Vermont based Clever Girls just dropped their debut release Loose Tooth and celebrate the release this month at The Monkey House in Winooski. We described it here as having a “grit and conviction that is truly stirring, affecting and f*cking real…” The songs hit hard with a reverberation in your chest, lines delivered with stone cold solemnity and a gravity that weights incredibly heavy on your heart as you listen. But, its rock n’ roll. Part punk, garage band overdriven tones intermingled with sublimely woven vocal harmonies and an attitude that cuts deep.

Well, the trio (Diane Jean- Vocals, guitar, Winfield Holt- Bass, Robert Slater- Drums) has wasted no time and apparently grown antsy to put more into the world after some high praise and hype coming out in the last few weeks for Loose Tooth. The band headed down to the Bean to work at the ever expanding (and insanely supportive) Converse Rubber Tracks studio. “Catch and Release” is some of what came from that session and the haunting and mournful tone that it takes is painted in deep blues and grays. Sad, but not in the cry yourself to sleep sense of the word. All of the feels enter into the 3 minute and 46 second track. Diane Jean’s vocals again soar here, the “Ooo-Ooo-Ooooooo’s” ringing out and piercing my ventricles with their hooks, latching on and eliciting chills down my arms that fully portrays the ache inside. The ringing guitars and slow plodding rhythm creating a palette for the storyies. Thats the importance here that is so often times lost in music with electric instruments and emotion on a purely instrumental level. That hard hitting and obvious injection of one’s self into the words and lyrics of the song. Diane Jean’s voice and words don’t suffer from that issue. Its that place where all of the right ingredients come together and the end product just makes you say “holy shit, this is the stuff”. This band just may be my favorite act of 2017 and if they continue to release new material like this, well, I am sure they might just end up yours as well.

 Check out the behind the scenes video for ‘Catch and Release’ below. (video production work by Brett L. Marshall for Windwood Productions)