THUS LOVE

Bound by circumstance, identity, and creative spirit, three trans multi-instrumentalists founded THUS LOVE in 2018 in Brattleboro, Vermont. But the shared experience of Echo Marshall (she/her), Lu Racine (he/they), and Nathaniel van Osdol (they/them) runs much deeper, tracing its roots to poor, rural towns where it was difficult to find communities to call their own. That feeling of loss and solitary longing has also, paradoxically, cemented their powerfully close connection in THUS LOVE. The band lived together in a one-bedroom apartment above downtown Brattleboro during the entire recording process of their debut album, Memorial, with Marshall cordoning off a room to build a studio from scratch.

Musically, THUS LOVE combines their love of post-punk with a loose, eclectic experimental streak that owes as much to van Osdol's jazz collection as it does to Marshall's classical training as a cellist. The band is unafraid to tackle weighty themes with startling intimacy and vulnerability — and with a goal of amplifying the voices of those who continue to struggle. Says Marshall: "What I hope we're able to accomplish with THUS LOVE is to redirect opportunities to those who haven't had them and to create communities in the kinds of places where we grew up. We want them to know they're not alone."

JENNY BESETZT

Jenny Besetzt does not shy away from a cathartic release. Just listen to the title track from their third record Goner and it’s clear that the lean economy of their post-punk underpinnings is bursting with a poignant vulnerability. There’s a romanticism encoded in the band’s music, and an affinity to soften the sharper edges of their sound with cavernous vocals and dreamy synth arrangements.

Live the band has honed their ability to shatter an audience with a devastating turn of phrase or instrumental climax, creating space for vocalist John Wollaber’s thundering voice to resonate. The rhythm section of bassist Nathan Price and drummer Thomas McNeely pushes and pulls with a serpentine momentum through the intertwining currents of Dillon Myrick's synthesizers and Spencer Auten’s guitars.