Washington has been one of the most potent hotbeds for music since the 90s, and that legacy doesn’t show signs of stopping. There’s hundreds of acts that I could be talking about right now, but today the lucky winners are Dollarbird. They are a couple of guys out of Bellingham who released their debut back in January. It’s self-titled, like all good bands tend to be, and they’re no exception. Their sound is a mix of MJ Lenderman and Pinegrove with dashes of everything from Waylon Jennings to Wilco. It’s something surprisingly uncommon these days, to not just imitate your references but actually sound unique in doing so. Not to mention, these boys really know how to write a song. I don’t know where they got this talent, but they better hold on to it. They’re not all personal singer-songwriter jams like “The Green Thing”, there’s the bluesy hit-worthy “Boots, Black Leather” and the indie-folk darling “Labor Day”. I don’t think there’s a song on here not worth listening to. If I could have one wish for 2027 it would be world peace. But right after, it’d be a Dollarbird sophomore album.