it. Now you can hear it for yourself, as Loki Moon, which also features multi-instrumentalist Davis Jones, independently released a self-titled debut EP on July 5.
As described by the band, the four tracks are all about experiencing “metaphysical realms” and being “transported to another galaxy." Previously released singles “Sleepwalker” and “UFO” are great for that, while bookends “Alone” and
“Chameleon” aren’t as out-there, but more soothing R&B offerings.
Summer of Peril
HOMESICK
Grunge and shoegaze are having a bit of a moment, including locally. So why not throw the best of both of those subgenres together and make something that Fort Collins group Summer of Peril calls “grunge-gaze"?
The band’s debut album, HOMESICK, released via Studio Nihil on July 13, is thirty-plus minutes of melancholic fuzz laced with nostalgia and RAT-pedal distortion.
Vocalist and guitarist Alex Forbes at times sounds eerily similar to a young Gavin Rossdale, Bush’s frontman, which really nails the whole yearning-for-simpler-times feeling on a song such as “Summer ’08.”
Summer of Peril — which is also Zac Cavaness (lead guitar), Matt Lopez (bass) and Marshall Watts (drums) — flexes this new grunge-gaze sound throughout the nine-track offering, but “Remington” and “Safe Haven” stick out as the best examples.
In Plain Air
“Blowout!”
Denver’s jazziest indie band In Plain Air went a little soft-rock with new single “Blowout!,” which was released July 20 via Mean World Records.
Vocalist and bassist Jake DeMarco, drummer Nate Tharp and guitarist Ben Maillaro always like to change it up. From indie to psych to jazz to jam, that’s kind of been their thing since getting together in 2019.
“Blowout!” starts out more soothing and soars along with an upbeat melody. Then that jam comes near the last quarter of the song to give it a more excitable finish. In five minutes, it’s not forced, but that’s what In Plain Air does...and makes it look easy.
The Milk Blossoms
“Dancing”
Oh, how soothing the Milk Blossoms are. The Denver group’s dreamy indie pop is even meditative on a certain level.
New single, “Dancing” released independently on July 26, remains in that realm. Vocalist Harmony Rose could read the back of a shampoo bottle and evoke some type of emotional response. Her voice is simply, hauntingly beautiful.
Pair that with what is more of a lo-fi doo-wop tempo, and “Dancing” is the perfect song for your first or last dance. It’s also part of upcoming album Open Portal, so there’s more in store.
Jeremy Facknitz
“Dad’s Hair”
Singer-songwriter Jeremy Facknitz did his best "Weird Al" Yankovic impression on tongue-in-cheek new single “Dad’s Hair,” released independently on July 26.
The guitarist and vocalist, who calls southern Colorado home, admits the song is a comedic take on coming to grips with his age, including the shocking sight of seeing some gray hairs hit the floor while getting his ears lowered. At least Facknitz hasn’t lost his sense of humor. He can also still shred, which he does on “Dad’s Hair.”
After last year’s album, Smilin’ at the Future, the fun tune is the second of eleven releases he plans to share over the next year or so. Facknitz might feel old, but he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
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