Isadora’s latest, the "Predators EP", strikes a fine balance between their song’s underlying dreaminess, and an unapologetic ebullience featured on later tracks. The songs are reliably catchy throughout, but some, such as "Barcelona" (streaming) will knock you sideways. In this song, the hook comes early, a brief and sticky piano phrase wrapped tightly in a snare and shaker groove. The song’s chorus, conversely, develops more gradually. The first pass at it is fleeting, hinting at this section’s later flourish and then reengaging the listener with the piano refrain, this time waist deep in wailing guitar. "Option A," another strong cut from the EP, also plays on this dynamic, gradually raising the temperature to degrees below soaring, expertly lapsing into a calmer pocket, before a final anthemic relapse. Catch Isadora 12/7 at Glasslands. – Emilio Herce

Few rock albums have been at once as daring and fun as Devo’s debut "Q: Are We Not Men?" and we are always ecstatic when we hear exciting new local music referencing the band that managed to make Ohio glamorous (at least for a year or two). The NYC scene doesn’t need any more glamor, but it sure can use a record like Future Punx‘s new EP "I’m So Inspired." The record represents a rather drastic change for the band: compared to their previous, more experimental and droney releases, more attention was shifted towards arrangements, melody and structure, i.e. production. On our favorite track "Plus Side," a web of funky guitars and farfisas creates an intriguing post-punk setting, letting singer Chris Pickering’s deadpan tenor tie together the various elements with a few well picked notes. Opener "I’m so inspired" and third track "Forgive the Doubt" confirm the flirtations with both the post punk of the early ’80s and funk music, with the latter providing the most memorable chorus of the EP. Closing track "See You in the Future" doubles the fun with keyboard madness, teutonic angularity and bizarre call and response vocals reminiscent of early The Stranglers – another stellar band of the ’80s that’s criminally under-referenced in today’s pervasive ’80s revival. Thank you Future Punx, this was a nice Christmas present! – Photo by Josefina Lagos

With New Year’s Eve around the corner, it’s time to look around for some mindless party tunes, and the two blond ladies in FEVERHIGH provide us with a good candidate with single "That’s So Typical," released earlier this year. More recent single "All Work"  (streaming below) wins our preference though, blending tropical infused lounge with a brand of ’80s electro-pop reminiscent of – dare we say – Bananarama and their joyous group singing. The duo recently played Pianos and Glasslands, check out the videos of the two singles here.

Like all true rockers, we tend to react pretty badly to Christmas music – we were particularly devastated by Bob Dylan’s obscene Christmas album released a few years ago. But there are always exceptions, and the song streaming below, by Brooklyn chanteuse Maya Solovey, is one of them. "In the Bleak Midwinter" is a late 19th century poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, which was then made into a Christmas carol in the early 20th century. What we like about Maya’s version is that it takes it back to what it was originally: a poem about Christmas, rather than a carol – we actually wonder if the author ever meant for it to become a carol! The song is the opening track of the songwriter’s latest release, entitled "Midwinter: On Christmas Eve," which features many of the classic Christmas tunes in a super stripped down, sleigh bell-free version. This bare bone treatment highlights Maya’s beautifully expressive soprano, and allows for a new appreciation of melodies and lirycs almost all of us know by heart.