New York’s Holy Hive are masters of cerebral, understated indie-pop. The trio’s 2017 Daybreak EP is a collection of six twisting, winding and surprising compositions, rich with catchy melodies and refreshingly spare arrangements that include classical guitars and reverb-drenched piano. Brevity is an asset to Holy Hive, particularly on the final track, "Nocturne," whose spindly piano arpeggios and minor key invokes a sense of delicious apprehension, all under the three-minute mark. Holy Hive is playing at Baby’s All Right on April 4th, in support of The Shacks. Don’t miss the show, and listen to "Nocturne" below! – Ethan Ames

Ed Pastorini has been around New York’s underground music scene for a minute- the multi-instrumentalist and composer is a member of 101 Crustaceans, who’ve been a band since the 1980s. Now, Pastorini is back with a new record as a solo artist, called Strange Lures, which is out today. His charming, eerie video for "Loss," a song about just that, is filled with clips of serene landscapes, houses being bulldozed, and ghostly couples dancing. There are also a few brooding images of the artist projected into parts of the video, making for an altogether haunting experience. The release show for the album is set for April 14th at the Owl Parlor in Brooklyn. – Geena Kloeppel

The music of Dark Tea has all the intimacy of lo-fi bedroom recordings—acoustic guitar, casio keyboards, near whispered vocals—but manages to present it with the smooth sentimentality of folk. Gary Canino, the songwriter behind the project, weaves elements from the worlds of indie rock and twangy Americana together into delicate arrangements. The songs gain added emphasis from Canino’s choice to use accents sparingly, only occasionally letting in pedal steel guitar, a guest vocal harmony, or wash of keyboard. With a new tape on the way, Dark Tea will play a release show at The Glove on April 1st before embarking on a west coast tour. Though there are few details about the release, we’re hopeful this isn’t just an April Fool’s prank, get to the show to find out. – Cameron Carr

In its new singles, NYC based quartet Kyle Duke & The Brown Bag Boys tosses aside the clean, ’60s inspired pop that characterized so much of their 2017 EP "Aquatic Pop," and takes up instead a more grating and edgy sound. Without losing their light-hearted approach, in "Ocean Waves" the band plays with quirky synthesized effects (including vocals transposed one octave down), referencing the psychedelic ’60s both in the melodies and the arrangement. On “Motivation,” Duke asserts his apathy in typical slacker-rock fashion, although the track is rooted in a droney rock’n’roll riff that’s in part reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain. These guy’s rock’n’roll history hodgepodge is rather entertaining, check out the two singles below and see them at Sunnyvale on April 12th. – Nicolette Natale

This artist submitted music for coverage here.