While New York mourned the end of much celebrated DIY rock quartet LVL UP late last year, the months following the group’s dissolution have been marked by an uptick of activity among the solo projects of the band’s former members. Nick Corbo’s Spirit Was is one of those projects, one that carries the doom-laden distortion and wandering, esoteric lyricism that characterized some of LVL UP’s best work. And while split single “Golden Soul” feels as though it could be B-Sides from albums like Space Brothers or Hoodwink’d, Corbo’s added instrumental and vocal experimentation on “Olive Branch & Brown Dove” is a welcome addition to the city’s alt-rock tapestry, an expansion upon the oeuvre of his former group that continually becomes weirder, grittier, and more enigmatic in the best way.

Spirit Was will play Alphaville on February 8th, supported by Yours Are the Only Ears and IR Moody. Until then, stream “Golden Soul” below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Branding oneself as a “psychedelic dub interpretation of Joy Division” is a move certain to raise eyebrows, but Brooklyn noise quartet Jäh Division’s take on the music of Ian Curtis is executed with a remarkable amount of confident experimentation and self-assuredness. While it’s not surprising that Jäh Division started as a joke between roommates Brad Truax and Barry London, a self-described “good smoke and a joke,” their nine-track LP Dub Will Tear Us Apart… Again is more than another sophomoric meme album. Truax and London, in collaboration with members of Oneida and Home, create spacey, discordant soundscapes throughout Dub that rely upon components of Joy Division’s music as a backbone while expanding outwards into something completely different; at face value their music is familiar in melody only, with their phaser-laden employ of the Curtis’ vocal lines from songs like “Disorder” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” but the end result is more indicative of the group’s respective electronic instrumental chops. While not for everyone, Dub Will Tear Us Apart is an interesting, defiantly different interpretation of post-punk made by and for those who crave New York’s weirdest sounds.

Jäh Division will play a record release show on January 26th at Secret Project Robot, supported by Mourning A BLK Star. Stream Dub Will Tear Us Apart… Again below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

A consistent sense of uncomfortability permeates Macseal’s recent extended play, Map It Out, one that is offset only by the Long Island pop-punk five-piece’s confident and driven musicianship. Each track on Map chalks in just around three minutes, each song an inner monologue covering the tedious nature of fitting in, human intimacy, or a sense of immobility – against this fraught and anxious lyricism, Macseal interweaves triumphant major-key guitar riffs and concise sprung clock drumming with gusto. In doing so, the band’s music reads as a confrontation of these uncomfortable facets of human life, a sharp rebuke that seeks to address these pangs head on through an energetic and self-assured performance.

Macseal will lend their energy in support of Prince Daddy & The Hyena at Baby’s All Right on January 19th, alongside Strange Ranger and bad heaven. Stream Map It Out below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

As far as genre descriptors are concerned, ‘country’ is one that has the most divisive effect on city-dwelling purveyors of alternative music, one that causes most folks to do an about face and run for the safety of less homespun tunes. Brooklyn band / art collective Irrevery, however, do not care for your classist associations with the genre and channel a distinctly rural energy into their self described ‘country punk noise.’ Lead track “Just Like Me” from their most recent full-length Irrevery Volume I is strengthened most by lead singer Paige Johnson-Brown’s lyrics and vocal delivery, rife with imagery of dogs on ropes, flowers in bouquets, and fists full of mud, drawled against a backdrop of discordant punk noise and heavy slide guitars. While such a pairing of seemingly unrelated genres may appear as odd bedfellows, Irrevery shows that the two have more in common than you think, uniting them in an emotionally raw, honest tour de force that encapsulates the most visceral elements of both. Watch the video for "Just Like Me" below and see for yourself – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

The Clouds, the newest single by New York’s Wooing, is a release that feels not of this time. Through frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Trachtenburg’s haunting vocals, softly commanded against echoing pedal-laden guitar lines, the band crafts a soundscape that feels both vintage and otherworldly, as if Motown existed in a universe of David Lynch’s making. Even the opening lyrics on “Could Have Been” implore feelings of a disconnect, as Trachtenburg (previously in Supercute! and Prettiots) paints surrealist landscapes wherein she “went to the moon, [and] saw your head up in the clouds” as an eerie, theremin-like sound wanders behind her. Between “Could Have Been” and b-side “In Her Head,” Wooing have stumbled upon visions of the subconscious that could be either dreams or nightmares, but they are captivatingly engrossing nonetheless. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

“Talk Talk,” the new single from NYC-based outfit Miss Grit, was devised in an empty dorm room as frontwoman Margaret Sohn pined over the fatal idealism of modern romances, and this mis-en-scene that informs the track’s creation is immediately apparent in her powerful-yet-restrained vocal delivery. While the track is bolstered by analog synth arpeggios that crescendo at the chorus, the strength of “Talk Talk” is built upon Sohn’s halted lyricism, a performance that carries a palpable, visceral frustration at “the unrealistic view of love that society and movies ingrain into girls’ minds.” Sohn’s quiet-storm vox against cataclysmic synthesizers creates a soundscape that is both emotionally raw and dynamically energizing, a perfect blend of introspection and catharsis; here’s hoping the rest of Miss Grit’s forthcoming Talk Talk EP maintains the same balancing act.
Miss Grit’s debut extended play drops January 11th. Until then, stream their new single below.

“Hell is beautiful and everyone wants to go there.”

This haunting sentence lingers, like many, on Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Jake Harms’ “Aquarium,” the title track from his recently released six track EP out on Good Eye Records. Harms, who performs mononymously on Aquarium but comprises one-forth of Brooklyn lofi outfit What Moon Things, channels a baritone vocal performance immediately evocative of late ’70s post-punk, with its mellifluous, dark quality occasionally breaking into a scream against a cataclysm of dreamgaze guitars and analogue synth. The whole of Aquarium is driven in large part by the size and power of Harms’ lyricism and vocal delivery, a heartbreakingly raw performance that explores depression, self-doubt, and regret. It’s visceral, overpowering, and at times deeply uncomfortable, but HARMS composes some of the most honest, unapologetic songwriting to come out of New York this year, meriting praise from its bold presentation of the uncomfortability of human existence. Stream HARMS’ Aquarium below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

There’s an immediately disorienting quality to “Paradise Flat,” the novel single by New York art pop husband and wife duo Dollshot. The track’s in an off kilter 7/8 time signature that fills each measure with a sense of shuffling unease, while a brooding synthetic bass plays against occasional piano accents. In the eye of the storm is Rosie’s hauntingly vocal performance, a melodic counterpoint to the discordant saxophone of Noah K. It’s a lot to take in at once, given that each musical component comes at the listener simultaneously, but the end result is an impressive synthesis of pop, jazz, and classical instrumentation, one that belies Dollshot’s experiences cutting their teeth at music conservatory before shifting into the world of experimental indie. Futhermore, the track is evocative of other alt-jazz efforts, primarily Radiohead’s "Life In A Glass House," done so in a way that ratchets woodwinds, percussion, and electronics up to an 11. 

“Paradise Flat” is the first single from Dollshot’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Lalande, out January 25th. Stream it below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

You’d be hard pressed to find a music video that’s as anxiety-driven as Sean McVerry’s recently released “Burning Out,” a narrative short film of sorts that explores what happens when everything goes completely wrong. Shot as a side-by-side comparison over the course of a day, “Burning” shows several key moments, contrasting positive outcomes with negative ones, with the latter sequence of events coalescing with McVerry driving away in a Hyundai from an angry mob. The final moments frame the music video as a tongue-in-cheek commercial for Hyundai itself, a parody of the solutions offered by consumer goods to life’s problems. Against the humor of these video, the track itself is bombastic synth pop jam, complete with percussive electronic beats and ’80s influenced textures; these elements all heighten the drama of McVerry’s lyrics and vocal performance, contributing to a final output that is as explosive as it is perfectly weird.

McVerry will perform at Rockwood Music Hall on December 12th. Watch the video for "Burning Out" below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Jesse McFadden

Brooklyn-based night pop project Unknown Caller explores the dichotomy of meaningful connections on his newest drop, “See You Again.” The song, a four minute, Saturday night R&B romp, mediates between the significance of human interaction as appreciated through melancholy, rose-tinted glasses. “‘See You Again’ is about people and places that appear in your life – perhaps briefly, perhaps enduring – [who] impact your worldview in a way you don’t always realize in the moment,” says Unknown Caller’s Alex Lichtenstein. Setting this lachrymose appreciation for forlorn connections against pulsing night rhythms evokes memories of evenings on the town with old friends – perhaps some who have since left the city – providing an adult perspective and melancholic appreciation for those times that have come and gone. It’s a mature, groovy take on NYC nightlife that will resonate with anyone who has lost a friend to parts unknown.

Unknown Caller will bring his visions of evening’s past to The Delancey on December 7th, supporting Blonde Maze, Sophie Colette, Hopper Race, and Ekurtis. Before that, stream "See You Again" below. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Tel Aviv-by-way-of Brooklyn electro-pop artist DOV brought pride in one’s identity to the forefront of his debut single,“Save.” “‘Save’ is about being gay, being queer – it’s a spiritual movement about releasing yourself from your past,” DOV says regarding the track, the first from his forthcoming EP Be Your Lover, out next year. Channeling his experiences as a queer man into explorative and defiantly different electronica, DOV produces a self-assured explosion of textures both synthetic and acoustic that is as original as enjoyable. The track employs tactile, plucky guitar parts against syncopated percussion and brooding keys, creating a layered, expressive sound that is simultaneously bright and dark, with TESHA’s vocal performance adding a layer of discordant pop to the mix. DOV’s strengths certainly lie in his willingness to take risks as a producer and multi-instrumentalist – here’s hoping his EP debut follows the same unique recipe.

Stream "Save ft. TESHA" below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Natalie Claro’s music is a menagerie of influences – her full length debut Disconnect is a fluid collection of songs equal parts garage, singer-songwriter, and folk, with additional nods to electronic R&B and classical piano composition. It may sound like a lofty undertaking for a single record, but Claro’s strength comes primarily from her ability to channel a variety of genres into a cohesive, exciting sound, one united by her explosive vocal performances. Throughout Disconnect, Claro shows that she’s equally comfortable hollering with an acoustic guitar on “Mountains” (streaming) as she is interpolating elements of Für Elise on “Interlude The Disconnect,” while still finding time to croon against colder, moodier synths on “Blood” and album closer “Poor Boy.” Today’s musical landscape frequently pushes artists into comfortable shticks and niches, and Natalie Claro’s decision to circumvent the norm is fearless and admirable.

Claro will perform at the upcoming Women That Rock show, supporting Starbender alongside Scarlet Sails and Astra The 22s. Until then, stream Disconnect below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)