With a strong alt-folk sensibility, Dreamtigers delivers spacey, melancholic indie, set to embed itself into your brain’s softest crevices. The band’s latest LP, Wishing Well, paints poignant portraits of longing, loss, and moving on, and does so with such expert precision, you may mistake the lyricist’s heartbreak for your own. Check out Dreamtigers streaming below.-Olivia Sisinni

Boston-based Crumb offers laid-back tunes for reflective mornings. Layering singer/guitarist Lila Ramani’s effortless, nonchalant vocals over a bed of sometimes-funky-often-jazzy psych rock, the band delivers dulcet tunes with a serious side of haze. The lyricism invites introspection, and instrumentals often wind down unexpected turns, but Crumb’s music manages to be engaging without being overly demanding of their listeners. Right now, the band’s Soundcloud account description is simply inscribed with the words "More to come." We’ll certainly be looking forward to the next release from the band, but in the meantime, you can stream Crumb below.-Olivia Sisinni
 

Fruit & Flowers is a female fronted Brooklyn band that’s been playing a gazillion shows lately (and seem to have as many scheduled), which is always a good sign. Oh, and, for the record, when we say "female fronted" we mean to say that whoever is not on the front of the stage (the drummer) is the dude out of four band members. At this stage they only have one song out for streaming, a slow burning track called "Turquoise," featuring a melody that is tele-porting us back to the days of Rain Parade and those other spacey American psych bands of the late ’80s. If you are curious about the rest of their repertoire, you can check hear it live at Shea Stadium on 11.13.

Cindy Lou Gooden, aka Very Fresh, is a quirky and multi-faceted talent. She spent the last year recording on Ava Luna’s last album, touring with Kino Kimino (Sonic Youth) and Leapling on bass, and prior to that, forming the all-female Pavement cover band, Babement, with Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis. She also worked on her third EP to date, ‘Hey, it’s Me!,’ which reveals a songwriter drawn in many directions. Opening track ‘California Low,’ with its whispered beginning, soon exploding into a ’90s influenced guitar-pop chorus, only to settle again into a mellow bridge, sums up well what comes next – although this track is pretty darn out there. Our favorite song here is ‘Schedule IV’ (streaming), which develops in more linear ways, revealing Cindy’s melodic talent and her remarkable voice. Don’t miss her EP release show at Shea Stadium on 11.13.

After – quite literally – storming the local DIY scene with their super tense live shows and a borderline insane debut EP, this past summer the trio of NYC natives Show Me the Body released their debut album ‘Body War,’ a ten track, electric banjo driven sonic assault that manages to successfully blend post-hardcore, industrial, math rock and hip hop. The album inserts itself in the lineage of hybrid punk releases that includes seminal records by Fugazi and Rage Against the Machine, but maintains a level of rawness and desperation neither of those bands ever managed to convey. (This makes us wonder if that’s what a few decades spent in NYC’s "less trendy" neighborhoods does to kids…). Intriguingly, unlike most post-hardcore acts, Show Me The Body isn’t afraid to slow down the tempo (‘Death Sounds 2’), or even give up the drums entirely every now and then (‘Honesty Hour’), which opens up sonic space for sound experimentation and even textural moments, like in ‘Chrome Exposed.’ The quieter sections also allow for a greater contrast when the instrumental explosion eventually arrives, taking the ’90s rock loud/quit/loud idea to its extreme. But the most effective tracks are the ones where the band’s signature tension finds an (explosive) release, like title-track. 

This is the record most NYC kids involved in the vital, seminal, local DIY scene – and in all likelihood, most rock critics too – will remember years from now. It’s a record we think is destined to inspire many young, offbeat musicians – from underground, where so many NYC scene gems are buried.

The reckless abandon of Brooklyn rockers partying hard is on full display in Baby Acid’s debut music video and song “Baby Guts.” The recently premiered track previews their full-length Moon Sounds Records release on December 9. Recorded and produced by band visionary Lindsey and Jasno from Vandelles/Hellbirds notoriety at his Secret Loft Studios, while mastering was handled by A Place To Bury Strangers Oliver Ackermann. The track itself emerges via full-on fuzzed out guitar chords while initial vocals proclaim that “my baby comes from France, my baby don’t wear no pants.” While the lyrical output may playfully favor words that rhyme over actual storytelling, ferocious riffs and rhythms are executed with serious intent. Video imagery depicts the black-clad band against a white backdrop interspersed with footage from a raging house party. As walls become increasingly covered in handwritten graffiti, impromptu crowd-surfing and bathroom shenanigans mirror the track’s explosive conclusion. Baby Acid play their album release show on 12/9 at The Footlight w/ Parlor Walls, Ex Girlfriends and Thick. – Dave Cromwell