welcome back to The Bark List, a weekly feature rounding up a bunch of music from Connecticut songwriters and artists! this week is especially eclectic. we’ve got new songs from people you love, and new songs from People I Love. if you didn’t laugh at that joke, you need to get educated. learn about People I Love and 23 other bands/songwriters in this special bumper crop of tunes.
check out this week’s songs below, and as always, if you like what you hear: share it with a friend! and if you have the means, consider buying their music. spotify is nice and all, but unless you plan on streaming a song multiple hundred times, bandcamp is best. you can follow us on instagram and twitter for more music during the week.
similar kind – “maria”
it’s been only a year since Similar Kind debuted with their “Seasons” music video, but it’s they’ve been super busy — playing at the Space Ballroom with Sunflower Bean, making several music videos, sharing the stage with Charly Bliss and Adult Mom at UHart, playing several shows both in-and-out of of the state. somewhere in that year, they found the time to write and record new music. “Maria” might be the first new song by Similar Kind in 2020, but it won’t be the last: they’ve announced an EP soon to follow.
luke ellingson – “hospital bed”
last year, a fantastic EP flew under a lot of folks radar: Sargasso’s self-titled release was a slick, effective, charming, and catchy set of songs. Noah Silvestry, who writes and records under the name Luke Ellingson, engineered and produced that record, and now he’s here with his formal debut. “Hospital Bed” is a beautiful, aching song that is part indie-rock, part alt-country, and equal parts stunning melody and groove. the single is the first track on the upcoming Like Wires Humming, the full-length LP coming out in June 2020 via Funnybone Records. oh, and it’s on vinyl babyyyyy!
flight of silence – “supernatural / superstitious”
hey, it’s the first new song from Flight of Silence since 2016’s Enigmatic. Brian Eldridge (who moonlights with Justin Chan & the Vices) and the boys are back with the massive “Supernatural / Supertitious”. i say “massive” not because it’s long, but because damn these guitars sound big. this is alt-rock at its finest, and if you can find me a pre-chorus / chorus combo better than this, i will give you $10.
sheisty individuals – “dreamtrap”
look, i don’t know much about Sheisty Individuals. all i know is that they are a duo. i can give you their instagram handles, and i can tell you who produced this track (@stycr), but that’s literally all i know. these sneaky guys’ new tracks is a lot of fun, with one of them calling the devil a quitter. take that, lord of hell.
angelica padua – “stained glass”
the new (and debut) Angelica Padua record got here fast! a week after releasing the music video for “Sanguine Summer”, this Two Headed Girl guitarist dropped her new album, Full Circle. if you come here expecting more Two Headed Girl music (Cam Polaski also engineered this record), you’ll find some of that twinkly, mathy emo. but you’ll find that Angie’s music settles into a softer, more mellow groove throughout Full Circle too.
TIP – “brainfreeze”
the guys from TIP are from all over the place, but they find themselves continually converging on New Haven. after the excellent sneak peeks of “Canadian Coins” and “Glo”, the band dropped their full album Full Swing this past Friday. and when I say “full”, i mean “full”. this is a dozen tracks of big, meaty, (but not sweaty) rock-n-roll. sometimes shoegazy, sometimes alt-rocky, sometimes mellow. the album’s title keeps no secret: this is TIP firing on all cylinders. check out our interview with TIP!
waking up now – “stumble home” feat. michael lepore
in February, Waking Up Now released Tales of Island Brook, their first full-length record. it’s a great album, with an awesome mix of emo, jazzy, pop, and post-rock shoegaze. however, before that album came out, the band released a one-off single with Michael Lepore called “Every Single Story”, and it is easily in my top 3 Waking Up Now songs recorded. well, i said it was a “one-off”, but they’ve just followed it up with “Stumble Home”. check out this bluesy track (with gang vocals!) below.
people i love – “ballroom”
last week I joked about how People I Love (Dan Poppa from Waveform*) quietly released great song after great song on their soundcloud account. he’s now released a full album: People A-Z. if you like Waveform*, this record is a must-listen, and it features all the things you love about Poppa’s songwriting: the fragmented poetry, the catchy melodies, the beautifully intuitive song structures.
summer camp crush – “imaginary days” music video
while “Imaginary Days” is not a new track, it is the first music video from Summer Camp Crush. the band, whose line-up includes members from Stampeter and Cinema Stare, is set to release new music (a formal debut!) soon.
the midnight strangers – “snowfall”
the members of The Midnight Strangers may only be in early high-school, but their music is incredibly catchy and sophisticated. skirting the line between pop music and baroque rock, the band released their first full length record, Speed of Light recently. while there are several tracks that get stuck in my head, “Snowfall”, might be the one that gets stuck the most.
frederic anthony – “time to break it” feat. s.g. carlson
last week, we saw the music video for “Crazy”; now, we get the second-half of that double-single. “Time to Break It” carries all the energy that you’d expect from Freddy, who you may know from RYXNO, with some sharp lyrics. S.G. Carlson features on the track, performing the rhythm section.
good behavior – “make a wish for love”
Thomas Laydon keeps surprising us! his project, Good Behavior, is unpredictable — with its early releases as acoustic-driven power-folk, he is now veering comfortably into synthpop territory, making a seamless transition here.
adversity – “energy” feat. rell music video
Adversity and Rell come together in this new video for “Energy”, a song that came out just a few months ago. the song slaps, obviously, and Adversity’s flow is as clear and charismatic as it’s ever been. check out the music video below!
justin bellucci – “unwell” feat. helene brunaes
this is the first track we’ve heard from Justin Bellucci, from Old Lyme CT. the track was written by Bellucci, but also features Helene Brunæs’ gorgeous vocals as well. check out the song below!
jen allen – “good friday 2020”
earlier this year, Jen Allen released one of our favorite records of 2020 (it’ll definitely be in our Best of 2020 list in 7 months), Sifting Grace. this jazz composer/arranger/pianist is already back with some new music — “Good Friday 2020” is a stunning, understated track. not yet available on any streaming services in a recorded form, you can check out this song, live from quarantine below:
stadia – “mood ring”
Dylan Healy from Funnybone Records released his debut EP as Stadia just a few weeks ago! in case you missed it (what’s wrong with you?!), Mood Ring went live on streaming services this week. you cannot miss out on this gorgeous track, which serves as the finale. check out our interview with Dylan Healy!
rex thurstan – “fetch”
ok look, i missed this one. i want to be the world’s foremost Eel People scholar, but i dropped the ball and forgot to add this one to past weeks’ bark lists. Rex Thurstan’s song, “Fetch”, comes before more new music — a solo EP and full-length Litvar album are in the works. their brand of indie-pop and post-rock go down so smooth. check out our interview with Rex and Matt Falkowski!
kevin o’donnell – “six feet”
Jason Rule has been routinely been adding to the The Covid quarantine release series. it started as an EP, but before long, it grow to album-length. this week featured something different: a track written and performed by someone else entirely! “Six Feet” is a song by Kevin O’Donnell, who (i’m sure you know) plays with Rule in Queen Moo and Zanders.
neanderthal opera – “mister miracle”
the mysterious DIY band Neanderthal Opera have a new song! this track, inspired by Jack Kirby’s comic series Mister Miracle, is a melancholy 60s du-wop pop song. and if that description doesn’t make sense to you, it soon will when you hit the embed below.
tetramer – “death of karma”
alt-rockers Tetramer showed up on our benefit compilation earlier this year with a cover of “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” by Nirvana. now they are launching a new video series called “Live From the Laundry Room”, where they will be featuring live sessions from local musicians. this episode features a couple of great performances of Tetramer songs, but stay tuned for more on the way!
rakefire – “relinquished”
this stamford hardcore band is about to release their new record Pushing Up Daisies. you’ll want to check out the new single “Relinquished” right now to get a quick peek at what they’ve been working on. or better yet, check out their new videofor the track! (not linked here for photo-sensitivity reasons)
american’t – “let’s end (real american)”
Tim Gabriele records under several different psuedonyms, and this week finds him releasing music with his vaporwave project American’t. this track, “Let’s End (Real American)” mixed the nostalgic fuzz and sampling you’d find on a vaporwave track with Rick Derringer’s iconic anthem, “Real American”. you may know it as Hulk Hogan’s theme music. so let those two competing feelings fight in your mind: getting ready to wrestle and getting ready to chill tf out.
the buttondowns – “got me going around”
we totally missed “Got Me Going Around”, a great new track from The Buttondowns. the song, originally released on Valentine’s Day, is all chorus. all killer and no filler.
octavia mcaloon – “to the west”
while Octavia McAloon may have left Connecticut in 2019, CT didn’t leave her music! check out her full-length record, With Breath of Wind.
