D.C. Sounds: Four Tracks for January

Start your new year off with some new music from four DMV area artists. This month we’ve got a wide array of styles and genres, from hyperspecific and timely hip hop to hallucinatory ambient to gentle folk rock and icy post-punk. Let’s dig in!

Cryptid Summer “Should We Die”

With just a couple shows under their belts, Cryptid Summer — which features members of acts like Scanners, Lohesh and Psychic Subcreatures — dropped their debut EP, “In Search of a Perfect Cave,” on New Year’s Eve. One of our favorite tracks on the record is “Should We Die,” a punchy, politically minded bit of post-punk that channels the despair of living under late capitalism into a powerful, even melancholic statement. Lead vocalist Lizz Mazer’s expressive, anguished vocals are the perfect match for the propulsive, guitar-driven track, as they sing about the daily sacrifices we’re forced to make just to get by: “Every day I give myself away / Piece by piece links of chain / Heart and lung, blood and bone / ’Til nothing’s left but my name.” Few bands, especially this early in their existence, can capture the dread of modern existence while also producing a track this compelling and replayable. cryptidsummer.bandcamp.com/releases

Ardamus “Happy Winter Blues”

There are not a lot of hip hop tracks out there about seasonal depression, so of course prolific D.C. rapper Ardamus went ahead and crafted a banger all about that post-holiday malaise that makes January one of the worst months of the year. The closing track on his recently released holiday-themed LP “The Winter Goldbrick Olympian,” “Happy Winter Blues” features Ardamus and Andrew trading verses, riffing on the mid-Winter doldrums over a warped rock sample, a perfectly off-kilter bit of production from Height Keech. ardamus.bandcamp.com/album/the-winter-goldbrick-olympian

Heather Stebbins “You are almost”

Originally released last year as a part of the “Drones For Peace Vol. 1” compilation organized by the Colorado Modular Synth Society to benefit a variety of humanitarian groups working to aid people impacted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, Heather Stebbins’ “You are almost” can now be heard as a part of a larger whole on her new release “At the end of the sky.” Blending samples of wordless choral vocals, electronics and string instruments (we think), it’s our favorite track on the album, reminding us of everyone from Oneohtrix Point Never to Max Richter. For adventurous listeners looking for some mind-expanding homegrown art music, Heather’s got you covered. heatherstebbins.bandcamp.com/album/at-the-end-of-the-sky

Moozy “Always The End”

The latest single from D.C. indie rock duo Moozy shows a softer side with “Always The End,” a gentile, romantic track that pairs singer/songwriter Dylan Rockwell’s sensitive vocals and sparse guitar lines with drummer Pat Gunning’s laid-back percussion. Envisioning the end of something (a relationship? the world?), Rockwell reminds us, “Don’t forget now, it’s always the end.” Once you’ve finished swooning, be sure to take heed the song’s reminder to live in the moment, because you never know when the end is truly here. moozytheband.bandcamp.com

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Matt Byrne