Introducing: Season Rewind.

The best of the best of the season that just passed us by.

Albums, Tracks, Live Reviews, and Whatever Else moved the needle in the past three months. Maybe you missed it. Maybe we missed it. Maybe neither of us missed it but we want an excuse to celebrate it again, and make a note of it – ahem, cough, sniffle – for Year In Review nominations and awards.

That’s good, right? Share music for the next Rewind here.

Two albums of note make our Winter Rewind: Really Great’s Be The Light On and FACS’ Wish Defense.

Really Great

Be The Light On

*“[A]n uptempo indie rock popper that does the emotional handwringing thing, so you don’t have to.”*

Really Great is sadcore with an exit strategy, bringing you on the journey that is not afraid to visit the most melancholy doldrums while plotting beautiful escape. I loved the sense of humor riddled throughout the album. Lead songwriter Owen Harrelson is down, but not out.

FACS

Wish Defense

*“[T]heir artful (dis-)engagement with “hold” and “release” musical strategies puts them in contact with an experimentalism that transcends genre formula…”*

FACS offers a fractured view of the world, embodied by stark lyrics that sit like shattered glass on asphalt. Our existential predicament, never mind its solution, struggles for articulation, but the musicianship is tight as a sailor’s knot on Sunday. The last album that Steve Albini ever engineered.

Three months, twelve wintry tracks. Covers link to streams.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

“Spangled” by Fust, A medium tempo wrangler about hard luck in and around the Shenandoah.
“Mr. Pity” by Newtie, Simon & Garfunkel gone lo-fi (mostly without Simon), via Candlepin Records.
“Brat” by Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, which someone told me delivers exactly what they promise: big dumb riffs.
“Vision” by Lawrence Fields, a jazz pianist constantly racing toward an epiphany.
“Holy, Holy” by Sunday Junkie, for the people who’ve seen some shit.
“Sunspots” by Mac Blackout, who might have completed the transition from punk to experimental ambient?
“Rotten” by Trip Sitter, a local alt rock ensemble who puts the ‘sup in supergroup.
“Stone Heads” by Dwelley, a band which, speaking of supergroup, has a little overlap with Trip Sitter.
“Astigmatism” by Diane Young, which you can listen to while struggling to drive at night.
“Immer” by Kratzen, which is leaning into their new hybrid genre Krautwave.
Hereboy’s “Chosen One,” for hummable melancholy.
Horsegirl’s “Julie,” down tempo, down & out.

Boston Music Awards

Don’t sleep on the winter show schedule.

It kicks off with a look back at the previous year with the 2024 Boston Music Awards. Hump Day News lost again for Best Music Publication. The Ghouls won best rock n roll artist. Caught a few live performances from Yelena Rodriguez, Tyler Loyal, Copilot, Yanna G and more.

Benefits

Shout out to everyone who warmed up the coldest months with benefit shows. Snow Daze was a two-nighter at Deep Cuts, benefitting Warm Up Boston and Zumix, featuring performances by Slow Quit, Main Era, Still Life Sounds, Vivid Bloom, the Shallows, and more.

Tami Fest IV went down at the Lizard Lounge, helping out with medical bills and rehab costs for Tami, featuring performances by Dub Apocalypse, Abbie Barrett, The Truevines, Jesse Dee, Lyle Brewer, Danielle Miraglia and Glory Junkies, and quite possibly more.

Smell The Love, hosted by the usual gang, including Rick Berlin, reconvened at Midway Cafe to raise funds for the 13th Annual JP Music Fest. Lucky 13! Featuring a night of anti-Valentine’s Day covers to fire up the cockles of your heart.

Fests

A couple great fests popped up on the calendar. The 22nd Annual Boston Celtic Music Festival spread out over different stages from Cambridge to Somerville. Hump Day News captured some choice footage of the Boston Urban Ceilidh at Crystal Ballroom, a night that featured Scottish Fish and more.

We Black Folk Fest returned to Club Passim for its second year, scheduling its two nights consecutively, rather than separated by a week between them. Much better, built up momentum. The weekend featured performances by Lydia Harrell, Chris Walton, Cinamon, Kemp Harris, Devon Gates, and Naomi Westwater, emceed by Cliff Notez.

One-Offs

Some notable one-off dates included the triple-split release show at Deep Cuts, showcasing the EP Good Dogs Wear Capes, by Good June, Impossible Dog, and Cape Crush. Don’t forget Shiver. in the opening spot. At Silhouette Lounge a triplestack bill of Bus Crush, Doss, and Nemarca might have sold out the backroom. And all hell broke loose at the Valentine’s Day comedy/music show at The Rockwell, featuring musical spots by Tyler & the Names, The Kayde Hazel Explosion, and a solo acoustic gig from Evan Ringle (of Watson Park). PIECES returned to Lizard Lounge, a mashup of cutting edge pop, brought to you by EveryDejaVu. And, wow, a tap dance explosion at the Lilypad, hosted by Subject Matter.