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Mark LeGrand and Sarah Munro, Angel With a Broken Wing

(Self-released, CD, digital)

Singer-songwriter Mark LeGrand and vocalist Sarah Munro make a formidable team. The Montpelier-based married couple craft pristine-sounding country music centered on LeGrand's songwriting and Munro's voice. They kick off their latest release, Angel With a Broken Wing, with the title track, a lament for Mother Nature.

"We must change our ways / to keep her nights and days / in the wood we hear her sing / Like an angel with a broken wing," Munro sings.

In an email, LeGrand revealed that he started writing the tune, a love song to the Earth itself, nearly 30 years ago but didn't finish it until 2022.

"With the flooding in Montpelier and the loss of our residency at Bent Nails [Bistro], it all seems very timely," he wrote, referencing the temporary closing of the club after July floods caused massive damage in Montpelier.

"When the Lights Turn Low" edges more into classic country territory, the genre LeGrand excelled in on previous solo releases and with his old band the Lovesick Bandits. In some ways, Angel With a Broken Wing represents a shift in the duo's sound, pushing into folk and even blues on "Cold New England Town." But the meat of the EP is as pure country as you get, from the Appalachian noir of "Shooting Star" to "Waltz in the Moonlight," a song fit for a slow dance in a barn.

Angel With a Broken Wing is available on all major streaming services.

Threatened by Machines, Threatened by Machines

(Self-released, CD, digital)

Threatened by Machines' singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, Sture Nelson, has a knack for eclectic and hard-to-pin-down songwriting. On Threatened by Machines' self-titled debut, the Burlington-based musician veers from indie rock to prog to David Bowie-esque almost-pop. He even touches on a strange strain of space funk in the synth-heavy tunes "Kite in a Tree" and "Emergency Funk Treatment."

The record is impressive both for its art-rock tendencies and for the way Nelson's contributors help color in the lines. Greg Matses (Channel Two Dub Band, Tammy Fletcher & the Disciples) provides searing guitar work throughout the nine-song LP, and Chris Gribnau and Susan Henry add horns and harp, respectively. Otherwise, Nelson handles every sound on Threatened by Machines. And those sounds are legion, with layers of synths and programmed drums, saxophone, cello and flute plastered all over the record.

The result is a wild and occasionally unpredictable listen, from the twisted carnival feel of "Into the Void ... Darkly" to the English folk of "Shadows of Images." Through it all, the only unifying threads are Nelson's idiosyncratic songwriting and his hushed vocals. He is adroit at sneaking his wide array of influences into the weirdest places he can find. That could be a recipe for disaster, but Nelson makes the weird his ally on the record.

Threatened by Machines is streaming on Spotify and iTunes.

Sulk Fangs, Blackberry Widow

(Self-released, digital)

Burlington singer-songwriter Matt Bushlow returns with Blackberry Widow, his third release of 2023 with his folk-rock project Sulk Fangs. The four-song EP finds Bushlow writing more directly in a single genre than he did on his last EP, Feel Better. That record, released in April, established Bushlow as capable of channeling multiple aspects of folk, from more traditional strains to modern, pop-influenced takes.

On Blackberry Widow, Bushlow presents straightforward indie folk full of harmony vocals via Aya Inoue and lap steel guitar from Tyler George-Minetti. Eric Segalstad (guitar), Mike McKinley (bass), Paul Ruderman (piano) and Adam Rabin (electric piano) round out Bushlow's solid folk-rock outfit.

The title track is a pleasant enough song that references "Johnny-come-latelies from New York and New Jersey" and ambles along like an old wagon, but Bushlow shows his true worth on "I Knew." Over an almost somnambulant drumbeat and restrained stabs of organ, he describes the drug-like sensations of the beginning of a love affair.

"Through the Years" showcases the interplay of Bushlow's and Inoue's voices as they weave a haunting melody on the chorus. "Let's go reel through the years / Reliving loves, reliving tears," they croon over gently plucked acoustic guitar notes.

Bushlow closes the EP with a stirring cover of the late, great folk singer Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter." It's a perfect way to wrap things up and a view into Bushlow's influences.

Check out Blackberry Widow at sulkfangs.bandcamp.com.