New groups aren't always able to put out new music so quickly — be it for logistical, financial, or any number of other reasons — so it's perhaps a surprise to have an EP from the University of Vermont's Viridescent relatively soon following its Volume II in 2023. More significantly, it's a very pleasant surprise, as the group has shown significant growth since that release.

What's easily and obviously noticed most prominently is the quality of the recording itself. Last time around, all three RARB reviewers (myself included) noted musical issues in the voicings, occasional trouble in the balance of the group's blend, and/or production issues with the vocal percussion in particular. Thankfully, those have pretty much been fully rectified. Whether the group's wunderkind engineer/editor/mixer, Joe Hazell, consulted others and learned new techniques over the intervening year+, I do not know. But the proof is in the pudding: cleaner, crisper, more polished arrangements (Run Wild just recently nabbed a 2025 CARA nomination), featuring a full, rich, balanced sound in the solos and backing voices, with proper recording and treatment of the vp to underpin and enhance the vocals. Well, that's true for 75% of the album. Searching For A Feeling is not bad, but inexplicably feels like its production was either recorded back around the time that Volume II was done, or was rushed, or was handled by someone else entirely. The arrangement is the only one not contributed to in some way by Hazell, so that may be a partial explanation. But the variance in sound quality and weak treatment of the vp — which is squarely in Hazell's bailiwick — remains puzzling.

What's also interesting to observe is how the group distinctly resists the temptation to replicate the sound palette of the material they are covering — which is noteworthy because all four of the songs showcased here favor a heavily "electronic" (processed, distorted, and/or synthesized) sound in their bass and percussion at least (and sometimes in the other instrumentation as well). Hazell and the other arrangers seem to have made a conscious choice to find vocal solutions to timbral challenges. If you are acquainted with the source material, there's a part of you that may miss that texture and question that choice. Or, the a cappella purist in you might applaud the creativity and ingenuity of not leaning on available technology, even as so many others do. It's also entirely possible that even with as much as Hazell has learned and improved behind the console in less than two years time, that level of production sophistication is not yet in his toolbox. Whatever the reason, it's a meaningful artistic choice and this reviewer, at least, was impressed not only with the choosing, but also the execution and the results.

Now to be fair, as much as they've taken a huge step forward, Viridescent still has a ways to go. Though there are four songs listed, the album is really a 3-song EP, as the first selection is barely a minute of Frank Ocean's Swim Good, which leads straight into Run Wild. This is not dissimilar from what the group did on Volume II with an opening excerpt from Billie Eilish's Goldwing as an intro into SZA's The Weekend — and here, as well as there, I can't say I understand the point. A tendency to go back to the same well comes up again when Searching For A Feeling starts with mostly mid and upper voices, delaying the entry of the lowest voices to fill out the sound, in much the same way that happens on Run Wild. There's nothing wrong with re-using devices like this, but on a short EP, the repetition is more noticeable. One other item that nags at me on occasion is that the group tends to avoid sections of the original song that it doesn't want to deal with. Once again, that's not terribly uncommon — collegiate a cappella covers are often a bit shorter than the originals. Still, when there is a distinct and prominent section of a song missing — the rap in Run Wild and the short, atonal "mush" moment in Where Do You Go, to name two — it does not go unnoticed.

Truth be told, though, perhaps the biggest worry I have for the group is turnover. For as long as I have been acquainted with them, Viridescent has been dominated by Hazell, who, in addition to being a one-person show on the production side of things, is now a senior, and the group's "President of Music". One hopes there is a succession plan in place and new talent waiting in the wings to keep the group moving forward. The improvement and growth between just two albums is quite remarkable, and I very much hope that trend only continues.

There is an increasing trend of ICCA competitors recording their competition sets as EPs, and it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, preservation of these live experiences to a far more sustainable and re-listenable format should absolutely be celebrated. On the other hand, the recorded format is less forgiving in some ways, and a sole focus on the auditory element of the performance exposes new cracks in the set. Viridescent's moVement does preserve much of the bones of its original ICCA performance, but it also reveals a bit of unevenness.

The biggest glow for this EP is Viridescent's very solid solo work. Riley Constantino carries the ballad section of the set with Where Do You Go, an effort that in many ways makes it my favorite part of the recording. Linx Farina and Meg Dever have a great blend and beautiful tone on the bookend songs; I would've loved a bit more risk-taking in the vocal expression, but they definitely don't slouch either. The standout solo work comes from Joe Hazell on Run Wild. With power and bravado brought to every line, it's no wonder this performance won Hazell Outstanding Soloist at the ICCA Quarterfinals.

But while we're on the topic, Run Wild is where the EP also shows one of its core areas in need of improvement: harmonic structure and balancing. Throughout most of moVement's runtime, these features are somewhat inconsistent, despite the blend being quite tight. What should be the most grounded and powerful musical moments fall apart under top-heavy arranging and balancing issues, instead becoming hollow and musically unfulfilling. This might also be why the set oftentimes feels like it is moving into powerful climactic moments (especially during Run Wild and Searching For A Feeling), but then never actually hitting them.

The result is that, whereas a strong ICCA set should take you on a fulfilling arc that makes you forget that it's all for points and accolades, this EP instead reminds me that I'm listening to an ICCA set and not much more. That's not strictly a bad thing, but it could be so much more.

There is also room here to experiment with the competition set format. With how limitless the ICCA rules are in terms of what is allowed and the potential for variety in styles, it always surprises me how many competitors have adopted so many of the same tropes and set structure. Obviously, excellence is still possible with these midtempo modern pop ballad epics, but I also believe it is easier to stand out using something of your own identity. I'd love to see what else Viridescent is capable of for a competition set outside of this style of music.

The harmonic structure issues will hopefully sort themselves out — they're a relatively straightforward fix from an arranger's perspective. Finding identity and a unique "brand" is the much more challenging part, but it's where a group really elevates its craft. Viridescent clearly has some strong voices and good arrangers, so they're capable of doing both. For a group founded less than a decade ago, Viridescent possibly has a very bright future ahead of itself. 

When I reviewed University of Vermont-Montpelier Viridescent's first album submitted to RARB back in 2023, I remarked that it had a "great foundation", but it was "time to take it to the next level". The group's new EP, moVement, illustrates the growth and upward "movement" the group has since achieved with its musicality and energy levels, even if there is still room to grow.

A big part of sounding good in a cappella is song selection: find songs that match your group's energy, skill level, and soloists, and you're well on your way. Right away, I noticed that the soloists are well-matched to their songs. Both Joe Hazell and Riley Constantino showcase their range of vocal abilities, including some melismatic runs in Run Wild and Where Do You Go, respectively. Meg Dever and Linx Farina's voices also meld together well in their heartfelt duet on Searching For A Feeling.

The group perhaps took our advice on how to improve their bass lines and, thus, their rhythm section. The vp and bass now work more closely together to create a foundation for the rest of the group. Though the vp kit is a bit limited, Dan Schiefen keeps time effectively and adds in some nice fills without pulling focus. And we hear everything clearly thanks to stellar post-production work from Alex Green and Bill Hare.

The arrangements, musicality, and energy have certainly "leveled up" from the previous album, especially Hazell's Run Wild; though, like in video gaming, there's always a new level to work toward. Overall, there is some rhythmic interest in the background vocals, especially in the high treble voices. I still could use a wider variety of vocable choices. The soloists continue to do a lot of work to drive the emotional energy of the songs and could use some more support from the arrangements and the background singers in crafting the songs' narratives. Adding in more doubling and harmonies, strategically-placed lyrics, textural crescendos, and moments that make the arrangements unique to Viridescent would help to boost the energy and musicality even more. Though the background voices are more cohesive, the sopranos and tenors/baritones don't sound completely synchronized in their vowels and their tone quality. Finally, I hear better forward motion through long notes, especially on Swim Good and Searching For A Feeling, but could still use more dynamic contrast (big, glorious loud fortes and really quiet, emotional pianos) and motion in both big and small ways (e.g. large-scale crescendos and small swells).

If I sound a bit like a professor saying this is a good second or third draft and I can't wait to see the next one, well, guilty. That's the great thing about a cappella: there's always room to improve, to learn from what other groups are doing, and to take feedback and put it into practice. I'm overjoyed to hear such a marked improvement from the group's last album to this one — I can't wait to hear how much they'll grow on the next one.