Butcher Brown
Encore, Concord Jazz
Richmond collective Butcher Brown made its major label debut last year on Concord with the release of #KINGBUTCH, an expansive full-length album that showcased the group’s unique fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Now, the quintet of DJ Harrison, drummer Corey Fonville, bassist Andrew Randazzo, trumpeter/saxophonist/MC Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney, and guitarist Morgan Burrs returns with a companion EP, Encore, featuring five tracks that were recorded during the #KINGBUTCH sessions. “Truck Fump” is an energetic instrumental trip, while tracks like “VA Noir” give a nod to the region. It’s the latest installment in Butcher Brown’s ascent; the crew recently played NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, while ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” tapped them to contribute to an updated version of the show’s theme song “Rip It Up” in 2020. Appropriately titled, Encore provides further insight and depth into the psyche of a band that never stops evolving. (Released June 4)
Lucy Dacus
Home Video, Matador
Across the span of two albums—2016’s No Burden and 2018’s Historian—and a collaborative project with fellow songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, Richmond native Lucy Dacus has garnered national success and secured her status on the indie rock landscape. Along the way, Dacus made the move to Philadelphia, a city that boasts its own underground scene in the same vein as Richmond. Her third album, Home Video, harkens back to Dacus’ roots in Richmond, reflecting on mentors, friends, venues, and the experiences that forged her identity. On this coming-of-age account, Dacus turns her incisive, sharp songwriting lens inward, questioning how
iterations of her current and
past selves align as a cohesive journey. She debuted the album’s lead single, “Hot & Heavy,” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The track’s music video traces the record’s theme, combining home video footage of Dacus as a singing child with modern-day montages of her visiting the Byrd Theatre. She performed the follow-up single, “Brando,” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and the video was filmed at another Richmond haunt, the Theatre Gym at the Virginia Repertory Theatre. This hometown homage is Dacus’ strongest work to date, and is a contender for one of the best albums of 2021. (Released June 25)
Free Union
No Pressure, Self-Release
After dropping a double single in January, the Charlottesville-based collective spearheaded by Michael Coleman and Rob Dunnenberger is back with a career-spanning five-song EP.
As a group, Free Union aims to unite genres, places, and people—and follows suit on
No Pressure, enlisting co-production from neighboring Richmond artist DJ Harrison, and engineering and mixing from Adrian Olsen and Montrose Recording. Comprised of new compositions and songs that were written years prior, No Pressure traces the band’s trajectory and is a testament to its musical prowess. Standout track “Someone Like Me” is the perfect summer bop, but the entire crop of songs combines elements of pop and R&B
in a groovy blend owned by
the band. (Released May 28)