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

On their new album, All My Friends, released this past February, New York’s Plain Dog carries the DIY/indie torch while also managing to inject something fresh into their material. The seven-track album is at once buoyant and crackling with angst, with driving percussion and fuzzed-out guitars reminiscent of Modest Mouse and hints of Nirvana. With this release, Plain Dog delivers in droves and promises great things to come. You can catch them at Elsewhere on April 9th. Listen to "Cherry Cola" below! – Ethan Ames

New York’s indie-pop sensation Vlad Holiday is a force to be reckoned with. Just take his latest single, the ambient and melancholy "Children" – channeling the likes of M. Ward and The National; Holiday waxes nostaglic for simpler days and laments a certain loss of innocence that comes with the territory of growing up. Moreover, Holiday seems to long for the kind of blind optimism that drives so many of us to plunge headlong into life and love, for better or worse. "Lie to me and say goodnight/It’ll be all right/Lie and say this world is fine/That we will be all right." Vlad Holiday is playing a release show for his latest single at Elsewhere on April 3rd, with support from Des Rocs and Lip Talk. Listen to "Children" below! – Ethan Ames

NYC’s Late Slip is best categorized as country-punk, though the band’s genre-bending makes for a unique, if not undefinable, listen. Their 2016 EP, Other Men, is a rollicking four-song romp that grapples with the theme of love lost, without descending into tones of bitterness or self-pity. The tempestuous content of frontwoman Chelsea Nenni’s lyrics is counterbalanced by uptempo, crunchy, roots-rock arrangements. Nenni’s vocals are remarkably strong and versatile, carrying each song along with impressive technique and range. Above all else, the songs are catchy and concise, with memorable melodies that’ll stick around one’s brain long after they’re over. Check out the eponymous "Other Men" below, and don’t miss Late Slip at Hank’s Saloon on April 12th, with Lovechild! – Ethan Ames

DJ Silky Smooth is an enigma: a serious musician, he loathes to take himself too seriously. From the beginning of "Loser," the opening track off his 2017 LP Smoothie, DJ Silky Smooth (real name Jacob Schwartz) fearlessly and refreshingly deflates any air of pretentiousness all too commonly felt among musicians. He intones over bright, jaunty synths and chorus-laden guitars: "Have you heard there’s this kid at our school who calls himself DJ Silky Smooth? What a fucking loser." The song is tight and intricate, complete with a catchy refrain: "And I know/This is not the way/That we’re supposed to feel." The end result of Schwartz’s abstruse musical identity is effective: by dispensing with self-importance and keeping the mood light, he lets the music speak for itself – and it speaks volumes. DJ Silky Smooth is playing at Trans-Pecos on March 22nd, alongside Blasteroid, Edgar Clinks ansd Dark Tones. Listen to "Loser" below! – Ethan Ames

The Brooklyn alt-rock trio Mustardmind makes for a compelling listen, particularly for fans of cerebral music. Echoes of Talking Heads, Brian Eno and even glimmers of Radiohead shine through their latest EP, 2016’s Peep. "Working For The Bad Guys," the last track on the EP, is a meaty and variegated piece of music, rife with a driving rhythm section, alternatingly crunchy and shimmering guitars, and unexpected yet effective melodies by lead vocalist Bobby Lewis. Mustardmind are playing at Trans-Pecos tonight at 8:00 p.m. Listen to "Working For The Bad Guys" below! – Ethan Ames

NYC’s alternative songsmiths Operator Music Band are an innovative bunch, blending krautrock-esque new wave with chorus-laden indie tones and textures. On their most recent EP, Coördination, released last December, Operator Music Band makes much use of relatively spare songwriting technique, managing to entice their listeners with tightly controlled instrumentation amid synthy droning dissonance, harmonies reminiscent of Portishead (with Dara Hirsch and Jared Hiller exchanging lead vocal duties), and unpredictable departures midway through a given song into an entirely new idea, as evidenced in "Communicator 4." In spite of obvious nods to their predecessors, Operator Music Band sounds fresh and interesting. Don’t miss them at Alphaville on March 30th in support of Trace Mountains, and have a listen to "Communicator 4" below! – Ethan Ames

Trace Mountains, fronted by LVL UP’s Dave Benton, is a local act you want to keep your ears on: just listen to "Cary’s Dreams" off their forthcoming LP, A Partner to Lean On, dropping March 30th on Figure 2 RC. "Cary’s Dreams" is at once subtle and upfront, humming with muted emotion and the crackling-yet-contained energy of a thundercloud. Benton’s lyrics have a quality of magical realism, infusing mundane social observations (by an unreliable narrator) with a sense of profound clarity, all the while imploring the listener to follow him into a state of mystical, ineffable otherness. "And while Robert opened his mouth to me/She was crawling in the carpet/Deep in disbelief of me/And right there I could see/That Bobby and her friends were part of me/In Cary’s dreams there are always animals in the greenery." On their own, the lyrics may not carry much significance, but combined with Benton’s alluring pop melodicism and the song’s fuzzy, synth-pop arrangement, the total package is downright compelling. Trace Mountains is playing a record release show at Alphaville on March 30th, with support from Operator Music Band and Spirit Was. Listen to "Cary’s Dreams" below! – Ethan Ames

Akinyemi, the hip-hop sensation out of Queens, is playing at Mercury Lounge on March 28th, in support of Sylvan LaCue. Akinyemi’s music is a captivating blend of R&B and hip hop that hearkens to the likes of Drake and Frank Ocean. On "Dust Calling," the opening track and first single off his 2017 EP, Summers, Akinyemi opens the door to a lush soundscape of longing and ambition. "Dust calling, waiting for the wind/Doors unopened, hopefully they let me in/Scribble this thought down, patented with a pen/Living room tragic, I’m asking ’em again," he muses on the song’s refrain, evoking images of a scrabbling dreamer who’s determined to bring his dream to reality, even at the risk of failure. Ultimately, Akinyemi holds his own on this promising release. Listen to "Dust Calling" below! – Ethan Ames

Skout, the New York indie-folk duo consisting of Laura Valk and Connor Gladney, is playing Rockwood Music Hall on March 20th, as part of a tour in support of their latest single, "These Bones." A raw and moving song, its arrangement is alternatingly thunderous and intimate, a portrait of vulnerability and its accompanying ambivalence. Valk sings, "Please don’t touch me/I know you’re only here to help/But I’m so scared." She seems to know that salvation lies in her opening up to another person, yet fear remains nonetheless. Listen to the single below! – Ethan Ames

NYC folkster Common Jack is playing at Mercury Lounge on March 30th, in support of Giant Stone. The Virginia-bred, New York-based guitar picker is a master of the sweet and the morally dissonant. On his most recent release from August of 2017, a song entitled "One Too Many Days," Common Jack laments the violent travesty that was the protests in Charlottesville, VA. Channelling The Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst and early Bob Dylan with gentle finger-picking and mournful harmonica, Common Jack’s sentiment is one of deep frustration, but above all else, weariness. He’s weary of the carnage, the hatred and the fallacies of monochromatic American civic pride, of which there seems to be no end in sight. He croons, "I heard a voice begin to shout that both sides are to blame/I never thought I’d argue about a Nazi USA." Listen to the track below, and don’t miss Common Jack at Mercury Lounge on the 30th. – Ethan Ames

New York indie-pop artist Stevie Wolf is playing at Baby’s All Right on 03.18, alongside April + VISTA and headliner Cautious Clay. Wolf blends a wide array of musical influences toward a product that’s uniquely his own. On the song "Who," a Jeff Buckley-esque voice floats over lush but sparse electro-pop instrumentation reminiscent of Tame Impala’s 2015 album "Currents" and modern R&B. While the feel of the song is laid-back and radio-friendly, Wolf’s lyrics subtly demand more than a cursory glance, with the disarmingly existential refrain: "Who are you when you’re alone?" Listen to "Who" below. – Ethan Ames