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Maybe it’s the bright green foliage outside my window, but this month’s music roundup feels especially fresh. In a live album, local stalwart Mark Erelli breathes new life into material spanning his 25-year career, while Boston DIY outfit Bowling Shoes offers up some of the most appealing pop music to come out of the region in ages. Read on for our critics’ takes on these albums, plus reggae, soul and hip-hop from other great local acts.
It’s hard to write an issues-based song. No one wants to listen to a lecture. The most powerful political songs transcend didacticism, channeling poetry into righteousness. Ali McGuirk, a powerhouse vocalist based in Vermont, understands this instinctively. In her new single, a simple, almost innocent question morphs into an indictment: “Where does all the money come from?” At first, the question seems to be aimed at other people — the 1%, perhaps, or politicians. “I heard you say you care/ But where does all the money come from,” McGuirk sings, her husky voice rising purposefully over a bluesy, insistent backbeat.
Though she never singles out a specific person or group, there’s a moral clarity to McGuirk’s conviction. Beneath the question lie others: Who gets hurt in the dogged pursuit of wealth? What does it actually mean to live by your values? Who is funding the people in power? In the second verse, McGuirk changes the wording of the question slightly: “Where does all your money come from?” Here, the undeniability of McGuirk’s simple message reaches its crescendo: she’s not letting anybody off the hook, not even us. — Amelia Mason
For their first decade, Waltham’s Flying Vipers made smoking instrumental dub reggae. Now they’ve added the beguiling voice of Kellee Webb. The result, on tracks like “Show Me” and “Believers and Deceivers,” echoes the dreamy U.K. lover’s rock made by dub experts like Dennis Bovell and Mad Professor.
The LP, which is the septet’s first outing on the well-regarded Easystar label, also has some noteworthy guest appearances: Dancehall pioneer Ranking Joe’s rapid fire toasting on “Make ah Move,” and jazz harp phenom Brandee Younger adds her magic to the theme from the 1973 French sci-fi film “La Planète Sauvage.”
The space jazz doesn’t end there: Sun Ra’s “Outer Spaceways Inc.” is given a delightful dub treatment. It all adds up to one of the most unique and memorable Boston reggae records in recent memory. Flying Vipers celebrate the release of “Off World” on Friday, May 2, at the Lizard Lounge. — Noah Schaffer
When Roxbury-based rapper HAAWWS and filmmaker Mellow Vier proposed revisiting this 2024 track for a new guest verse and some visuals to match, Daniel Voltaire had already moved on to another project. But not one to turn down an idea from two respected artists, Voltaire stayed true to the track’s title and returned to his old material. And it’s a good thing he did.
The original was already a hypnotizing listen and deserves the extra shine offered by its revival. Its bare, detuned piano-led beat could fit nicely on the soundtrack for a slasher film and serves as a perfect backdrop for Voltaire’s rhymed descriptions of a man striving to live a principled life in a city patrolled by dishonest cops and haunted by candlelit street memorials. On the remix, HAAWWS picks up the same sinister thread, leaning into the Machiavellian mindset needed to navigate said city’s maze, begging the question: If it’s your old habits that got you this far, why change them? — Lukas Harnisch
After releasing over a dozen solo albums and spending 25-plus years at the heart of the Massachusetts music scene, it’s a remarkable feat that Mark Erelli’s new album presents the artist — as showbiz likes to say — like you’ve never heard him before. “Live in Rockport: Mark Erelli + His String Quintet” is the Boston singer-songwriter’s first live record, cushioned by lush layerings of violin, viola, cello and double bass.
Erelli recorded the nine-track LP last July at the Shalin Liu Performance Center, crafting an unhurried retrospective of his career that connects a 1999 song like “Northern Star” to a concentration of material from his latest effort, 2023’s “Lay Your Darkness Down.” Even with nearly a quarter century separating these bookends, Erelli’s live record is a steady journey, as the quintet’s sighing strings amplify — but never overpower — the suddenly softened punchiness of 2020’s “Blindsided,” or the heart-swelling 2016 closer “For a Song.”
The LP is a delicate document of one evening — a “modern analog of this ancient rite” of storytelling, as Erelli explains in his description of the record. But even more so, it’s an encapsulation of Erelli’s entire MO as an artist: Tender, intentional connection. — Victoria Wasylak
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Press play on Boston-based pop-rock band Bowling Shoes’ third album, and you may feel that your ears have been plugged directly into an electrical socket. The first track, “Welcome to the Factory Floor,” kicks off with a pulsating synth bassline. A drumbeat begins to chug along and a second synth follows with an ominous tone. Lines like “Let’s feed this bad feeling with a glass of straight whiskey after work” hint at the self-aware and critical attitude that recurs throughout the catchy album. The frantic pace of the opening track ends with a crescendo and what sounds like a computer breakdown. It’s part cinematic sound effect, part satisfying musical transition into the second track.
Moments like this make “Factory Pop” a rewarding listen for those who play albums from beginning to end, especially those who have found themselves jumping up and down in the pit at a DIY rock show. The album mostly centers around this dancey synth vibe with occasional steps into beach rock, sad boy soundscapes, spoken word poetry, reggae and video game scoring. Audiophiles will appreciate the balance and clarity of the mix throughout the record, which is sure to serve as a draw for the band’s energetic live performances. Bowling Shoes recently celebrated the album’s release at The Rockwell in Somerville and head to Purgatory in Brooklyn on May 4 with Boston emo-punk band Trash Rabbit and Brooklyn-based Nara’s Room. — Solon Kelleher
Amelia Mason is an arts and culture reporter and critic for WBUR.
Victoria Wasylak is a music writer and contributor to WBUR.
Noah Schaffer is a contributor to WBUR's arts and culture coverage.
Solon Kelleher is an arts and culture contributor at WBUR.
Lukas Harnisch is a contributor to WBUR's arts and culture coverage.
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Our favorite local music from April – WBUR
