5 Charms 03.26

Gentle Brontosaurus - Three Hares (Madison, WI; 2026)

I could be happy if I found someone
Who looks at me like I'm better than I am
My favorite monster looks like loneliness
And loneliness looks just like a man

You can be sure of a few things every February as the sky darkens over the Warner Park lagoon: the eagles will lay their eggs in the big pine, the ice rink will be smooth and green, and Madison songwriter Huan-Hua Chye will release an album. This year, we are blessed by a new full-band recording from her indie pop band Gentle Brontosaurus. Many of these songs have been released previously as part of her solo project, Miscellaneous Owl, and listening to these new versions shows how the creative contributions of her bandmates change their tone and palette. Guitarist Scott Stetson brings a controlled noise to the tracks. Bass player Anneliese Valdes adds some nice melodic layers and really locks in with drummer Paul Marcou. Keyboard/trumpet player Nick Davies layers hooks and atmosphere over Chye's sugary vocals while the whole crew add backing vocals. "My Favorite Monster" and "Luxury Bones" are the singles, but stand-out tracks include "Loneliest Bird," "Tumbleweed," and the Stetson-penned "Agatha's Ashes." Chye is a brave storyteller, using her pop sensibilities take on everything from infidelity ("Cassini") to racial conformity ("Blue"). This album comes highly recommended! [Note: a few weeks after this Gentle Brontosaurus release, Miscellaneous Owl released another album for February Album Writing Month 😃]

Quiet Takes - Veils (Eau Claire, WI; 2025)

Take this lonely heart
string the sinew into
seasick spirals in July

There's something beautiful about hearing a songwriter playing their songs unadorned. Often, that means someone with an acoustic guitar, but Sarah Michelle Magill's Quiet Takes project is keyboard-based indie pop music. Her most recent full length, 2024's "Regrets Only," is a warm, yacht-rock pop collection. "Veils," in contrast, strips away all of the studio production in favor of a single plaintive vocal and a ringing grand piano. Room sounds. Breath of air. Fingers on keys. Magill's hands wander along the instrument, strolling and skipping through "Quickly" and "Present Sense," the ethereal jazz of "Seasick," the bold chords of album opener "Gentle." I suppose you could listen to this album as a lonely practice for a more fully produced version, but these solo tracks stand on a power and beauty of their own. Magill's voice and the shuddering strings and hammers of the piano, longing for meaning in the wooden quiet. It's the best album recorded on a Tuesday evening in September that I've ever heard. Make sure to visit her other music to encounter the emotional range of this powerful songwriter from the Eau Claire/Minneapolis nexus.

Genevieve Heyward - Sprinkles (Door County, WI; 2025)

Therapy is making me more and more depressed
can't find an answer for the pounding in my chest

It's hard to quantify the effect a powerful vocalist has on a song. A blonde woman steps up to the mic, her lips shimmering in the stage lights. The band starts in: guitars, drums, bass. One line into the song, and all eyes have turned to the singer. Genevieve Heyward has begun her reign over our ears and hearts for the evening. With her recent turn on ABC's long-running reality competition "American Idol," the whole nation now knows what Wisconsinites have known since Heyward was barely out of high school: this woman is a rock star. This 6-song EP comes with all of the polish of a professional--crisp guitars, huge catchy choruses, with Heyward's massive vocals tying the whole collection together. Highlights include "Long Drives" and "Good Company," but any of these songs could find a place on alternative rock radio. It's not indie music, but glossy full-band pop rock. Heyward and her band continue to play clubs and small venues, but this will probably be the year she breaks big, so catch her while you can.

Alewives - Runnin' (Madison, WI; 2026)

Hitting the ground running... er, runnin', Alewives released their incredible first single earlier this year after playing out in various forms for the past 16 months or so. Alewives is a project of songwriter Gunnar Schmitz, who has that sweet country tenor, along with a cohort of local scene mainstays including Shelby Len (Mickey Sunshine, Dicot), Evan Ceman (Grain Elevator) and Luis Acosta Jr. Runnin' is one track, so I won't break it down measure by measure for you. It's got everything that makes a Wiscountry song great: a slight vocal twang, pedal steel, beautiful harmonies, a cracklin' guitar solo, a sprinkling of fiddle. There's even a bushel of 12-string guitar, which I don't hear much on indie records. Alewives is a really nice addition to the young alternative country scene in Madison/Milwaukee. Check them out live at the Gamma Ray in Madison on Sunday, March 29th and keep an eye on them as they release more music this year. Alewives is:

Gunnar Schmitz: vocals, electric guitar, 12 string guitar
Shelby Len: backing vocals, violin, bass
Luis Acosta Jr: drums
Neil Walsh: 12 string electric guitar
Evan Ceman: pedal steel guitar

RedHawks - Generous Contributions (Appleton, WI; forthcoming, 2026)

What are we aching to become
and where do we run to

Appleton's RedHawks are back with their first full length album in a decade. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Freddie Haas and band have crafted 9 noisy indie/Americana songs that hearken back to the grimy days of early 2000s. Think Shipping News, Early Day Miners, Songs, Ohia, Mt. Eerie. Electric guitars and warm amps, imperfect recollections of imperfect stories. Haas has a unique voice that lends a post-punk roughness to the songs. "Fractures" and "Visions" are raw, mid-tempo tunes while "Start with the Truth" and "Insulated Freak" rock with an early-Radiohead vibe. This is not a fun record with a lot of pop hits, instead it's full of the vital energy of making art with your friends as a kind of therapy. It's music with a big bloody heart, rooted in the blue collar communities of the Fox River. Get up real close to the speakers and turn the lights down, "Generous Contributions" is coming soon to a music service near you.

[Thanks to Freddie for allowing me early access to this album, recorded at Big Garage Studios in Oshkosh. Digital access coming in late spring!]