Vermont musicians have been busier than ever, inundating music editor Chris Farnsworth with submissions. With albums coming in hot and fast, sometimes it takes a full six-pack of reviews to keep the queue moving. Why not make it seven, you ask? Because sometimes we get tired of listing things in increments of seven, all right?

Coppermind and St. Silva, Loading Screen Music

(Self-released, digital)

Technology and time are strange bedfellows. Each generation has its own jealously guarded memories of the tech of its day. For Gen Xers and millennials, one of those sacred relics is the trippy phenomenon of loading-screen music. Whether these tracks were entertaining gamers waiting for video games to fire up or scoring the menu of a DVD, they became almost a genre unto themselves in the early years of the 21st century.

Burlington producers and musicians Ian Steinberg, aka Coppermind, and Ben Dexter Cooley, aka St. Silva, aimed to re-create that nostalgic slice of interstitial sounds on Loading Screen Music. Sometimes ambient and sometimes melody-driven, the piano-forward scores could easily double as an ASMR soundtrack. It's hard not to envision the DVD logo bouncing around the TV screen as notes ripple out of the speakers, percussive and ethereal at once.

Key Track: "Ice Skating on Memory" Why: Steinberg hammers out a spectral dirge on the piano, building a sort of passive tension that never resolves. Where: stsilva.bandcamp.com

Dipped in Moonlight, Dipped in Moonlight

(Self-released, digital)

Roots rockers Dipped in Moonlight, who formed in Johnson in 2023, aren't trying to reinvent the wheel. A good-natured groove machine centered on vocalist April Streeter's clear, soulful voice, the four-piece channels the sun-streaked sounds of '70s Laurel Canyon-style rock and folk. It's a particularly Vermont kind of synthesis, a rock outfit that mixes equal parts Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band influences with hints of jazz and bluegrass.

In many acts of this type, the effect falls flat, with milquetoast songs that sound like bad AI amalgamations of older, better music. Fortunately, Dipped in Moonlight have the instrumental chops and songwriting acumen to rise above the fray.

On their steady self-titled debut, the band offers all the usual elements — perky, bright and clean guitar licks; an easygoing rhythm section; and songs that would do well at any après ski event in the Green Mountains. What keeps the album from fading into the shrubbery along with most of Vermont's "soft jam" contingent is the playful nature of songs such as "Promise," which display flashes of funk and bold production.

Key Track: "Heart Carved in a Tree" Why: The band blends reggae and swing with surprising results. Where: Spotify

Pat Lambdin, Shiv Sarod Vol. 1

(Self-released, digital)

It's not often one encounters a Vermont musician schooled in the classical Indian tradition, but Pat Lambdin is something of an anomaly in the scene. Trained on the sitar by renowned Indian musician Pandit Shivnath Mishra, Lambdin is a licensed music therapist who regularly travels to India to learn and perform.

On his latest record, Shiv Sarod Vol. 1, the musician makes the sarod, a North Indian string instrument known for a deeper and more introspective tone than the sitar, the centerpiece of his classical compositions. Lambdin's sarod sings, babbles, whispers and belts out raga after raga over six tracks.

Tabla player Prashant Mishra, the grandson of Lambdin's mentor and himself a rising name in Indian music, provides the album's percussion. The live album was recorded on the morning of March 8 in Benares, India, only two months before its release. The combination of Lambdin's loquacious sarod playing and Mishra's evocative percussion creates a collage of sound that is as meditative as it is intriguing.

Key Track: "Raag Bhupali Gat in Rupak" Why: A gorgeous pentatonic scale raga, the song represents the state of nonattachment. Where: patlambdin.bandcamp.com

Rockin' Ron the Friendly Pirate, Everyone on Board

(Self-released, CD and digital)

Land ho! Raise the ship's flag, because Vermont's most nautical of kids' music pirates is back with a new album full of sing-alongs, life lessons and positivity. Musician Ron Carter, better known to little Vermont buccaneers as Rockin' Ron the Friendly Pirate, has been writing and releasing music for kids since 2002. The Smugglers' Notch-based singer-songwriter mixes fun and education into catchy, aquatic-themed tunes.

Ron's latest offering, Everyone on Board, continues his long and consistent run of entertaining records. He adds just enough musical tricks to keep adult listeners interested, even as he gets the kids singing along to songs about such pressing topics as wanting one's binky back ("Gimme Back My Binky") and study habits ("Smarty Pants Pirate"). There's a kind of subtle genius to Rockin' Ron's songwriting; balancing a sense of fun with an educational bent is much harder than it appears.

Key Track: "Wreckers" Why: With a sonic nod to the theme song of "Gilligan's Island," the tune will get a classroom full of tykes singing along. Where: Spotify

Thorny, Flood

(Witherwillow Sounds, digital)

"When the Water Comes," the first track on the new Thorny album, Flood, eases into being with an eerie beauty, equal parts apprehension and acceptance in its glacial synth patches and ghostly percussion. After all, what can humans do about the flood?

The ambient project of Plainfield musician JD Ryan, Thorny is a fascinating study in musical reaction to environmental stimuli. Ryan began working on Flood, the follow-up to the excellent 2023 album See No Sky, after central Vermont experienced devastating floods last July. A concept record of sorts, Flood follows the timeline of the water overtaking a town and receding, leaving behind mud, destruction and hard questions.

Throughout the record, Ryan uses synthesizers and bass guitar to represent the horror and tranquility of the water, the despair over natural destruction, and the hope of reconstruction. No word yet on whether this summer's floods will inspire a sequel.

Key Track: "The View From Above" Why: Ryan juxtaposes the sorrow of seeing the disaster with the optimism of reconstruction. Where: witherwillow.bandcamp.com

Geoff Kim Organ Trio, Radiance

(Self-released, digital)

When the Geoff Kim Organ Trio formed in 2021, it was a coming together of some of the Burlington scene's best jazz musicians. Guitarist Kim was known for his work with bands Guagua and Trio Gusto, Shane Hardiman had played organ with soul singer Kat Wright, and drummer Troy Hubbard pounded the skins for jazz fusion act Viscus. It should surprise no one that the trio's debut, Radiance, is a triumphant, sonically adventurous and downright killer album that displays the instrumental prowess of all three players.

From the tasteful six-string work of Kim on "Dark Matter" to Hardiman's grooving solo on "Boogaloo #5" to Hubbard's bebop beat on "Oso's Revenge," Radiance is chock-full of musical mastery. More importantly, though, the songs move and groove, showing off a trio that can effortlessly shift genres while maintaining a distinctive and sophisticated sound.

For a debut, Radiance feels remarkably like a mid-career record. That's down to incredible production from Ben Collette at Burlington's Tank Recording Studio and a band that is far tighter than most 3-year-old acts have any right to be.

Key Track: "DV Y CB" Why: One of the album's slower, smoother compositions, the song highlights both the virtuosity and restraint in Kim's guitar playing. Where: geoffkimorgantrio.bandcamp.com