Indie 102.3 Sessions

Dirty Few released the new EP, “Volcom Sessions,” last month. The Denver garage rock quintet recorded it at the California headquarters of the skate and surf apparel company Volcom. It’s an energetic record that’s representative of the band’s potent live show. Before a release show at Denver’s Larimer Lounge, Dirty Few returned to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2015. The band played three songs and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about teaming up with Volcom, hiring a “party manager” and embarking on a West Coast tour.

Down Time released its debut EP, “Good Luck!,” last year. The record features five lo-fi indie pop songs that the group itself describes as “grandma jams.” The Denver indie rock band has since expanded from a trio to a five-piece and is at work on new material. Down Time stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a concert at Larimer Lounge. The band played four songs and spoke with Bruce Trujillo about expanding its sound with new members, working on a full-length album and filming a concert at Denver’s Alamo Drafthouse movie theater.

Phil Pirrone leads JJUUJJUU with a rotating cast of backing players. The Los Angeles psychedelic rock band recently released its debut album, “Zionic Mud.” It’s heavy on reverberated vocals, fuzzed-out guitar licks and intriguing song titles like “Italian Toothpaste.” JJUUJJUU stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a show at Denver’s Lost Lake. The band played two songs and Pirrone spoke with Bruce Trujillo about how he started playing music, the many collaborations on “Zionic Mud” and running the California music festival Desert Daze.

Brazilian Girls this year released the album “Let’s Make Love,” the pop band’s first since 2008’s Grammy-nominated “New York City.” It features the eclectic dance sound the quartet became known for in the early 2000s. The album came together over the course of several years, with recording sessions in Istanbul, Paris, Madrid and New York. Brazilian Girls visited us in the CPR Performance Studio last month. The quartet played three songs from “Let’s Make Love” and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about recording the album all over the world and the romantic themes behind the new songs.

Joel Van Horne released his third album as Covenhoven earlier this month. “A Kind Of Revelation” came from the Denver musician’s writing sessions while touring along the Pacific coast of California, Oregon and Washington. The album blends the contemplative folk of Covenhoven’s previous work with vivid orchestral string parts. Covenhoven returned to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2015. Van Horne and his seven-piece backing band played three songs from “A Kind Of Revelation” and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about how his brother’s death affected the arc of the album and how the natural world inspires his music.

After a five-year hiatus, Wolf Parade released the new album “Cry Cry Cry” last fall. The Montreal quartet — led by the songwriting duo of Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug — picks up right where it left off with a collection songs of featuring mystifying lyrics and uptempo rock rhythms. Wolf Parade stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a concert at the Ogden Theatre. The members played four songs from “Cry Cry Cry” and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about the band’s growth since reuniting in 2016, how they wrote Wolf Parade songs during the hiatus and how the indie rock music industry has changed since the band’s early days.

Super Bummer released its debut album, “Big Ambition,” last month. The quartet hails from New Mexico and currently resides in Denver. The album features midtempo rock songs influenced by ’90s indie music and surf-rock, as well as occasionally downcast lyrics in line with the band’s name. Super Bummer recently played some songs from “Big Ambition” in the CPR Performance Studio. The band members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about working with the Colorado indie label Grouphug and how they connected with Denver’s music scene.

Ivory Circle caught some national attention this year with a remarkable submission to NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest. The Denver band’s video for “Never Let Me Go” — which features multiple images of band members spliced into one shot — made a list of the contest judges’ favorite entries (and our list as well). That video landed them a spot on last week’s Tiny Desk Concert bill with contest winner Naia Izumi. Ivory Circle recently returned to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2014. The band members played three songs — including “Never Let Me Go” — and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about about why their EP titles are named after triangles, the long process of arranging their vocal harmonies and what the exposure from NPR Music has done for the band.