By Michael Guarino

The Vermont-based indie pop band Moxie makes the type of music that’s perfect for a serene summer night outdoors -- bright, sleek, and unpretentious. When live shows and community get-togethers almost start to feel like a relic of the past, it’s refreshing to get a glimpse of Moxie’s signature style. Their June 1 release, Flow of Color, is a glowing tribute to the joys and challenges of youth, which, as Moxie demonstrates, are often indistinguishable from one another: loyalty and responsibility in budding relationships (“Hard to Be”); insecurity and uncertainty (“Honey”); irritability and identity confusion (“Pet Peeves”); and loneliness and desire (“Days Away”), to name just a few. Each song radiates a certain musical “color”: from the shimmery, translucent vibe of “Summer Fever” to the mellow, blue feeling of “Frank,” Flow of Color presents its listeners with a full and complex spectrum of emotions, experiences, and memories, which feel disjointed and disorienting in the moment, but all of which become blurred as time passes. Moxie, of course, is not the first group to tackle these themes, but what elevates their work is their remarkable musicianship. Each of the members of Moxie is younger than 20, but that’s hard to tell from their masterful grip on their instruments. Glossy guitar licks and shifty, funky bass lines meet a resonant, almost conversational vocal performance to produce an honest, free-flowing expression of musical and lyrical ideas. Their mature, assured, and polished delivery is somewhat surprising given that their music is meant to be so danceable and liberating. But that’s what makes Moxie so special. With this record, they’ve managed to craft an undeniably old-school, alt rock sound and spirit, with familiar, pleasing harmonic sequences fitting for an album that evokes such strong nostalgia. In a time of collective longing, Flow of Color couldn’t be more needed.