Sails/Watchword/Sodalite

Mashing up similar genres like “pop punk,” “indie punk” and, uh, “punk” often doesn’t portend very well. But Sails, based out of northeastern Vermont, does what it can to break free of labels like that. The band’s latest EP sums up its approach and touches on each of those cornerstone tags only briefly, which is for the best. Interestingly, probably the best track on the new EP is “Current,” a 90-second instrumental that calls to mind a frigid day on the shore of some mysterious lake (Erie? Champlain?). And that’s followed up quickly by “Circles,” which maintains the slo-mo tempo and veers far away from the worrisome tenets of the poppier sides of punk music. There’s some pretty great harmonic work between guitarists Ethan Kascenska and Ohanga Freddie Losambe on that one. (Eric Sandy)