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.
Summer is coming to an end, which means it’s time to swap your warm weather playlists for Autumn soundtracks — and at least a few recent releases from the local music scene deserve a spot in your rotation. This month’s roundup features a stacked lineup of talented female vocalists, hip-hop lyricists and brutally heavy bands.
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
Jelie
Listen if you like Awkwafina
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Born and raised in Denver, Jelie combines rap verses with hip-hop beats that are defined by the artist’s unique perspective. And while the tracks might be the result of artistic experimentation, the final edition of each song reflects the polish of an artist that will continue to experiment until they’re happy with the final product, no matter how long it takes.
Rusty Steve
Listen if you like kennyhoopla
Until the release of his debut single — while certainly not a stranger to the local scene — Rusty Steve has largely gained attention for his collaborations with other artists like N3ptune. But that hasn’t stopped the artist from exploring his own perspective as an artist. And with the release of his latest, uptempo single, “SAVE FACE,” Rusty Steve proves that he’s far more than a collaborator — he’s his own musical tour de force.
READ: Rusty Steve Releases “Save Face,” A Dark Epiphany of Punk Rock and Electronic Music
Curious Things
Listen if you like Barenaked Ladies
Curious Things are so new to the local music scene that they’ve only released one single to date. But it’s a promising single that points towards a bright future for the energetic alternative rock group.
Heated Bones
Listen if you like Arctic Monkeys
Following the quiet release of their first single earlier this year, indie rock group Heated Bones has already released a full-length album. With little information on social media or anywhere else, Heated Bones offer little insights into who they are outside of their seven-track debut.
Trash Cat
Listen if you like Nina de Simone
Upbeat and filled with fun, Trash Cat weaves together jazzy rhythms and funky beats that are almost impossible not to dance along to.
Five New Local Songs
LVDY – “The Divide”
Listen if you like Clairo
If you caught LVDY‘s set at the Underground Music Showcase last month, then LVDY’s newest single won’t be totally new to you — you already heard the duo perform it for the first time at the festival’s Underground Stage. But if you haven’t had a chance to hear it, or you’ve just been dying to add it to your weekly rotation, we have good news: it’s finally available to stream.
READ: The Future Is Female With Denver’s LVDY
Schama Noel – “King Midas”
Listen if you like J. Cole
Per usual, Schama Noel‘s flow is irresistibly listenable throughout every track on his latest full-length release, Two Can Play That Game. Sitting at 10 tracks and clocking in at under 30-minutes, the rapid-fire album finds Noel’s expert lyricism and master tracklist curation effortlessly chauffering listeners from the album’s opening to its grand finale.
Grace DeVine – “Mangoes”
Listen if you like Nora Jones
Local singer-songwriter Grace DeVine opens her latest single with soft vocal harmonies that make way for easy pop beats and introspective lyrics. From the opening verse, Devine paints a portrait of downcast optimism that proves to be an irresistible call to listen to the emotive vocals of the Denver-based pop personality.
Fruta Brutal – “Cultura Vampira”
Listen if you like Maná
A recent transplant to Denver, Fruta Brutal is a noteworthy new addition to the local Latin scene. The Ecuador-born solo artist quickly caught our attention with his most recent single, “Cultura Vampira,” an irresistibly-listenable single off his upcoming album.
Isadora Eden – “Cut Your Hair”
Listen if you like Julien Baker
Isadora Eden teams up with an impressive lineup of fellow local acts on her latest album Covers, which finds the local duos covering tracks by a variety of big name acts. Midway through the album Eden duets with Bellhoss to cover a song by ’90s indie rock group Pavement.
Five New Local Music Videos
Fox Lake – “Dog Eat Dog”
Listen if you like 156/Silence
Fox Lake‘s second single of the year is as raw as it is heavy. And the music video for the track only serves to take things to another level — it amplifies the frenzied guitar riffs and aggressive vocals with violent visuals and abrupt transitions that provide no reprieve as they flash from one scene to the next.
Tejon Street Corner Thieves – “Demons”
Listen if you like Harley Poe
An early single release from their recent album release, the music video for “Demons” is long overdue, but well worth the wait. Putting Tejon Street Corner Thieves in the spotlight, the video follows the band’s classic music video formula: scenes of the band performing their song are interspersed with scenes of the story the lyrics tell.
Julian Fulco Perron – “Not so Fast”
Listen if you like
Simple and sweet, Julian Fulco Perron explores love and companionship with his latest video, which follows a groovy couple as they dash through open fields and settle down for a picnic under cherry blossoms.
Dreadnought – “Gears of Violent Endurance”
Listen if you like Haunter
The first music video release from Dreadnought‘s recent release, “Gears of Violent Endurance” drops fans inside the recording studio for an inside look at the metal band’s most recent album, The Endless.
Retrofette – “Housemuzak”
Listen if you like TV On The Radio
Created with a carefully curated collection of home recordings, Retrofette‘s latest music video is captivating in its simplicity — the nostalgia of old film reels dances across the screen, showcasing an array of unexpected scenes, from birds on bikes to a waterskiing elephant. The release of “Housemuzak” follows the release of the band’s highly-personal debut album, which was just released last week.