THE BARGAIN
Megan Burtt
Self-released
Rock musicians with something to prove sometimes lean too heavily on a dark, distressed demeanor. But it’s not hard to spot which artists take up that pre-fab attitude like an expensive frayed coat, and which artists are simply, naturally, touched with trouble. There’s nothing put-upon about Megan Burtt’s outlook lately — her second album, 2015’s The Bargain, charts her recovery from a serious illness with sincere, gently passionate pop songs that move from darkness to light.
“These songs are about my struggle to recover my health,” the Denver-born Burtt writes in her tour notes. “The word ‘bargain’ is provocative because we’re constantly bargaining, deciding how and when we should show up in our lives. Every day, decision, connection and relationship feels like an exchange of something for something else, things we may not be aware of until we’re dancing with mortality.”
The Bargain was produced by Burtt’s longtime band member Louis Cato, who has also worked with Bobby McFerrin, Snarky Puppy, and Mariah Carey — a sign that many listeners will find this music easy to access, even as it shines with occasional sonic quirks. On bright, cleanly-produced songs like “In A Minute,” “Anchor,” and “Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” her ability to triangulate pop rock, folk, and country puts a Fleetwood Mac-like career — or, hey, maybe Tom Petty? — squarely in her sights. Free fallin’ no more, Burtt is looking onward and upward.
Megan Burtt opens for Stephen Kellogg at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Monday, Dec. 26. Learn more about Megan Burtt at meganburtt.com.
ONCE YOU SAY
Freevolt
Evolvement Music
If Rage Against the Machine retired to a margarita bar in Baja, and Zack de la Rocha stoked his songs of civic unrest with more of a kumbaya vibe, he’s come off like his dread-headed counterpart Michael Bernier. Smiling and rather goggle-eyed, Bernier — the lead vocalist and guitarist for Freevolt — performs with the rap-sung smoothness of Sublime’s Bradley Nowell and the winking cheer of Weird Al.
His high-energy band, formed in Massachusetts in 2012, runneth over with passion and good vibes. On their website, they gush about all of the great acts they have shared stages with — a list that includes Donovan Frankenreiter, Dr. Dog, John Brown’s Body, Fear Nuttin Band, and Pink Talking Fish. Even the band’s description of their own music — as “roots rock Americana jam reggae funk pop,” can’t avoid an exuberant group-hug spirit. Their new album Once You Say, released this fall, is no exception. This is an act to dance joyfully along with at an outdoor music festival. But for now, in these colder months, you’ve have to jam out inside. Hang up your jacket, kick the snow out of your boots, and Freevolt will meet you more than halfway.
Freevolt plays The Root Cellar in Greenfield on Thursday, Dec. 22. Learn more about Freevolt at enjoyfreevolt.com.
