Welcome to our monthly series on new Colorado music. Every month we highlight five local musicians, five local music videos and five local songs. Go here to check out previous entries to the series. Are you a Denver artist with fresh music you would like us to check out? Send to Mariah.Hansen@303Magazine.com for consideration.
After three days of exuberant celebration of the best in local music, the Underground Music Showcase has officially come to its end, which means there’s only 364 more days until the next UMS. But if you can’t wait that long for your next dose of Colorado music, we’ve got you covered. This month saw notable releases from all genres, but Colorado’s rock and punk scenes are making themselves known with a noticeably growing presence of rising acts and fresh releases from familiar locals like Knuckle Pups.
Be sure to check out their playlist below and don’t forget to follow 303 Magazine and like our New Colorado Music playlist on Spotify.
Five Up and Coming Local Acts
Record Thieves
Listen if you like New Found Glory
While Record Thieves have been a part of the local pop-punk scene for quite some time, they’ve remained largely quiet for the last five years. That changed with the release of a full-length album two years ago. Then again earlier this year, with the local punk outfit’s first release since 2020.
Everybody but Jay
Listen if you like Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
If you were at the Underground Music Showcase this weekend, you probably met Everybody but Jay – he spent most of Friday afternoon politely handing out yellow business cards to anyone who would take one. And those who took that card and didn’t lose it at one of the many stages they visited throughout the weekend, might’ve gone home to discover Everybody but Jay’s brand of jazz fusion is something totally unique and sprinkled with sounds of the 21st century. But, never fear, we’ve got you covered if you weren’t the recipient of a business card.
Tuff Bluff
Listen if you like Bikini Kill
Tuff Bluff is one of the newest additions to the local music scene. The experimental punk outfit actually formed in the midst of the pandemic, but it wasn’t until recently that they finally began releasing music online – and they’re building up their discography quickly, with two single releases since the start of this year.
READ: Tuff Bluff Makes a Case For Experimental Punk
Lawsuit Models
Listen if you like Saves The Day
Lawsuit Models aren’t new to the local scene. Far from it. The local pop-punk outfit released its debut album almost a decade ago. However, the last few years have seen the local group ramping up, releasing singles more consistently and finally, just earlier this year, the band released its first full-length album in four years, making their presence more dominant and earning a growing level of awareness in the local scene.
Manny Hyuga
Listen if you like Jack Johnson
A year in the making, 22-year-old Colorado native Manny Hyuga’s debut release, Shine, Rodriguez, officially dropped earlier this month and has already garnered thousands of streams on Spotify. Worked on largely in secret, the album is intimate, detailing the solo artist’s private struggles of living a life that is at odds with familial traditions.
Five New Local Songs
Retrofette – “Housemuzak”
Listen if you like Pet Shop Boys
Denver’s favorite turtleneck-wearing synth-pop quartet is back with yet another dance-y single that deserves a spot on at least one of your playlists. On “Housemuzak,” Retrofette bounces through the beat at a jogging tempo, punctuating the track with bubbly beats and ethereal vocals.
buddy.not.bud – “Spin With The World”
Listen if you like Milo
The first track off buddy.not.bud’s latest album release, One, “Spin With The World” opens the album with just under two minutes of mellow instrumentals to set the stage. The short track loops its jazzy beat repeatedly, creating a distinctively indie-influenced rap melody that drips with a relaxed comfort.
READ: buddy.not.bud Captures the Sound of Gentrification on Uproot City
Knuckle Pups – “New Reckless”
Listen if you like The Mountain Goats
Knuckle Pup‘s debut release, TV Ready, finds the local indie outfit coming into their own. Consisting of 11 new and revised tracks, the album’s polish enhances songs like “Last Whim,” with a fuller and more robust sound compared to its original version, which was released on the band’s debut EP, San Panino. Nestled in the middle of the album, “New Reckless” opens with dreamy instrumentals that make way for vocal harmonies that waltz listeners through the song.
Eminence Ensemble – “Heatstroke”
Listen if you like The Offspring
Denver-based sextet Eminence Ensemble continues their reign as masters of genre-bending with their latest dual-single release, the first song of which, “Heatstroke,” opens with a sinister bell toll before it begins to blend power metal guitar riffs with electro-funk sonic stylings that make way for laid back vocals.
The Patient Zeros – “(Again) Here Comes The Sun”
Listen if you like The Head and The Heart
Four long years in the making, The Patient Zeros’ debut album Slow Motion Sickness was finally released just last month — and if you haven’t listened to it yet, make time to do so immediately. But if you don’t have nearly 45 minutes to dedicate to the full listening experience, the album’s final track, “(Again) Here Comes The Sun,” is one you should make time for. Starting off soft and sweet, the song slowly builds, layering in new instruments and harmonies as it progresses through each verse and chorus, making each movement of the six-minute track distinctive without ever losing the cohesion of the full song.
READ: The Patient Zeros Slow Motion Sickness Is Well Worth The Wait
Five New Local Music Videos
Lauren Frihauf – “Morrison”
Listen if you like Norah Jones
The latest music video from Lauren Frihauf, which features vocal support from Ben Suyat, invites listeners inside the recording studio for an inside look at the duo’s most recent single release, “Morrison.”
MUSUJI – “ELECTRIC FEELS”
Listen if you like Of Montreal
MUSUJI‘s latest video finds a troupe of lonely wanderers individually trudging through the snowy wilderness intermingled with pixelated scenes of the band performing in white coveralls amidst a prismatic slideshow that distorts the frames. But just as quickly as the scene cuts, it reverts back to the forest where the wanderers find prisms, unlocking color in their own worlds as they reunite with one another.
Float Like A Buffalo – “Vertigo”
Listen if you like Aer
Float Like A Buffalo captures the essence of everything there is to love about summer in Colorado in their psychedelic new music video, which finds the band spending an afternoon amidst a literal purple mountain’s majesty. Wandering through the forest, following a map drawn on a PBR box, the band adventures through the wilderness until they eventually find the treasure they’ve been looking for.
Bobby Guard – “Bad Dog”
Listen if you like Man Man
Dripping with ’70s-inspired stylings, Bobby Guard‘s latest music video sees themm taking center stage, rocking with cardboard cutout instruments in a pink tinsel room. The upbeat melodies bounce along with Guard’s vocals leading the charge as they sings about a longing for revenge, having fun the whole way through.
Hailes Ghost – “Thrown”
Listen if you like Ho99o9
There’s something eerily sinister about the latest music video from Haile’s Ghost – haunting piano notes open the song before the scene abruptly cuts to find the artist in a candlelit pit. Strobes flash throughout the video as it cuts from one scene to the next, matching the energy of the song as it slows down or intensifies throughout its progression.