I’ve been a stay-at-home writer for a few months now. Some of it has been horrible and monotonous and lonely. Yet, other parts have been enlightening and a tad nostalgic. I spent a lot of time alone as a teenager: writing, making music, and generally figuring myself out as a almost-person. I spent countless hours on my bedroom floor with an Adderall buzz leftover from school, scouring Bandcamp for new music. This time (and a little help from a good friend) led me down the rabbit hole of bands reminisce of Brand New, Tigers Jaw, and Algernon Cadwallader. Now, in a parallel to my teenage years, I again find myself sitting on the floor, drawn to the emo-adjacent garage music of my youth.

Vermont-based Tiberius (Brendan Wright) does all his recording in bedrooms, basements, and bathrooms. His production is masterful, and you’d never know at first listen, but the essence of those recording spaces bleeds through into the tracks themselves. “Corners” is the sound of a bouncy depression. You know, when you’re barely holding it together, but you’ve got friends and drugs and liquor enough to get you through one more day. It’s that good, emo-adjacent garage music that reminds you to feel alive.

Cheers, Brendan. I haven’t heard much like you in a long time.

You can find the latest album by Tiberius, “a depressing optimism,” here. In the meantime, fill up your dimly-lit apartment with “Corners.”

Hear it below:

Wm