New York’s Liquor Radio tastefully blends indie-rock with dashes of Americana to create a sound that’s quite their own. Their sound is energetic yet controlled; the band’s rhythm section is somewhat dialed back, with melancholy violin and piano leading many of their songs. Further, Liquor Radio indulges in intricate vocal harmonies, rounding out an intriguing and assertive sound. Liquor Radio is playing Mercury Lounge on April 15th, with Juliet Garrett. Check out "Bottles of Yourself" below! – Ethan Ames

New York’s alt-folk powerhouse Welles has delivered again with his new single, "Seventeen." It’s at once easy listening and a foreboding portrait of a young person’s foray into intimacy. Welles paints a first-person picture of someone who’s contemplating whether or not a hook-up will have deleterious effects on the other person’s psyche, while also acknowledging the lust that seems to have overtaken the narrator. "It’s cold in the water/I wonder if I should bother/When she gets old it’ll haunt her/I’m here tonight and I want her/I’m here tonight and I got her." It’s a balladic pop song at its core, with an eminently singable hook ("Seventeen/So unclean"), yet a darkness lines the song’s edges. Welles kicks off a U.S. summer tour at Mercury Lounge on April 9th, with Wild Moon. Listen to "Seventeen" below! – Ethan Ames

The music of Negative Gemini (real name Lindsey French) feels spring-loaded – full of tension and liable to blow at any moment. At a cursory listen, the instrumentation on Negative Gemini’s most recent EP, Bad Baby, is smooth, and almost mellow. However, factor in her velvety-yet-seething vocals, and the color of her music takes on a whole different shade. It’s dark, it’s staticky, it’s at times dissonant and it’s always urgent. Dread seems to hover over many of French’s songs – a vague sense of impending doom – or it may just be the spectre of depression lurking in the corner. Ultimately, it’s up to the listener to interpret the feelings encapsulated in French’s music, and they’re plenty. Negative Gemini is playing at Mercury Lounge on April 6th, with CIFKA, Ani Klang, FEE LION and Wild Kid. Listen to "My Innocence" below! – Ethan Ames

Despite its namesake, HEAVEN is a gritty and angsty band. Their songs are big, booming and compelling, with an evident pop ethos that straddles indie irreverance and top-40 catchiness. Making good use of the minor-key, grimy vulnerability of grunge and soaring, harmonious refrains reminiscent of Arcade Fire and other early-aughts indie bands, the four-piece of HEAVEN are a tight unit on their most recent LP, All Love Is Blue. The eleven-song album flows seamlessly, with enough variety in each song to keep the listener guessing. It’s clear that for HEAVEN, the sky’s the limit. HEAVEN is playing Mercury Lounge on April 7th with Longwave and Tiger Mountain. Listen to "She’s Closer Than Everyone" below! – Ethan Ames

Ricky Stein‘s music is a refreshing, unironic throwback to the days when blues-rock ruled the airwaves. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Stein harnesses the gritty, southern aesthetic personified by classic rock bands like The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and more recently, Shakey Graves, and creates a sound unique unto himself. On "Don’t Leave Me Hangin’ On," from 2012’s Crazy Days, Stein showcases his aptitude as a songwriter while also paying tribute to his roots-rock predecessors. The music is urgent and driving, but also subtle, with unexpected twists and turns that proves an artist can be steeped in tradition without being predictable. Ricky Stein is playing at Mercury Lounge on April 10th, with Belle-Skinner and Pearla. Listen to "Don’t Leave Me Hangin’ On" below! – Ethan Ames

  

NYC’s Pearla is an act you’ll want to keep an eye out for – her songs are brooding, melodic and relatable. With inflections of Fiona Apple, Pearla laments her sense of dislocation on "Somewhere," using her literal geographical disorientation as an analogy for her own sense of unmooring. The song’s arrangement is atmospheric and poppy, making good use of tasteful electronic percussion and delicate keys. "I don’t know which way is north/I never do, I’ve just trusted I would end up somewhere." It’s a compelling sentiment for anyone who feels as if they’ve been thrusted into adulthood, ready or not. Pearla is playing at Mercury Lounge on April 10th, with Belle-Skinner and Ricky Stein. Listen to "Somewhere" below!" – Ethan Ames

LUECK, the five-piece indie-folk band fronted by Katy Lueck, is a hybrid of musical influences that resounds with emotion. With hints of ’90s alternative and West Coast ’70s folk rock evident in the band’s instrumentation, LUECK creates an atmosphere of longing and introspection without being too esoteric. As a songwriter, Katy Lueck has a pop sensibility, and her songs take enough interesting turns to further augment the appeal of her virtuosic vocals and shimmering guitar lines. LUECK is playing at Mercury Lounge on April 11th, with Dan Abraham. Watch the video for "Delirium" below! – Ethan Ames

New York-based songwriter Dan Abraham puts a new spin on indie-folk. It’s evident that he’s first and foremost a pop songwriter: on "Golden," with vocal inflections reminiscent of The Black Keys, Abraham reminisces on lost love with bitter clarity and 20/20 hindsight, over warbling, chorus-drenched guitars and a punchy rhythm section. However, on "As Things Move" and "Alive," Abraham’s approach is much more steeped in the folk tradition, with delicate, fingerpicked acoustic guitar and lyrics rife with desperation and longing. "Another day in the life/Without taking a pill to survive/God knows if we’ll make it alive." Don’t miss Dan Abraham at Mercury Lounge on April 11th, with LUECK. Listen to "Alive" below!" – Ethan Ames

New York’s indie-pop trio Blank Spaces makes good use of their familiarity with ’80s new wave to create a sound that’s at once recognizable and unique. On their 2016 single, "Note to Self," Blank Spaces embarks on a three-and-a-half-minute journey into anxious ambivalence, with the kind of punchy urgency reminiscent of Talking Heads. "Note to self/Staring at the wall/Wait for something to happen/Won’t make a change, won’t make a difference/Let’s lose these shackles/Let’s leave this house." It’s a song that propels itself and carries the listener along at great speed. Blank Spaces is playing at Mercury Lounge tonight with The Silk War. Listen to "Note to Self" below! – Ethan Ames

Detroit Rising, part of the Down Jazz record label, is a funk-fusion act that shatters conventions and boldly explores new musical territory. Comprised of Detroit-hailing, NYC-based musicians who have played with Parliament Funkadelic, Lady Gaga and Mary J. Blige, Detroit Rising is a three-piece that exhibits undeniable musical expertise. Their new album, A Cosmic Jazz Funk Adventure – released March 30th via Light in the Attic & Down Jazz Records – is startling and compelling, harnessing many different musical influences to create a final product that one would be hard-pressed to define. It’s a lot of funk, a little R&B, a little jazz, and a lot of fun. Detroit Rising is playing at Rough Trade NYC on April 8th to celebrate the release of their album, with music starting at 1:30 p.m. Watch the official video for "Little Bit" below! – Ethan Ames

Aerial East‘s indie/alt-pop is an exercise in subtlety: the Texas-born, NYC-based artist’s smooth, retro instrumentation belies themes typically reserved for the most irreverant of artists. At a glance, one might think they’re listening to pre-British invasion pop from the early ’60s. Strings, tinkling pianos, whistling and low-key jazz drums abound on "Crazy Now," in which East quietly bemoans her own attempts at radical, if not frantic, attempts at self-transformation, which ultimately leave her no better off than where she started from. "I started smoking again/I tried out sleeping around/And when one boy didn’t like me/I fell right back down/I’m crazy now." Aerial East is playing Mercury Lounge on April 5th, with The Weather Station. Listen to "Crazy Now" below! – Ethan Ames

New York’s Rosehardt (real name Caleb Eberhardt) has a unique musical aesthetic that would be hard to categorize as any one genre. It’s a little bit nu-soul, a little bit R&B, a little bit hip-hop, and a lot of heart. On his forthcoming LP, Songs in the Key of Solitude, dropping April 6th, Eberhardt throws caution to the wind and embraces myriad influences to the utmost effectiveness. Of the three tracks available for preview on his bandcamp – all varying wildly in style – "Fall Into You" is a stunning example of the end result of Eberhardt’s stylistic melting pot yielding something greater than the sum of its parts. He sings, "I just wanna be used/I don’t wanna be loved/I just want someone to take me for granted." It’s compelling material and makes for a unique listen. Rosehardt is playing a record release show at Baby’s All Right on April 6th, with support from Warren Wolfe and Synead. Listen to "Fall Into You" below! – Ethan Ames