Welcome back to Bonus Track, the monthly column designed to reflect on the past few weeks and share thoughts, music, and extraordinary artists.
Here’s what I’ve got this month:
- Reflecting on 11 years of writing about music
- Thoughts on new LPs from L.S. Dunes, May Leitz, and Anxious
- A spotlight on Josaleigh Pollett
Cheers to 11 Years of Music Journalism
Earlier this month, I was asked by a friend of mine how I started writing about music. “How do you even begin to do that?” “Well,” I said, “I think boredom is about as important as passion.” They thought it was a joke, but I was speaking from experience.
Over eleven years ago, I found myself in Schenectady, New York, for several hours. Not by choice but because I was waiting for a train to take me home for winter break. I wandered from the Amtrak station to Ambition Coffeehouse, then hunkered down in a hotel lobby for free WiFi. After an hour with their weak internet connection, I decided to start ranking my favorite albums of 2013. I narrowed down the list to a top 50 by the time the train arrived. By break’s end, I started a Tumblr page, posted that 2013 album list, and spontaneously interviewed Jason Butler (singer of letlive.).
As this interest, born out of boredom on winter break, grew, I realized that I wanted to do more with it. More specifically, something that would pay or count as an internship for discounted summer housing. One brief avenue was writing press releases for a local venue. But what stuck as a better fit was Big Heavy World (BHW), an independent and volunteer-run music office in downtown Burlington, Vermont. Since 1996, it’s been around offering vital resources for Vermont musicians, such as:
- An online artist directory and business referral network
- An alliance of musicians and presenters
- A record label
- A cooperative tour van
- Musician summits and educational events
- A weekly local music radio show and the community radio station to host it
It didn’t take long to get involved. Founder Jim Lockridge invited me to BHW’s office for the weekly volunteer hours. On a Tuesday night in early February, I met with Burlington, VT’s punk elder, told him my interests, and got my first assignment: interview local funk band Gang of Thieves. So I stepped out of his office, into the green room outside the radio station studio, and met with the band. I scribbled notes as fast as I could and all but ran home to translate my thoughts into a first draft. The rush I felt when it went live two days later was greater than anything I had put out on my own.
The year that followed was packed with a level of access to the local music scene that I never experienced before. Jim picked me up to see local bands perform on VPR’s (now Vermont Public) “Live from the Fort” series. I had full access to cover BHW’s annual “HeavyFest” fundraiser, meeting and interviewing national acts like The Main Squeeze and Ripe. I watched (while practically hugging the barricade) the famed ‘90s jazz/soul collective Belizbeha reunite for the Burlington Jazz Festival. It was a dream.
As I did more work, I wanted to take even more on. Over the summer of 2014, I started booking concerts, DJing the local music radio show, and writing for Mind Equals Blown. Unsurprisingly, doing all this with school and a paid job led to burnout. An unstable relationship didn’t help much, either. Passion alone wasn’t paying the bills; I needed boundaries if I wanted my involvement with local music to be sustainable.
I never learned how to define those boundaries before leaving Vermont in 2018. I’d go as far as to say I didn’t fully grasp them until deciding to get back into music journalism last summer. Instead of showing up consistently, even without immediate rewards, I put up barriers and excuses for not being the right person to do it. But that’s not how local music scenes thrive; they need relationships and grassroots support. The act of participation matters more than perfection.
Lately, I’ve been inspired by Molly O’Brien’s piece titled “the I Enjoy Music anti-slop manifesto”. In the manifesto spirit, it got me reflecting on the values that guide my work as a writer in 2025 (and beyond):
- Support local and independent artists: As a Durham, NC resident, I strive to be invested in the success of our state-wide music communities. I also want to uplift the amazing work of DIY artists that stand out to me, regardless of location.
- Create for passion, not profit: That means no AI or egregious monetization. I firmly believe in maintaining a platform built on a love for music and a disdain for ads that bog down the reading experience.
- Build genuine connections within the music community: This goes beyond meeting people and includes liaising between artists and communities. That’s the primary goal behind the North Carolina Artist Directory.
- Encourage others to participate, despite self-doubt: It’s hard to get started if you don’t know where to begin. Fortunately, I’m so tired of putting up my own barriers that I want to help folks — especially younger and older music fans — tear theirs down and impact their local music scene.
If I could give my bored younger self one piece of advice, it would be this: show up, stay consistent, and create because you love it. The true rewards — connections, experiences, and personal growth — are worth more than any paycheck or metric.
In Case You Missed It…
Here is your quick wrap-up of what’s been published on the website in the past month:
- 15 Years of Citizen — Reflections on growing up and evolving with a band from high school
- Interview: Joshua Glasson (Owner of Huron Stage) — Being influenced by (and influencing) our parents’ music taste, building a DIY venue, and growing pains of community spaces
- Interview: Plastic Flamingos — Coming together and building connections during COVID, bringing in new band members, and finishing up their second LP
- Interview: Tyler Spencer (Melodramatic) — Getting into the habit of putting music out every year, evolving influences, and playing your biggest show ever
- Review: pigeon pit – crazy arms — On their fourth record, Pigeon Pit bounces with a frantic yet joyful pace that transports you to a better reality
And that’s not all for February. We’ve got another interview going live next week that I’m really hyped for, followed by the first installment of our “New Music NC” monthly column. (If you’re a North Carolina artist with new music from the last 2 months, send it our way and get included!)
This Month in Music
L.S. Dunes — Violet [Fantasy]
Call me a spiteful Circa Survive fan or a supergroup skeptic, but L.S. Dunes missed me completely with their debut Past Lives. I just didn’t see the amazing pedigree — Saosin, Circa Survive, Coheed and Cambria, My Chemical Romance, Thursday — coming together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. I’m still unsure if Violet fully gets there, but it makes a stronger impression than their first record.
While Anthony Green’s isolated singing overstays their welcome to start “Like Magick”, the opener still serves as an effective artist statement: soaring vocals, an explosive rhythm section, and ripping guitar solos. The band plays this card repeatedly and to great effect across the record’s first half. They really hit their peak on tracks like “Violet”, “Paper Tigers”, and “Forgiveness”, while the rest chugs along. Overall, a fun listen that I’ll be coming back to in the future.
Top Tracks: “Fatal Deluxe”, “Violet”, “Paper Tigers’”
May Leitz — A Touch of Grace [Lonely Ghost]
Shoutout to John at Lonely Ghost Records for sending this one my way! A Touch of Grace is May Leitz’s first release with the label after self-releasing a mind-boggling fifteen albums since 2017. Don’t let that prolific output fool you into thinking Leitz is a songwriter who throws anything at the wall to see what sticks. This record is a crafted piece of bombastic hyperpop, complete with AutoTuned shrieks and the maximalist production one would expect.
After listening to it the first time, I didn’t know what to think, but returning to the album really floors me with its thematic cohesion. There’s a running commentary on fame and success you might miss in the chaos, but it’s grinding in the background of every song. The aptly named “Grindset Blues” injects some unexpected country twang into the mix (trust me, it slaps). If you need less subtlety, you’ve got “$$$” and its deceptively simple meditation on capitalism. By the time we hit the unhinged narrative of “Radio Killed the Radio Star,” it’s clear Leitz has done something special with this project.
Top Tracks: “Grindset Blues”, “Gasoline”, “You Don’t Know the Difference”
Anxious — Bambi [Run for Cover]
For the uninitiated, Anxious is one of those emo-rock acts that has been building steam over the last few years, thanks to their excellent 2022 debut Little Green House. With years of growth, on and off the road, behind them, they return with a second record that is as blistering (“Counting Sheep”) as it is tender (“Audrey Go Again”).
Throughout Bambi, I hear aspects of Taking Back Sunday in their dual vocal approach, high tempo, and vulnerable lyrical content. There are also traces of label-mates Citizen, Jimmy Eat World, and The Beach Boys. I haven’t had much more than three full listens, but it’s already up there as one of my favorites this year.
Top Tracks: “Never Said”, “Counting Sheep”, “Tell Me Why”
And here’s a convenient playlist of my favorite new songs in 2025:
Follow me on Apple Music and/or Last.fm if you feel so inclined.
Artist Spotlight: Josaleigh Pollett
Earlier this month, Salt Lake City, UT-based musician Josaleigh Pollett released a “song each day” project called bro’s bad january, and I really love it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading about the “flattening of music” in Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine, but this record grabbed my attention by how it encapsulates everything I love about auditory art. Josaleigh’s work here is as delicate as it is raw and proudly rough around the edges.
When you’re writing and recording a song every day, there’s more work to do than perfection allows, even if it’s under three minutes. Every guitar flub or throat clear hits harder because they are a testament to these songs existing rather than being some idea that never came to fruition.
As they say in their project notes: “I am watching the world erupt into a fearful chaos around myself and people I love right now. I think finding something to add to your daily to-do list that is just for you and just for fun is more important than ever.”
I’d add this: We need more people saying, “I’m going to do this thing,” and doing it.
[Pst! Are you a music lover and/or creative who wants to be featured in the monthly spotlight? Email me at ja*****@********es.co!]
That’s all for this month’s column. Thanks for reading, stay safe (and sane), and support local music. 🤘
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