Two months have passed since bedroom mystic Jamie Leroux quietly dropped the phantasmagoric three-year successor Visual Underground as Future Holograms. That trillwave release recalled a cathartic time for Detroit-native Leroux, who admits,"The constant change actually influenced the Future Holograms project, due to the longing of all the people I’ve kept close and how the distance effected me." Moving to San Diego nearly five years ago, the producer spends his first summer back in the Motor City, and has released another album’s worth of material, Fog of War, under a new name and a new aura.

White China’s first output is as much a virtuous revision to the past incarnations Yokan Pop, Icosagon, Sun Metal, and more as it is a retrospective nod to hypnagogic auteurs like Gold Panda, XXYYXX, and Clams Casino—caught at a time when dad aesthetics, Drake lyrics, and pastel colors equally conjure sardonic chuckles and nostalgic sighs. 2011 didn’t seem that long ago.

Listen to "Let’s Fuck Ourselves Over" from White China’s debut album Fog of War below and download it for free on Leroux’s netlabel/collective Silver Throne Records.

Influenced by indie rock and post-hardcore, Brooklyn’s Haybaby‘s sound also ventures into the noisy worlds of thrash and sludge metal. Whether lead singer/guitarist Leslie Hong is utilizing her hushed whispers or loud screams, she’s always able to maintain a commanding presence and controlled delivery. Their recent EP Blood Harvest, released this past srping, starts off with three tense songs that put Hong’s quietly mesmerizing vocals on display. The final two tracks almost sound like a completely different band, but in a way that still fits in with the rest of the EP. “What It Is” features frantic drumming and abrasive, drowned out yelling, while the final track “Pig” relies on a slow, droning, and sludgy pace to forge one of the band’s most experimental moments. Haybaby will be playing Shea Stadium tonight (7/22)! – John Honan

Today, Brooklyn alt rockers Slothrust debuted "Horseshoe Crab," the first single off their third LP "Everyone Else." The band also announced a fall tour together with Highly Suspect, another NYC alt rock trio that has gathered  a considerable amount of buzz in the last year, and who delivered its best single yet at the beginning of 2016 with "Bloodfeathre" (streaming). The local date will be at Rough Trade on November 1.

A sputtering drum rhythm with a blazing guitar riff shimmies open “Disconnect,” a bright, spunky track layered with warm, raspy vocals and jovial abandon on Hello Dharma’s EP Disconnectionism (streaming below). The Virginia-based band cites Rooney, Arctic Monkeys, and 90’s grunge as influence and it is clearly evident in their EP, whose tracks shift from the bubbling alt rock (“Disconnect”) to a more chaotic and broody grunge-centric number (“Vitamin” and “Anabelle Leaves”). Whether melodic and effervescent or gloomy and aggressively in your face, Hello Dharma doesn’t shy away from going full throttle in each and every song, giving you no choice but to jump and sing along every step of the way. Catch Hello Dharma shake things up at Velvet Lounge on August 30 and listen to them below. – Adriana S. Ballester

Have you ever wondered what would happen if all the toys in a kids playchest came to life? Plastic trains chugging along faithfully in a circle, lights twinkling, and robots beeping into existence– what little mayhem would they cook up? Music, that’s what, and it would sound exactly like The Galaxy Electric. True to their name, Galaxy Electric sounds much like the universe in a child’s room woke up, some light switch magically flipped on. The electric tinkling and spacey synths can almost call to mind brilliant hues of neon blues and magentas blinking on and off, coaxing us to fall down their temporal rabbit hole and diving into the electronic dreams sonically curated by some warped fusion of The Doors and Broadcast–the psychedelic textures of the former melded with the gentle vocal touch and space age pop sensibilities of the latter. A truly trippy experience to listen to make sure you catch their live performance at U Street Music Hall tonight and at DC Nine on August 2. – Adriana S. Ballester

We booked Brooklyn ambient-pop duo Girlyboi for our latest Northside Fest show (on the day of their anniversary!) after they became our artist of the month a few week earlier. The item has been working hard on their upcoming album, which in all likelihood will gather the various singles they have been releasing since 2015. Here’s a brand new one they just released, entitled popular songs, and slightly more upbeat than what they got us used to.

Navy Gangs is a DIY garage rock quartet made up of Brooklyn transplants with a bio that screams rock’n’roll. The three founding members are originally from Omaha where they dropped out of high school, and took up jobs at the local zoo to save enough money to move in, with guitarist Noah Kohll’s grandmother, to New York City. Keeping the tradition of the DIY ethos alive, the band turned her home into a studio to record their debut self-titled EP. Hopefully, a book will be written about this story one day, but for now we can enjoy their musical output, which is intriguing to say the least. Recently, they premiered lead single off the EP “Special Glands” (streaming below), which features undeniably smooth and winding riffs reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr.. Its message is about self-love and finding confidence even when it seems like no one likes you. Navy Gangs will be releasing their EP on September 14th via No Roads, and – after ending a ten date tour, will be playing Baby’s All Right on July 25th! – John Honan

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punk/garage songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!