Check out new music from 10 Columbia, SC musicians

This month’s Local Frequency features new music from Columbia-area musicians, including hardcore, folk, punk and neo-soul acts. Keep reading for 10 tracks and projects to check out. And if you have a new song, EP or album you’d liked considered for the next edition of Local Frequency, email [email protected] for consideration.

When I Say Jump, “Before the Fall” (album)

It’s always a good sign for a collection of heavy music when no one in the band lists a last name in the credits. When I Say Jump is a five-headed post-hardcore behemoth, and their sound is remarkably tight and surprisingly emotional. Lead vocalist R.C. has a voice that can handle tortured emotion and tortured vocal cords simultaneously, and the band moves as one brutal unit throughout, taking twists and turns and spewing riffs. Think: A closed fist contacting your jawbone at high velocity, but the guy who did it is SUPER sorry.

Sean Thomson, “Boog & Chicken” (single)

We’ve been listening to this compulsively, and we still don’t really know what it is. Sean Thomson lists his “genre” as “blues/noise/ragtime sludge,” but “Boog & Chicken” is …. something else entirely. This 9-minute piece starts out with oddly timed banjo (maybe a banjo?) plucking against sudden orchestral surges before building into a gorgeous, wide-screen soundscape. Then ,at about 5:40, a guitar solo that David Gilmour should be allowed to sue someone for takes us into a slow, sloppy blues jam. Then it goes back to the banjo plucking. We don’t know either, but you will not hear anything else like it on the local scene. Or anywhere. Like, on Earth.

Scottie Barnett, “The Love Connections & the disconnects” (EP)

This is a “local release of the year” contender, and one of the most immersive musical experiences we’ve had recently. Vocalist Scottie Barnett is a masterful singer who can layer cascades of harmony vocals around her soulful leads. And she uses this incredible instrument on a five-track EP of immaculately produced neo-soul. The songs deliberately drift into one another, creating a blissful mini suite of love, pain and inspiration. Think of the albums that artists like Maxwell and Alicia Keys used to make. That’s what we’re talking about here.

Henry Luther, “Rally Boyz” (single)

First things first: Send the kids out of the room for this one, ‘cause the f-bombs are a-flyin.’ Now then, check out this sputtering fireball of a hardcore tune. This adrenaline-fueled breakdown of Luther’s recent tour chaos changes tempos about every five seconds, going from grinding hard rock to ferocious hardcore in a flash, and occasionally just, y’know, stopping entirely. It’s hilarious, it’s bookended by a profanity-laden, slightly boozed up intro and a Beach Boys-style outro. You’re gonna a need a shower afterwards.

Kilo Hotel, “Flirting with Disaster” (EP)

What’s a player to do when he’s feeling low? When even that 2 a.m. conquest at the bar doesn’t excite you anymore? That seems to be the theme of Kilo Hotel’s “Flirting with Disaster” EP. After a ridiculously (and deliberately) over-the-top narrative “Intro” that fills us in on our hero, Kilo delivers the tale of a one-night stand that ends up breaking his heart (“Filipino Birthday Party”), a sleepy hip-hop ode to a sleepy girl named “Madison,” envies the hotter vampires in the dark shadows of the dance club (“Night Machines”) before ending with a thundering plea to stop the (emotional) violence with “Put The Hammer Down.” Not sure if it was meant this way, but it feels like we’re listening to a complete five-song story.

Kevin K & The Bowery Kats, “Shadow Work 38” (album)

A while back, we told the story of a first-wave punk musician named Kevin K. The man once played at CBGB in New York but now calls Columbia home. Well, perhaps he figured it was time to pull the leather jacket out of the closet and start rocking again. Kevin K’s band, The Bowery Kats, get a ragged-but-right groove going, melding sloppy riffs and tight rhythms with zero polish. And the “Shadow Work 28” album is a glorious throwback, but it’s not pure punk by any means. “Why She Cries” is a power-pop gem that The Replacements or The Smithereens would’ve killed for, “Hick from The Sticks” is a Joan Jett-style pop-stomp and “Crazy For You” sounds like a long-lost Stones ballad from the “Sticky Fingers” era.

Boomtown Trio, “Don’t Wait Up” (single)

This song is a calling card for the Boomtown Trio’s full-length release later this month, and if this tune is any indication, we’re about to have a delightfully unique experience. “Don’t Wait Up” kicks off as a lively acoustic guitar and fiddle duet that refreshes like water from a cold mountain stream. Then it moves into a fascinating start-stop verse highlighted by Cat Galan’s remarkably clear and flexible voice. The song structure turns itself inside out and becomes something entirely different, sounding like some intoxicating mix of Alison Krauss and Bjork. In a good way, we swear.

Public Mind, “If You Listen” (single)

This single from Aiken’s Public Mind got past us earlier this year, but once it digs in, it’s not letting go. A heartfelt slamfest that speeds by in a fast, sloppy blur, all childlike enthusiasm and that great emo combination of desperation and hope. Throw in a chorus that will wedge itself into your brain like a kernel of popcorn in your teeth and a cool little breakdown towards the end, and this single is a banger, as the kids say.

The Runout, “Just As Real” (album)

“Just As Real” is quite simply some damn good Americana, with wistful melodies, melded acoustic and electric guitars, some laidback vocal harmonies and a delicious Hammond B-3 providing texture in the background. And somewhat unexpectedly, there’s a run of wistful acoustic ballads that serve as the spine of The Runout’s album, making it a perfect Sunday morning spin.

Kershaw Spong, “Carolina Home” (single)

Speaking of good Sunday morning songs, singer/songwriter Kershaw Spong has come out with a locally focused take on the trucker anthem “Six Days on the Road.” Over a burbling banjo and a sunny acoustic groove, Spong’s Southern twang-heavy voice tells the story of a man headed back “through the rain and the mountains” to his “Carolina Home.” Check out the song’s head-nodding chorus and quicksilver acoustic guitar solo, too.