Queens-based Negative Gemini – a project started by composer/programmer Lindsey French after her hip hop group dismantled – has been getting some attention this year after the release of debut EP "Real Virtual Unison." Her electronic sound escapes the synth-pop cathegorization, borrowing insatead from the dark, tense, and drony aesthetics of the early new wave (as in the more electronic, less extreme cousin of post punk). Our favorite track "Forget Your Future" (streaming below), never lets the tension fade, flirting with dissonance, while extremely filtered vocals harmonize in a crescendo of desperation. Negative Gemini has three shows scheduled this week within the CMJ Music Marathon, the first one at Bowery Electric on Wednesday 10.14. – Photo by Julia Nichols.

Out in Riverside, Graeme Crane, the owner of the limited-run Salope Cassette label, has been busy for the past few years pushing out tapes of hard-to-find artists. It’s good stuff; local acts that don’t get nearly as much exposure as their PR-privileged peers, yet carry strong Internet cult followings.

Graeme’s also programming/vocals in the coldwave group Cruelty Code, with keyboardist Kevin Martin (ex-Apathean, Eisenhower), bassist Derek Page (The Victoriana), and guitarist Jack Montgomery (ex-Contraciel). Their aloof and meme-friendly Facebook demeanor tends to precede their sound. Listener be warned: this is harsh, ominous, and emancipating — a stereoscopic experience of 80’s dystopic overscoring and lo-fi recordings cut with adulterants. Mixed with acts like Ghost Noise, Band Aparte, Crisis Arm, and Michael Vidal, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a dissociative evening via sensory overload.

Catch them at the next hidden warehouse show with Crescendo and Foliage this Halloween. – Ryan Mo

Most pop and rock fans are struck by the passion for music in their teens or early twenties, years that are emotionally rich and normally infused with optimism, excitment and some degree of rebellion. That makes them the perfect time to get high on rock’n’roll. We don’t know if it’s possible for adults to enjoy music as much as their teenager selves – we doubt it – but this adorable new song and video by Brooklinite garage pop trio Big Quiet awakened the teenager in us, and… well, it felt great! The song, entitled "Maura & Dana" is a super-catchy and uptempo power-dream-pop tune (with unintelligible lyrics) that’s bound to set any indie fan’s body in motion. The video, which appears to be shot in super-8, beautifully tackles the summer activities of two music loving young ladies, during the most fun filled years of their lives. You can find other songs by Big Quiet in their self titled debut album, and you can see them live at The Deli’s Garage/Slacker Rock CMJ stage on Thursday 10.15 at Muchmore’s.

Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood and her incredibly haunting voice are back with a new EP on Mexican Summer entitled "Cardamom Times." She recently unveiled this video for single "In the Beginning."

There’s no shortage of self-released solo albums by backup singers and Broadway celebrities, two posts which Shayna Steele knows well. Rise is her latest release, recorded between stints with Bette Midler, Moby, and the revival of Hairspray. Mellow cuts recall ’80s Sade, though lively soul numbers like “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” (streaming) make a solid case for Steele’s own spotlight. Shayna will be performing at The Deli’s CMJ Roots/Soul stage at Rockwood Music Hall this coming Wednesday 10.14 – full schedule of our CMJ shows here. – Brian Chidester

El Tryptophan is the musical and visual project of Brooklyn based artist Gryphon Rue. The young man has at once folky and rather extreme experimental inclinations, and you’ll find these two influences blended together in his upcoming debut album ‘Guilt Vacation.’ We are premiering here single "Syntax Static" (streaming below), a song about the relation between lust and communication based on an unusual two quarter drum pattern, that’s regularly interrupted by choruses in four quarters that are – alternatively – sonically exploding and imploding. Like a more extreme Beck, Rue incorporates, constantly recycles and disposes of various sounds, genres and ideas, without ever venuring into pop territory, though. ‘Guilt Vacation’ will be released on November 20th. The release show is scheduled for November 18 at Trans Pecos.