A roundup of memorable Madison releases from the first two months of 2024

Folkies, punks, and experimental pop acts all had something to say as the release year began to take shape.

We are officially two full months into 2024 and Madison musicians have gotten the year off to an ear-catching start. A few dozen works have made their way to public release, spanning a stylistic gamut that included trip-hop, hardcore, slowcore, and industrial darkwave, among many others. There were genuinely too many to rope into this one list, so keep an eye out in the coming weeks for a few additional dives into some early 2024 musical highlights.

The year so far has brought about a remarkable number of debut releases (granted, many of those were from new projects by veteran songwriters). Those debuts make up the bulk of this roundup, but we’ve carved out a few spaces for younger acts who are continuing to establish their artistic identity. Even with that throughline, there are an array of distinct styles to be found across these six records, which boast everything from synth-only retro-futurism to time-honored acoustic-only throwbacks.

All of the highlighted releases are available on Bandcamp, which is (mercifully) still running the Bandcamp Friday promotion that has the streaming platform waiving their portion of financial shares from all sales on the first Friday of each month. Even with the platform’s long-term future subject to greater uncertainty as a result of the transparently short-sighted Songtradr sale, Bandcamp Friday remains a balm in an industry where independent artists and labels are constantly being undercut to the point of cruelty. As long as that tradition continues, we’ll do our part to highlight releases from Madison artists that deserve your time, attention, and investment.

Frozen Charlotte, “Pretty Thing“

Sigra DeWeese’s latest project’s debut single, “Pretty Thing” extends the avant-pop mainstay’s vision in enticing ways. Leaning heavily on a decidedly goth-punk approach that’s only occasionally poked through as an undertone in DeWeese’s solo work as Sigra, MQBS’ discography, and in Talkin’ To Dean, the track immediately stands out. “Pretty Thing” leverages  gristly distortion to superlative effect, creating immediate tension and foreboding in the backdrop to DeWeese’s characteristically airy, ethereal vocals. DeWeese pushes that dread further by repeatedly whispering, “This is how / This is how I let / This is how I let myself / Rot” at the top of the track, laying truly effective groundwork for a haunting slice of dark pop. “Gunne Sax,” Frozen Charlotte’s recently released second track, pushes the project’s blown-out bombast even further. —Steven Spoerl

Friendly Spectres, Promised Land

Friendly Spectres‘ Promised Land is a rousing experience. “Box Fort,” the EP’s second track, boasts an up-tempo electro-punk beat, melodramatic guitar, and Cam Scheller-Suitor’s cry-from-the-heart shout-sung vocals. All of it is presented in a warped, hyper-pop-indebted package. You can’t help but shuffle your feet. In an email to Tone Madison, Scheller-Suitor describes his writing style for Promised Lands as free-flowing with an emphasis on “doing things that are unfamiliar,” adding, “[that] is what makes it so fun.”

A great deal of the EP’s individual instrumental tracks came courtesy of a Yamaha keyboard that once belonged to Schellor-Suitor’s grandmother, lending Promised Land a notably personal touch. Promised Land gives listeners permission to mosh in a fucked-up candy land, where not everything is real and concrete. Buried within Promised Land‘s timorous view of mass hysteria—the EP is about “coming to terms with the world that you live in even though it is a completely insane and terrifying place,” per the Bandcamp notes—is a strong dose of rebellion, openly inviting listeners to get a little rush from pushing back against it all. —Luis Acosta

Jasper John Maxwell, “Dead Dog“

Emergent folk singer-songwriter Jasper John Maxwell released a pair of singles—”I’ve Got Nothing” and “Dead Dog”—at the start of February. Both tracks are rambling, throwback folk affairs shot through with a pinch of rock n’ roll vigor. “Dead Dog” best demonstrates Maxwell’s gift for conjuring up dusty atmosphere and hard-lived storytelling. When Maxwell’s believably worn-out vocals cut through early on in the track with “Trying to remember / all the names and faces that I met / And all the drugs I took / are helping me forget,” it’s easy to buy into both the story and the vibe. Maxwell’s assembled band here is listed as “some friends with a collection of instruments and a penchant for chaotic collaboration,” and that description for the project’s overall aesthetic feels dead-on. There’s something oddly comforting in the modest familiarity of “Dead Dog,” which makes it a perfect candidate to soundtrack a summer bonfire night full of shared stories and new memories. —SS

LEADS, Sheds

In late January, Cult Of Lip guitarist/vocalist Ronnie Lee released Sheds—the debut record from his atmospheric synth project LEADS. Ostensibly a subtle stylistic evolution of Lee’s previous solo project, VATS, LEADS embraces a more insistent, industrial-leaning framework. Sheds never goes full-tilt on harsh, mechanical aggression, instead emphasizing space with subversive panache to create a compellingly uneasy feeling that nicely complements Cult Of Lip’s psychedelic, seasick wall-of-sound quality. Lee handled all of the instrumentation and production himself, setting up and executing a truly singular vision. Every track here is instrumental and experimental, working up to Sheds‘ dazzling 10-and-a-half-minute, momentum-ascending closer “Monuments (Night),” which cements Lee’s position as an acutely aware composer and as a formidable student of hardware synthesizers. —SS

Sex, Fear, “Absolved“

“Absolved”, the first track of Sex, Fear‘s recently released sophomore album, is a commanding affair evidencing the emergent quintet taking a decisive step forward in their songwriting growth. The album—which boasts a memorably long title—is teeming with punchy, atmospheric, and surprisingly twangy, post-punk. It’s a curious musical backdrop for existential lyrics that chew at modern humanity’s damaged psyche: “The bitterness of mind / of immoral kind / Hanging by a thread / The salted earth, malignant birth / Fire creeping out the cracks.” Sex, Fear’s pivot to gothic country works beautifully here, ably showcasing the band’s growing ambition and tenacity in equal measure. —LA

Three Hours, Green Lemon Or Yellow Lime?

Cédric Baetche has long been one of the busiest folk artists in Madison, playing shows and releasing music at a genuinely prolific clip. His latest project was born out of a three-hour jam session with drummer Rob Murphy (whose credits include Bron Sage, The Traveling Suitcase, The Jazz Orgy, Royal Station, and more). Green Lemon Or Yellow Lime?, the duo’s debut record, is teeming with the type of time-honored folk that listeners will have come to expect from Baetche, replete with the characteristically playful stylistic twists that have defined his musical output.

Murphy proves to be an able partner across the album’s eight tracks, which ultimately come across as a refined and romanticized version of the type of wholesome, fingerpicked, shuffling, storytelling-heavy folk that would be right at home on most folk anthology shows. “This time is yours and mine / Nothing feels finer / Than stepping out of line / Roaming the countryside,” goes a portion of a verse on “Campania Remensis,” as a melancholic, mid-tempo acoustic guitar figure gets accented by accordion. It’s a telling portion of Green Lemon Or Yellow Lime?, nicely demonstrating the record’s accessibility as well as its penchant for zesty flavor. —SS