Happy Quarantine/Reopening day 500 and whatever, I guess. I’m not counting. Local shows are happening at venues such as River’s Place, Kelly D’s, Worthy Brewing and Volcanic Theatre Pub. Don’t forget to social distance with your masks on while you rock out. My recommendation: Check out the Maxwell Friedman Group at Volcanic Theatre Pub on Friday. Friedman’s funk-fueled jazz fusion is always a breathtaking sight and sound to behold. But beyond that, drummer Connor Streeter is moving to Nashville, per the Facebook event page, so this show will be his last with the band. Tickets cost $15 plus fees in advance only; visit volcanictheatre.com. This week, I’m rounding up some noteworthy local music releases that have slipped through the cracks in the last few months. Get ready to restock your quarantine playlists.

“Go Go” (single), Jeshua MarshallLarry and His Flask bassist, Guardian of the Underdog mastermind and man of many other bands, Jeshua Marshall, steps out on his own with his debut solo single, “Go Go.”

Teaming with drummer/producer Todd Rosenberg (Mad Caddies), Marshall leans into the jazz and cabaret elements of Guardian’s melting pot, ably assisted by LAHF’s Andrew Carew on trombone. The song, a scintillating tale of midsummer love gone awry, provides a perfect soundtrack for your next quarantine dance party.

“Broken” (single), Pete Kartsounes

When lockdowns hit Central Oregon, musicians got busy streaming and/or recording. And none seemed busier than Pete Kartsounes, who at one point was streaming shows daily from his home. When venues started slowly opening back up and incorporating live music into their plans (mostly outside, with the proper social distancing, of course), Kartsounes was one of the first on board, inaugurating the new normal at River’s Place in late May.

Kartsounes also got to work in his home studio. He plans to release a full-length album, tentatively titled “Out Here on My Own,” later this summer, and in May dropped a nearly eight-minute single, “Broken.”

The song takes some unexpected left turns for Kartsounes. Eschewing the bright folk-rock found on last year’s “I’m Alive” album, Kartsounes creates a swirling, Pink Floyd-inspired soundscape that underpins somber storytelling that nevertheless finds a message of hope buried at the end. The song spins through multiple moods and movements as Kartsounes channels Ray LaMontagne in his rough-hewn vocal performance.

“Alicia Viani,” Alicia Viani

Alicia Viani’s long-awaited, self-titled debut album has been sitting on my desk (er, when I had a desk) since sometime late last year, cued up for review. But the official release, originally planned for April at The Belfry, was delayed by COVID-19. Viani finally dropped the record with a live stream from Parkway Sounds last week, which means I can finally furnish my review.

Put simply, it was worth the wait on all counts. The 10 songs, all written by Viani with arrangement help from bassist and musical partner Mark Karwan, are weighted on the introspective side. Opening track “Good Man” may be the record’s finest moment, with Viani taking on the perspective of a Southern white man grappling with his response to witnessing racism.

She gets personal on songs such as “Lonesome For You,” “Wounded Healer” and “Golden Woman,” a treatise on sexuality and mental health.

The album was recorded in Nashville with singer-songwriter Amy Speace producing, and as such the songs take on some country twang. But Viani and Karwan’s jazzy roots come out to play on tracks such as “How the Sun Survives” and closer “Redemption.”

“The Color Study” (vinyl release), The Color StudyThe Color Study played its own long-awaited release show in live stream form from Parkway Sounds in mid-June in celebration of the vinyl release of its self-titled debut album. Studio owner and Color Study mastermind Scott Oliphant wanted to create the best possible product for his first album as songwriter and bandleader, and he succeeded.

The record, pressed on cream-colored vinyl, comes in a gorgeous gatefold sleeve featuring hand-written song lyrics and full-color (on the front, at least) artwork. As to be expected, the sound is immaculate, popping out of the speakers with that analog sound that all record collectors swear by (all the better since the tracks were recorded on analog tape).

I reviewed this record last year when it was originally released. Oliphant recorded and performed all the instruments himself, creating a surprisingly “alive” sounding record through overdubs. The band is still Central Oregon’s finest example of the indie/art rock sound, a fact made clearer the more shows the full band plays.

“It Ain’t Right” and “Closer Walk,” MC Ragtop

Bend’s MC Ragtop, AKA Deymon Taylor, speaks truth to power on “It Ain’t Right” and “Closer Walk,” the first volleys from the rapper’s upcoming debut solo EP.

“It Ain’t Right” addresses police brutality and systemic racism, a centurieslong problem once again in the news thanks to protests around the recent deaths of George Floyd and others at the hands of law enforcement.

Over a beat blending Scarface’s “A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die” with Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” Ragtop speaks from his own personal experiences as well as from history. Soundbites from Donald Trump and Malcolm X — at times it sounds as if they’re arguing in real-time — drive the points home.

“Closer Walk” is equally moving: a deeply personal, hip-hop gospel track that urges listeners to accept God even when the journey through life seems unclear. Taken with “It Ain’t Right,” it’s a powerful statement of perseverance in the face of evil.

Proceeds from sales of both tracks on Bandcamp will go to the Human Dignity Coalition, which promotes equality for the LGBTQ community in Central Oregon.

Welcome to the Forbidden PlaceYou can’t talk about the hard rock scene in Central Oregon without mentioning The Kronk Men (or you can, but that would be criminally negligent). The now-instrumental surf/noise/hardcore outfit has been making eardrums bleed since the late ’90s, making the trio an elder statesman not just in the rock world, but in the Bend live music scene in general.

Early this year the band’s third album, the appropriately titled “3,” was picked up by underground label Forbidden Place Records, which has released albums by former Screaming Trees guitarist Gary Lee Conner as well as numerous punk and metal groups from across the country. The Denver-based label gave “3,” originally released in 2018, a vinyl release (you can preorder on Bandcamp for an estimated August delivery), as well as putting out a slowed-down version dubbed the “Evil Version” (also on Bandcamp, at forbiddenplacerecords.bandcamp.com).

You can also find The Kronk Men’s sister band, Scary Busey (featuring Kronk Men guitarist Jake Spece), on Forbidden Place. The label recently picked up the band’s self-titled debut and the March followup EP “Tower Peeler.”

petek.bandcamp.com/track/broken

thekronkmen.bandcamp.com/

scarybusey.bandcamp.com/

mcragtop.bandcamp.com/