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It’s time once again to check out some new releases from Central Oregon musicians, who have kept busy in creative mode as the pandemic continues to disrupt live performance. That’s not to say there are no shows happening, and one Bend venue will make its triumphant return this weekend. More on that in a bit. Once again, I’m splitting this roundup into two columns, to give each release the attention it deserves and also give everyone a chance to participate. In other words, send me your new releases, please. Email brian.mcelhiney@gmail.com.

A Volcanic reopening, Take 2

One of Bend’s busiest music venues, Volcanic Theatre Pub, will take another shot at reopening this weekend.

Volcanic reopened for socially distanced, local-centric shows for most of June and some of July. However, due to spiking COVID cases in Central Oregon, owner Derek Sitter once again shut the venue’s doors in late July.

With cases once again declining and the smoke (hopefully) clearing, the venue will host two shows Friday and Saturday. Indie rockers Cosmonautical will join forces with garage/blues/avant-garde group Profit Drama for Friday’s show, which kicks off at 8 p.m. Art rockers The Color Study and punk/world group Guardian of the Underdog will perform starting at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets for each show cost $10 and are available at volcanictheatre.com. Masks and social distancing are required. The patio will be open as well as the inside of the venue, and the large garage doors will remain open for ventilation.

Visit volcanictheatre.com or call 541-323-1881 for more information.

“Last Summer,” John Batdorf Self-releasedJohn Batdorf comes full-circle on the unrelentingly optimistic “Last Summer.” The singer-songwriter and Eagle Crest resident, best known for his work in the ’70s with folk-rock duo Batdorf & Rodney and rock combo Silver (whose lone radio hit, “Wham Bam,” received a resurgence in 2017 thanks to its inclusion in “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”), delivers his trademark high harmonies (with help from fellow Bendite Pete Kartsounes) and soaring hooks throughout this affable set of songs that seems tailor-made for the COVID era.

In fact, the title track directly references the lockdowns/quarantines that much of the country and world has been subjected to in the last year, with Batdorf offering a plaintive plea: “Will we get back to a world where we hold each other?” But even songs written in 2019, such as “Broken” or “Hope is Everywhere,” are hard to listen to without the events of 2020 in the backdrop.

For most of its runtime, the album juxtaposes jauntier folk-rockers such as the opening track “I Wanna Be with You” with quieter songs. But not somber, as songs such as “Prayin’,” a pep-talk for anyone working toward change in these trying times, and “It’s Alright,” with strains of “Yesterday,” attest.

The one outlier is closing track “Island Girl,” written in 1993 with frequent collaborator Michael McLean, who co-wrote many of the album’s songs. Despite its almost psychedelic sound, it still fits in with the rest of the material thanks to Batdorf’s inimitable voice and optimistic lyrics. Again, “optimistic” is the key word: 2020 may be bumming everyone out, but “Last Summer” offers an antidote.

“The Summoning,” Gravewitch Self-releasedThrash/death metal duo Gravewitch reclaims their spot at the top of Bend’s metal heap with long-awaited debut album “The Summoning.” With minimal production fussing and instrumentation, guitarist/bassist/vocalist Chris Fleming and drummer Andrew Ingraham have created a nuanced piece of work in a genre not typically known for nuance.

However, metal is a genre known for extremes, and Gravewitch delivers. Nearly every song begins with a guttural scream from Fleming, and each song piles riff on top of riff, rarely letting up the onslaught. The album is at its catchiest on “Circle of Power,” previously released as a single and video and the epic “Malefic Manifestation,” which cycles through a number of rhythmic twists and melodic turns.

Yes, there is melody here. While the vocals stick to metal growling (albeit with more clarity and nuance than most extreme metal purveyors), the instrumentation often reaches for the anthemic, as on “Sinstral Ministry” and the almost punky “The Black Book.”

The deft instrumental work is what sets the album apart. Counterpoints occur in unusual spots, such as the stop-start drumming mirroring the vocals on “Malefic Manifestation” or the bass creating a structure for the guitars and drums to play off of on “Circle of Power.” After you’ve finished cranking this thing full-blast on your stereo, give it a try on headphones to get a full sense of the depth of these compositions.

The album is available on Bandcamp. Vinyl copies can be found at https://kunaki.com/VinylRecord.asp?ProductId=PX00Z5BKN6.

“Middle Ground,” Eric Leadbetter Self-releasedEric Leadbetter gets introspective while forging interesting new sonic territory on his solo album, “Middle Ground.” Known for far more rocking affairs with Jive Coulis and most

recently his eponymous trio, The Eric Leadbetter Band, the guitarist and songwriter turns down the volume, recalling Jive Coulis’ third album, “AcoustiCoulis.”

But this album truly explores the range acoustic instruments and songwriting offer (“AcoustiCoulis” was often just unplugged Jive Coulis). Here, Leadbetter stakes a claim somewhere in the territory where rock, country and folk meet. Led Zeppelin’s acoustic experiments are a strong touchstone on tracks such as opener “Sweet Understanding” and “Blades of Grass,” while Leadbetter’s jam-ier tendencies surface on “Bent Inside.”

Perhaps most surprising is the gospel tinges found in the often expansive harmonies. “Keep an Old Bus Alive,” an ode to Jive Coulis’ tour bus Sharleena, is a prime example, as is the closing track, “Never Go.”

Leadbetter keeps the lyrics upbeat and optimistic, offering pleas for kindness in trying times on “Human Kind.” “Talk Like a Wolf,” featuring lead guitar from Mark Hatcher, tackles the rage of the social media era, with the refrain, “You talk like a wolf when you hide behind your screen.”

Order CD ($15) or vinyl ($30) copies through Leadbetter’s Venmo or Paypal. Leadbetter played a release stream for the album Sept. 10, and donated half the proceeds from album presales to Rogue Credit Union’s fire relief fund to help Oregon families affected by the wildfires still raging throughout the state.