Vermont musicians are pumping out more songs than ever. To make sure local records don’t fall through the cracks, music editor Chris Farnsworth regularly compiles six quick-hit reviews of new releases. From metal to hip-hop to indie, here are some of the latest sounds from the music scene.
HUES, HUES
(Self-released, digital)
Indie-rock duo HUES have been kicking around Burlington since 1995, even though their debut LP didn’t drop until 30 years later. Two local kids named Jeremy Mendicino and Steve Holt spent the late ’90s writing and recording music as the unfortunately named Pdiddle. They won some high school battle of the bands contests and, in 1998, put together a cassette EP titled Sedated.
Holt and Mendicino went their separate ways musically after high school but remained friends, which led to the duo re-forming in 2020. They tossed out the old name, rechristened themselves HUES and revisited their early work — moody, atmospheric indie-rock songs full of teen angst and distorted guitars.
Now an accomplished recording engineer, Mendicino brought Holt along to rerecord their old material at local studios A9 and Lane Gibson Recording and Mastering, crafting an album that sounds shockingly modern, considering it was largely written before the turn of the century.
Key Track: “Productive” Why: A darkly seductive indie-folk tune, it will resonate with anyone who recalls the frustrations of being a teenager, especially when Mendicino sings, “Society is just plain fucking me over.” Where: hues802.bandcamp.com
VT Union, Legendary Volume 2
(AfterLyfe Music, CD, digital)
VT Union were a Burlington hip-hop collective featuring some of the heaviest hitters on the late 2000s scene, including the late, great DJ A_Dog; rapper Dakota; rapper, producer, and industry mover and shaker Nastee; and a rotating cast of rappers such as Konflik and Manus. The crew reigned during a particularly fruitful time for hip-hop in the 802, but outside of mixtape CDs and compilations it didn’t release a ton of work.
That changed with last year’s archival release of Legendary Volume 1, a collection of music recorded by the group between 2006 and 2009. Nastee has now compiled and released Volume 2, a massive record including previously unreleased music featuring Vermont rappers SINNN, Mike “Philly” Fulton from the Lynguistic Civilians, and Learic from the Aztext, two other locally legendary hip-hop crews.
It’s both a hard-hitting album full of huge beats and skilled MCs and a loving time capsule to an era when this collection of rappers and DJs was shaping the identity of the Burlington hip-hop scene. It’s fitting that the record drops on Saturday, August 30, known as A_Dog Day in the Queen City.
Key Track: “Make Rume feat. Malice & Bobby Konders” Why: A classic, East Coast-style boom-bap banger, the track features Clipse rapper Malice laying down savage bars. Where: Major streaming sites starting August 30
Last Pages, Another Good One Gone
(Self-released, CD, digital)
Plattsburgh, N.Y., rockers Last Pages’ new LP, Another Good One Gone, is both a politically fiery collection of foot-stomping, punk-leaning alt-rock and a moving tribute to a departed friend. The record and its title track shout out fellow Plattsburgh musician Andrew Wilson, the late punk-rock singer-songwriter behind bands such as Comrade Nixon and Shabadu, who died in early 2025.
Melancholy mixes well with the anger undercutting most of the tracks on Another Good One Gone. The record is a call to action, full of snarling reactions to current American events and proper rage-against-the-dying-of-the-light energy. The band’s high-octane attack is perfectly captured by producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (Joan Jett, Steve Earle) and Richard Dodd (Wilco, Green Day), who mastered the record.
Key Track: “The Key or the Door” Why: A driving, hard-rocking song focused on climate change and those who deny its existence, the tune features vocalist Larry Dolan belting out the line “If we aren’t at the wheel, we’re in back of the hearse.” Where: lastpages.bandcamp.com
Mad, Carnival
(Self-released, CD, digital)
A breezy, lighthearted sheen gives the music of Burlington indie-rock outfit Mad a shiny glow that permeates their latest release, Carnival. With songs about bubble baths, girls on bikes and magic, there’s a palpable sense of adventure and, well, fun that underscores the album.
Sonically, the record straddles the line between bubblegum synth-pop and the sort of electro-indie power of bands such as Guerilla Toss, particularly on tracks such as “Starlight.” The tongue is firmly in cheek on most songs, such as “Daddies Don’t Dangle,” which sounds like a psychedelic kids’ tune. Engineered by Paper Castles’ Paddy Reagan, Carnival is a gorgeously full-sounding record, pulsing with synths, big beats and hilariously off-kilter lyrics.
Key Track: “The Majestic Twin Theatre II” Why: It’s a frenetic, highly danceable bop in which the band wonders about the fate of a local movie theater. Where: madtheband.bandcamp.com
Sunroom, Sunroom
(Self-released, digital)
A power trio formed in the heart of Burlington’s Old North End, Sunroom debuted on the scene in 2023. The group commands a pretty straightforward blend of grunge-flavored hard rock and college-radio indie with slight punk and Southern rock influences.
Sunroom’s self-titled debut is a 10-track collection of rock kept simple: just a trio vibing in a shared apartment with bright, chiming guitars; driving beats; and a sort of indie drive reminiscent of ’80s DIY kings Hüsker Dü or the who-gives-a-fuck cool-kid rock of the Replacements. For a first record, there’s an impressive amount of identity and intention to the music. Sunroom know the kind of sound they want to make and go about doing just that, whether on mellow, bluesy tracks such as “The Days Are Getting Shorter” or on riff rockers such as “Somewhere New.”
Key Song: “Airplane Mode” Why: The tune kicks off with simple, clean guitar languidly entwining with the bass before switching dynamics in the chorus, recalling the classic Pixies sound that underpins much of the record. Where: Spotify
Hell Priest, From the Abyss
(Self-released, digital)
The Montpelier metal scene is many things — particularly, incestuous. It makes sense: There’s so much passion but so few people that a good drummer is shared like a communal treasure. And so, many of the capital region’s headbangers appear in multiple bands.
Take Hell Priest. The speed-metal and thrash outfit formed in 2018, but its members have played in tons of Montpelier bands, including Amadis, Lightcrusher, Green Chapel and Spaisekult. Of course, it’s not always easy to tell who hails from what, as Hell Priest are one of those metal bands where the members take on suitably satanic monikers such as Sid Dystic, Wrathful Tormentor and (my favorite) T.J. Christcrusher.
Whatever their true identities, Hell Priest are the real deal when it comes to crafting high-powered, mosh pit-demanding speed-metal anthems. On tracks such as “Omen of the Black Conjurer,” the band summons pure evil in the form of soaring, octave guitar runs and epic, double-bass drum freak-outs.
Key Song: “Death Machine” Why: Harking back to the glory days of speed metal and the sounds of bands such as Venom and Overkill, the track has that perfect punk-meets-metal feel. Where: hellpriestvt.bandcamp.com
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2 2025.
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