Brooklyn lo-fiers Flower Girl, whose debut album ‘Okie Dokie Howdy Doody‘ was named NYC Record of the Month late last year in this very blog, just unveiled single ‘Wading Online’ (streaming below) from their upcoming LP ‘Tuck In Your Tie-Dye’ scheduled to drop on November 11 on BUFU Records. With this new song the band take us for a ride back to the three chord songs or early Velvet Underground, adapted to the "nu slacking" tendencies adopted by many young Brooklyn musicians. Keep an eye out for a release party date, as of now not announced.

People say 2016 is the year women will decide the American elections. DC Native Ari Lennox has the right frame set for this kind of epochal event: “Sometimes women are put in this box where we’re only supposed to talk about certain things,” the 25-year-old singer-songwriter explains. “I want to be braver and riskier. I think people want to hear that kind of honesty and frankness.” Her brand new debut EP marries this lyrical courage with perfectly produced Nu Soul tracks, dominated by her expressive and pliable alto, with influences ranging from R’nB to Hip Hop, Trip Hop and Jazz. Check out our favorite track ‘Night Drive,’ streaming below. 

Brooklyn-based rockers Twiga bring their jangle-pop sound to Gold Sounds on October 28th to celebrate two things: The sugar-coated cacophonous holiday of Halloween, and their brand new EP. Twiga has kept themselves busy over the last couple of months, having just played a Steely Dan tribute concert at Shea Stadium and a show with Mal Blum & The Blums, Hiccup, and Sat. Night Duets at Sunnyvale. By releasing their new EP, Twiga shows that they’ve got no interest in slowing down for the winter. Head over to Gold Sounds this coming Saturday night to hear what they’re all about. Also, enjoy performances from Queens fuzz-pop trio The Front Doors and Vermont’s very own indie popper Blahvocado. Dress up to get down. – Will Sisskind

Lots and lots of NYC artists we covered abundantly in the past are announcing new releases these days. Quirky NYC Rapper Cake Da Killa is one of them. He is releasing today his debut LP ‘Hedonism,’ via Ruffians / Thirty Tigers. Check out the video for single ‘New Phone,’ which made quite a splash since it was released just over a week ago. Check out the video for ‘Talking Greezy’ here.

We highlighted COTE a few weeks ago in this very blog and we just noticed the Brooklyn based project (brainchild of singer songwriter Taryn Randall) released her second single, entitled ‘Green Light,’ which confirms the good things we heard in the first one, and in particular a beautifully expressive voice. No live events scheduled for her just yet. – photo by Jen Trahan

The final appointment with this October 2016 edition of The Hum will be bittersweet indeed, since the venue that’s been hosting it since its 2015 debut, Greenpoint’s Manhattan Inn, recently announced that it will closed before the end of the year. The Deli sponsored event, organized by Hypnocraft, features a curated line-up of NYC-based female musicians in collaborative settings, and on Monday will see some of our favorite NYC artists ever, like super talented Aaron Dyer from Buke and Gase (who graced the cover of our magazine back in 2009), Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive and Yuka C. Honda of Cibo Matto. Here’s the full list of collaborative sets, this show is not to be missed!

Yuka C. Honda (Cibo Matto) + Arone Dyer (Buke and Gase) + Shayna Dunkelman

Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) + Lynette Williams + Christina Courtin (Pilot Violet)

Eszter Balint + Dayna Kurtz + Sydney Price (Northwood) 

Halycine is the stage name of NYC rock songwriter Chloe Raynes, who used to be the lead singer in bluesy grunge band Blue & Gold. Her solo material, crystalized in debut EP ‘In The Salt‘ showcases a more developed artistic identity and also undeniable improvement in the production department. The video for single ‘One More Try’ adds visual, disturbing power to the most intriguing song on the record, check it out below.

Lily Cato’s Parlour Tricks are back with a new single from an upcoming EP ‘Bodies’ scheduled to be released later in October. Check out preview single ‘Need Somebody,’ streaming below.

There’s a loose, easy going vibe in the ramshackle rock of Montclair, New Jersey quintet Forth Wanderers two track, EP “Slop.” A twangy two guitar groove on the opening title track sets an unhurried pace evoking Neil Young’s finer electric-country moments. Vocalist Ava Trilling shifts the focus with the lines “I know I’m slow – I’ve been told – things change, I’m still young” and “I’ll breathe through your lungs.” As the track evolves into a straight ahead chugger, Trillings oddly poetic lyrics and vocal delivery fluctuate between resignation and hope. “Know Better” moves at a quicker pace, enhanced by clicking stick percussion and Americana Folk vocal stylings. “I hope one day you’ll see, just what you done to me” leaves little doubt someone has been wronged. “I can’t be this naïve anymore” becomes the self-help mantra over double-time snare drum hits and coiling guitar figures. “I need to grow up, I need to be tough” is the ultimate realization as driving bass guitar accelerates to the end. The band play their EP release show Friday November 11 @ Shea Stadium. – Dave Cromwell

There’s only one thing that can make a great song even better, and that’s a visually stunning video, and that’s what the collective called SWIMMERS pulled off for NYC’s orchestral pop quartet Pavo Pavo’s single "Ran Ran Run," a single we alrady raved about when it came out more than one year ago. The video comes with some news we were waiting for: Pavo Pavo is about to release their debut album on November 11 under Bella Union Records – it will be entitled ‘Young Narrator In The Breakers.’ This is a group of young but extremely competent musicians who worked closely with indie and classical heavyweights such as Here We Go Magic, John Zorn, Dave Longstreth, Porches, Olga Bell, Lucius, Roomful of Teeth, and San Fermin. The record was co-produced by Danny Molad (Lucius) and Sam Cohen (Yellowbirds, Apollo Sunshine), so expectations should be high. Check out also the other single available for streaming, ‘Wiserway,’ also streaming Below. The band will be performing at Manhattan Inn on 10.19.

With that good… boy look that’s front and center in all of his press pictures, (Michael) Goodman builds the right expectation for the track we are premiering here, included in his upcoming album "The Vicissitudes," out on Invertebrate Records in February. The young Brooklyn based songwriter can certainly get things rocking if he wants to, but ‘Strangehold’ is a classic sounding pop ballad that requires crooning and a more subtle delivery, since it will, in all likelihood, throw you back in the arms of your teenage crush, on that very special night when he or she ended up slow-dancing with you, and triggering what Goodman refers to in the song as a "strangehold," his word for a love spell. Straddling the line between John Lennon’s more mellow post-Beatles moments, and Blur’s early ballads, this is as Brit pop as it gets, at least here in the Big Apple. Goodman has a remarkably large repertoire on his Soundcloud profile, and will be performing at Sunnyvale on 10.17.

It’s somewhat ironic that one of the hottest and most provocatively stylish NYC bands of this decade is hailing from that strip of land New Yorkers often (always?) look down on: Long Island. The D’Addario Brothers, aka The Lemon Twigs, look and sound like something your average Brooklyn hipster might frown upon, but their predecessors from fifty years ago would have certainly disagreed with that stance. At a time when the majority of local rockers find inspiration in the noisy and boring looking ’90s (by the way, was there a NYC grunge band in the ’90s?), the duo, similarly to what Foxygen did five or so years ago, responds with a visually and sonically striking revival of the art pop of the ’70s, with glamorous references to David Bowie’s androginous look – which, by the way, was born after the frequentation of the promiscuous lifestyle surrounding Andy Wharol’s NYC factory. But, of course, none of this would matter if their songs weren’t powerful and memorable, which they are. Check out the video for single ‘As Long As We’re Together’ (which took them to the Top 10 of our NYC charts for emerging artists on this same page) and the one for previous single ‘These Words.’