Singer and songwriter Greg Freeman’s 2022 debut album I Looked Out struck me as an attempt to update the sound of Pavement in the era of MJ Lenderman and Wednesday. Freeman was raised in Bethesda, Md., and moved to Burlington, Vt., to attend the University of Vermont, where he studied anthropology and religion. I Looked Out garnered good reviews, and his 2025 release Burnover marks the rise of an Americana-meets-indie-rock musician whose work has affinities with Lenderman’s. Critics have compared Freeman to everyone from Warren Zevon to Jason Molina and Stephen Malkmus, and Freeman’s emotional — and tightly controlled — vocals definitely remind me of Molina’s. The songs on Burnover work off the timeless chord progressions and tense arrangements you hear on Crack the Sky’s 1976 Animal Notes or Big Star’s 1974 Radio City. Still, this is now, and Freeman’s ear for catchy music and eye for detail make Burnover a fascinating look at hard times in America during the destructive actions of the second Trump administration. My favorite track is “Gallic Shrug,” which is a song title that’s been waiting in the ether for a long time. Power-pop band Jawdropped opens.
8 p.m. at The Blue Room at Third Man Records
623 Seventh Ave. S.
