The latest release from new wave garage outfit, Monograms, is heavy hot mess of distortion, expansive vocals, and tactful, driving percussion. The EP, ironically titled ‘Silencer,’ has already yielded two tracks. The first, “Sharp Teeth” (streaming) is a number that borders on ’90s grunge, while the second, “Ok Promises” offers a sound reminiscent of some post punk bands of the late ’80s, with guitar tones that sound like synths, extra percussion and random intervals of noise. Monograms is four-piece that refuses to stick to one sound or genre, pushing their own sonic envelope as a rule. Be sure to catch their next show at Alphaville on Wednesday, April 19th. – Andrew Strader

Hot Curl is a psychedelic surf rock outfit that nicely weaves together catchy, jangly guitars riffs in the style of bands like DIIV or Beach Fossils. They offer the kind of groovy instrumental template – round bass, two reverb soaked guitars, and tight, tom-heavy drums – that acts as sonic unit to be manipulated in a million different ways. In their debut EP ‘Beached,’ the band has a number of classic surfy formulae they tend to return to after forays into into the psychedelic unknown, and single "Walk Away" (streaming) perfectly examplifies that. The instruments work around a centered guitar hook, deviating into dissonance only to drive themselves home at just the right moments. Hot Curl will be performing at Alphaville tonight (April 17th). – Andrew Strader

Jessie Early, a Nashville native and singer-songwriter took a different production route than most of her counterparts on her debut EP, Wild Honey. Two years into the project and unsatisfied with the way the songs were turning out, she began collaborating with producer Jeremy Larson to take the tracks in a different direction. What emerged then, was a unique blend of acoustic and ballad heavy singer-songwriter characteristics and 80s style electronic percussion and synth production. Her tender vocals compliment the expansive sonic environment of the instrumentation. “Living On Your Love” is a perfect example of this unique trait. The structure of the song along with the electronic drum fills and bass-heavy frequency proves reminiscent of Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel. With a debut EP as bold and experimental as this, it’s easy to be excited for what’s to come next from Early.

-Andrew Strader

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and winner of our most recent Artist of the Month poll David Swick, doesn’t just create music alone in its sonic medium. He paints images with soundscapes. Take a recent track like “Music for Silhouettes” as an example of this. The piece begins with dappling, meandering piano, invoking the beginning of something like a crack in a dam, and slowly but surely builds into an expansive gushing river using the negative, empty spaces to create a sense of openness. His SoundCloud account offers an extensive collection of piano and sting-based compositions that could easily accompany visual stimulation of any kind.

Instrumental composers are few and far between in Nashville’s independent scene, but this doesn’t seem to dissuade Swick from displaying his art in any way he can, whether it be working with The Radial Conservatory, a neoclassical collective that creates immersive environments of light and sound, or playing small house shows. Swick’s outlets for expression prove that he takes his work seriously as art over entertainment, a rare trait for musicians in an environment that often promotes easy crowd pleasing over work that requires authentic participation to receive.

-Andrew Strader