has hundreds of bands (both local and national) to check out. In this feature, we highlight five local acts that remind us of beloved national acts in hopes of making your UMS set decisions that much easier.
, we looked at the Colorado music equivalent of The Band, Youth Lagoon, Minus The Bear and others. For round two, we’ve matched Covenhoven with Bon Iver, Lemon Future to Lapalux and more.
…And the Black Feathers sounds like… Kings of Leon.
When you break it down, Kings of Leon is bar-room rock repackaged for the radio. They have a healthy dose pop swirled in at this point in their career, but listening to 2003’s “Youth and Young Manhood,” they sound like the only things on their minds are well whiskey and guitar riffs.
are reminiscent of Kings of Leon’s early days, but a touch harder. The lead singer makes a capable substitute for Caleb Followill’s signature vox, though with less flair. There’s a dollop more blues to be had here too, skewing songs like “Physikal” closer to the The Black Keys. But it still makes ideal soundtrack for a back alley brawl. (Note: please don’t start fights at the UMS!)
Covenhoven sounds like… Bon Iver.
Unlike Bon Iver, Joel Van Horne didn’t record his entire debut album off in a cabin by himself—but he would’ve if he could’ve.
and its self-titled debut are named after the cabin Van Horne’s grandfather built in southern Wyoming, which was inaccessible when he wrote the album a couple of winters ago. That didn’t stop him from channeling the spirit of the space, bunkered down in a room somewhere in Denver, to guide his strumming and writing hand. Nothing’s known about the cabin outside what Van Horne has revealed in interviews. It could be a hoax for all we know. But Covenhoven cuts a scene not unlike that of Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago”: You and the man, pondering the complexities of life over the smell of woodsmoke.
Lemon Future sounds like… Lapalux.
Like Lapalux, falls somewhere between your twerk-a-day EDM club producer and the enigmatic whims of a sound collagist like Four Tet. Chest rattling 808s give way to Legend of Zelda-inspired twinkles on “My Chick//Darkest Love”; time signatures collide and realign on “Emotional”; dystopian synth pads fight off tweaked steel drums in “Late 80’s Love Jungle Parts I & II.” Itap all in an EPs work for Lemon Future, and hopefully just a taste of things to come from this uniquely promising Denver producer.
Broken Spirits sounds like… Double Trouble.
might not be up to the virtuosity of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s fretwork, but their sound is a holy homage to the band’s swampy blues rock. When it comes to the genre, itap rarely heard outside of covers by weekend rocking dads at the art walk. But Broken Spirits are having a go at actually cutting new songs in the once widely celebrated style. To their credit, a good many—“Moan and Holler” and “Tall Drink of Water” in particular—are dead ringers for ’80s artifacts.
Plume Varia sounds like… Portishead.
Portishead are almost untouchable. Each of the band’s three albums are talked about with a reverence usually reserved for departed ancestors or life-changing novels.
With Cherie Cobb’s hearty come-hither voice and husband Shon Cobb’s atmosphere and rhythm-heavy production, borderline apes Portishead. For purists, that may be problematic—only Portishead may Portishead—but letap face it: they do a hell of a job. The slick dark pitch of “Prize,” for example, would be good enough to slip by unnoticed as an unreleased track off of “Third.” (Please don’t hurt me, Portishead superfans.) Regardless of how you feel about their progenitors, Plume Varia is a welcome anomaly on the local music scene.
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Dylan Owens is Reverb’s all-purpose news blogger and album reviewer. You can read more from him in Relix magazine and the comment sections of WORLDSTARHIPHOP.
