Poet/educator Amy Leon is born artistically of the Nuyorican Slam scene. As such, anthems about love and strength are fueled by undercurrents of social justice and feminism; soul and gospel vibrate from every fiber. Look for a solo debut this summer and in the interim check out her latest music video for "Burning in Birningham" (Streaming below) and catch ebullient live show, which includes often politically charged improvised spoken-word, on August 5 at Joe’s Pub. – Jason Grimste

"I don’t like to be limited," says Lawrence Lindell in the interview snippet opening up his latest album. Composed of film score-inspired piano pieces, Raw Imperfections is a break away from the experimental artist’s comfort zone in electronic music. Lindell knows his way around a keyboard, from the gently-rising beauty in "Eighty Eight" to the urgency of "Unpolished Frequencies"—the album is also dotted with electronic pieces like "Creator", the hip-hop percussion of "Fist, Roots, and Rhythm", and the Baths-inspired glitch beats of "Young King".

The scores on this album range from calming ballads to thumping bouts of anxiety-ridden electronics. It’s a wide array of styles which show just how talented Lawrence Lindell is, and serves as a fantastic introduction to his foray into film scores. Listen to "Creator", the second track off Raw Imperfections, below. – Justin Ashby

Beyond vape memes and that seemingly facetious name, Los Angeles’ guilty pleasure Love Nothing boasts guitar crunch and drum blasts heavy enough to break your jaw. The mall goth foursome, fronted by guitarist/vocalist Nicholas Waits, stands at the forefront of revived sincerity in emocore, blending Circa Survive’s melodic embrace and Dinosaur Jr.’s neck-hanging, pulverizing tone.

Today, The Deli is proud to premiere their newest single “Have A Great Summer (Calgary)”. Love Nothing throws a release show on July 23 in the Valley (have I ever told you about that valley hospitality?) followed by a tag-team summer tour with Berkeley-ites Forget It. in August, with a homecoming show at The Smell on August 12th. Listen to the newly released “Have A Great Summer (Calgary)” below:

NJ quartet YJY’s music has always felt like a broken mirror’s reflection of the surf genre. Instead of celebrating the genre’s sunny optimism, their songs are all about wipe outs of the emotional variety. "Summer Lifeguard," a single off their forthcoming The Same Noise EP, follows this motif, protagonizing a dude that’s bitter a summer lifeguard would only "give a shit" about him if he was drowning – yes, the guy obviously has a crush on her (him?). The track’s surf-y guitar feature occasional dissonant notes that emphasize the day-at-the-beach-gone-awry aura, serving as the dark clouds swirling around the bummed dude. The single is overall a promising indication of what’s to come on YJY’s sophomore EP, due out in August. You can also check them out at The Saint on August 7th. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber – Photo Credit: Jill Hendershott.

One of the great powers of music consists in its therapeutic ability to allow us to create personal universes where we can get lost when needed.  If this is what you’re searching for, the songs of Atlas Engine might come in handy. This is the new project of multi-instrumentalist Nick LaFaice (formerly of BRAEVES and Terrible Terrible), offering dreamy tracks sung in his reassuring alto, like in single ‘Everest,’ streaming below.  Atlas Engine’s debut EP, “after the end” will be released on July 29th, and you’ll get a chance to see them live at Bopwery Electric on July 25th. – Madeleine Grossman