132 APRIL 4-10, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | to it in one sitting…while sifting through silt searching for fossils. Best Band Led by a Zombie Overlord Maris the Great & the F.O.D maristhegreat.com Once May hits, no Denver band is safe. That’s when Maris the Great rises from his lair under the Cheesman Park pavilion and begins terrorizing stages with his band the F.O.D. Always in character, you’ll fi nd Maris stomping around his lair with a pink mohawk and full zombie armor, and on his website, you’ll fi nd the array of bands he’s “killed” through the decades. Most bands consider it a compliment to be murdered by the Denver icon — he always asks per- mission — and his fi nal show of the year (before he returns to his lair) usually in- volves those most recently killed. That’s his Halloween showcase, hosted by drag queen Jessica L’Whor and involving all the blood and gore you can stomach. It’s not just a celebration of horror, but of queer culture, too. Best Potential A24 Soundtrack Incorporeal Spiritual Poison spiritualpoison.bandcamp.com Ethan Lee McCarthy is no stranger to con- juring terrifying sounds. In fact, the long- time local musician and producer takes pride in delivering scathing reverberations. But somehow, McCarthy’s latest album, Incorporeal, from his solo project Spiritual Poison, is the scariest, most disturbing mu- sic he’s ever pulled from the recesses of his morbid mind. When the fi rst single, “Place of Peace,” came out, he said he “wanted it to sound like a long journey through an otherworldly doorway.” Yeah, a doorway to horrors previously unknown to mankind. Then there’s “Summon,” which just might awaken a long-dead deity buried 20,000 leagues under the sea. If Robert Eggers needs a composer for his next period- correct fi lm about a Victorian-era insane asylum, Spiritual Poison would be perfect. Best Post-Breakup Music Cherished cherishedsound.bandcamp.com Cherished, formerly known as Lowfaith, has been around for nearly a decade, but hadn’t been very active in recent years — until the group released a new four-song EP, other bodies, at the beginning of the year and reinvented itself. With Cloe Madonna (also of local hardcore band Destiny Bond) on vocals, Cherished oozes pensive indie pop. “Weekend Girlfriend” is a heartbreaking ballad about unrequited love, while “Pet- als” ponders a similar sentiment. Elsewhere, “Slaughterhouse, Where I Laid” and “False Chorus” come to grips with that feeling of being strung along for too long. There’s something melancholic yet comforting about Cherished’s music. It’s the soundtrack to a breakup, but it feels more like an empa- thetic friend who’s going through their own heartache yet is still there for you. Best Moody Band Creek creekco.bandcamp.com Not too long ago, emo bands were known for being whiny and melodramatic. But that woe-is-me stereotype is tired and gone, thanks to groups like Creek. The four-piece marries emo and shoegaze to make moody “emogaze” that hits like a Charles Bukowski poem about life’s inher- ent banality. Creek recently announced it had fi nished working on its third EP at Lakewood’s Swadley Studios, which is owned and operated by the group’s gui- tarist and vocalist, Jared Barnes. But until that doom-and-gloom opus is released, a trio of singles — “Moving On,” “Forget- ting” and “Past Lives” — should be more than enough to hold you over, if not send you into a downright spiral about all your mistakes and misgivings, you sad sap. Best Reminder of Your Angsty Teen Years Hellocentral hellocentral.live Music and Venues continued from page 131 GETT Y IMAGES
