This week in Freak Scene, we’ve got new singles from Western Mass. band Cloudbelly and New Haven quartet Dagwood, both of whom have new albums on the way.

What sounds at first like a yearning for a break from the heat on Cloudbelly’s new single, “Oh, Antarctica,” turns out to be a meditation “on the grittiness of grieving a future one must live into,” the Montague group writes on Bandcamp.

CloudbellyOh, Antarctica!

That is, a future marked by volatile temperature swings and the cascade of unintended consequences that are sure to follow. Or, as singer Corey Laitman puts it:

Record-breaking hot July

Summer's coming down with fever

It's too late now the fire's lit

The house is burning, this is it

The tropics come to Massachusetts

Yet the ecological subtext doesn’t overshadow the beauty of a song that conjures the feeling of languorous summer days when there’s nothing more to do than daydream with your sweetheart. Laitman sings with just the hint of an ache in their voice as part of a richly layered musical arrangement with guitars from Laitman, Sam Perry and Ciarra Fragale, who also played bass and did backing vocals. Nate Mondschein added a fluid drum part, as well as additional guitar, bass and subtly twinkling synths. He also did the string arrangements for Matthew Thornton, who played cello, and Cynthia Tolson, who contributed violin and viola.

“Oh, Antarctica” is the first single from Cloudbelly’s upcoming album Throwing the Game, which is due Nov. 13, ahead of a performance Nov. 21 at the Drake in Amherst (tickets). It will be Cloudbelly’s first full-length release since 2024’s gorgeous i know i know i know (covered in Freak Scene #9).

Dagwood Are Headed ‘Nowhere’ on New Single

It’s an unconventional PR strategy to talk about your client’s “lack of ambition and years of refusing to take themselves seriously,” but that description of Dagwood would seem to be a thing of the past. The New Haven quartet sounds locked in on “Nowhere Now,” the latest single from their upcoming album So What.

Recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato in Easthampton, the song is a garage-rock gem, 3 1/2 minutes of surging guitars with a punk edge, and a big spray of vocal harmonies on the chorus. Like the Cloudbelly song, “Nowhere Now” is open to multiple interpretations, singer Grady Hearn says.

DagwoodNowhere Now

“One idea in ‘Nowhere Now’ is about outsider camaraderie, like, ‘I’m going nowhere, I’m a loser, but you’re welcome to join me, if you want,’” Hearn says in a press release. “There's another layer about surveillance and social media, a kind of sarcastic love song directed at whatever technology is tracking and monetizing your every move: ‘Hey I’m literally someone who’s not important doing absolutely nothing nowhere, but happy to have you along I guess.’”

So What is Dagwood’s second collaboration with Pizzoferrato, who also worked on the band’s 2024 EP Pollyanna Visions. The new album is due Sept. 8.

Upcoming Concerts

Winterpills and the Pamela Means Band perform Sept. 26 at Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton (tickets).

Amber Lane Cafe in Northampton (formerly Iconica Social Club and various other things) is hosting a Sunday morning open-mic starting this week and continuing Sept. 13, Oct. 11 and Nov. 8. Erin Morse hosts the 11 a.m. event; performers each get 10 minutes.

The Iron Horse hosts Oliver Wood Sept. 30 (tickets) and Griffin William Sherry with the Wolff Sisters Dec. 10 (tickets).

Coming to the Parlor Room in Northampton: Willis Alan Ramsey with Jake Klar Sept. 23 (tickets), Angela Hassan Sept. 26 (tickets), Sean Rowe Oct. 1 (tickets), the Montvales Oct. 7 (tickets), Cantrip Oct. 8 (tickets), Dead to the Core with Lisa Bastoni Oct. 11 (tickets), Ali McGuirk Oct. 18 (tickets), Christa Joy & the Honeybees Oct. 22 (tickets), Tracy Grammer Oct. 31 (tickets), Spencer LaJoye Nov. 4 (tickets), Driftwood Nov. 5 (tickets), Georgia folk trio Lighthearted with Kate Stephenson Nov. 10 (tickets), Marty O'Reilly Nov. 12 (tickets), Goodnight Moonshine and Seth Walker Nov. 21 (tickets) and Hayley Reardon Nov. 22 (tickets).

In addition to the Cloudbelly show Nov. 21 with Jake Klar & Blue Ranger, the Drake in Amherst hosts Autumn Drive and Small Pond Oct. 22 (tickets) and Sap Nov. 10 with Sludge Mother and Sir Echo (tickets). The Back Porch Songwriter Series will also present a tribute Nov. 24 to Dolly Parton, who died this week at 80. Performers haven’t been announced yet, but the Deep River Ramblers are on the bill (tickets). The LeeVees’ Hanukkah show happens Dec. 9 (tickets).

Americana singer Troy Ramey performs Oct. 21 at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls (tickets).

The Stone Church in Brattleboro hosts an album release show for Thao Nov. 14 (tickets). Also on the calendar: Tom Hamilton Nov. 22 (tickets), psychobilly from Koffin Kats, Voodoo Glow Skulls and the Raging Nathans Dec. 1 (tickets), Brooklyn trio Forager Dec. 4 (tickets) and Thee Sinseers Dec. 5 (tickets).

Coming to the Space Ballroom in Hamden: Brat Oct. 7 (tickets), pop-punk band Like Roses Oct. 30 (tickets), Crane Wives singer Lee Emi Nov. 11 (tickets) and Memphis nu-metal band Primer 55 Nov. 17 (tickets).

This Week’s Shows

June Millington & the IMA All-Stars perform Saturday, Aug. 29 at the Institute for the Musical Arts in Goshen (tickets, including a livestream option) to mark the remastered reissue of Millington’s 1981 album Heartsong, as well as her new studio album Home to My Soul. The show will also be livestreamed. Kenyan singer and songwriter Lydiah Dola opens.