Licorice Finn, Uncomfortably Gray

(Self-released, digital) I have to say I'm a bit hazy on what counts as a supergroup these days. Traveling Wilburys and the Highwaymen qualify, to be sure. But I recently heard someone refer to Wings as a supergroup just because Denny Laine was in the Moody Blues for a few years, and now I have my doubts about the label. Was Temple of the Dog, for example, really a supergroup if one of its supposed tributaries (Pearl Jam) wasn't a household name at the time and another (Mother Love Bone) never really became one? And does a band qualify if it ends up being way bigger than the sum of its parts, inflating the stature of those individual parts after the fact? How many geniuses are there really in boygenius? At the risk of further diluting the term, I'm tempted to call the ensemble behind Licorice Finn's debut record a Vermont supergroup of sorts. Helmed by lyricist and singer Glenn Evans, aka Licorice Finn himself, Uncomfortably Gray features an impressive lineup of Vermont musicians. Most notably, industry heavyweight Bow Thayer is credited with the record's musical arrangements and plays guitar, bass and banjo throughout. Evans and Thayer are joined by violinist Jakob Breitbach of the Americana duo Beecharmer, multi-brass instrumentalist Glendon Ingalls of Onion River Jazz Band fame, Thayer's longtime drummer, Jeff Berlin, and many others. Coming from disparate corners of the Green Mountain State music scene, the group still forms a tight unit. It expertly navigates an eclectic mix of songs that, while firmly steeped in the folk-rock tradition, bear the mark of wide-ranging influences. The grunge-inflected Americana of opener "Ice Cream Dream" gives way seamlessly to the lighthearted bopping of "Imperfect Grace" and "Your Smile Sets Me Free." Driven by vamping guitars and a pulsing horn section, the latter song delves slightly into jam territory while nicely maintaining the album's overall folksy feel. That grooving sensibility, however, transitions almost jarringly to the melancholy title track, a ballad in which Evans croons over a swelling string arrangement. "Uncomfortably Gray" showcases Evans' lyrics at their best, at once eerie and tender as they flirt with a kind of surrealism. "If I could rewind time / I'd make yesterday Groundhog Day / if it meant I'd see you smile / rather than go away," he sings. While the band remains taut and energetic across the broad array of songs, one…