The Burlington-based indie rock five-piece J Benjoy, according to their own description, make “bummer-rock that makes you smile.” This is an accurate way to characterize their Kayhl Cooper-directed clip for “Armchair,” the entropic anthem off of their LP Dogwood Winter. Filmed during a Vermont winter, the cool-toned visuals alternate between the band members playing instruments together and being carted around on armchairs around the city to much eerier scenes of dark hallways and faceless men wheeling them away. Things must destruct before they can be rebuilt, but as the first verse goes, “things fall down / but they don’t always fall into place.” It is in this space — where life has yet to snap into place, where something doesn’t quite fit but you have to figure out how to move forward anyway — that J Bengoy have created “Armchair” and it’s one worth talking about. J Bengoy will be playing at Brooklyn’s Union Pool tonight (August 25) and will be back with another show in Burlington at ArtsRiot on September 7. – Lilly Milman, photo by Kayhl Cooper

Filmed only in available daylight in the abandoned Medfield State Hospital, the “Medfield” video (streaming below) from Burlington psych-rockers The Dead Shakers is as surreal as the track itself. Primary songwriter and frontman Kevin Bloom is seen alone in alternating settings, almost always standing completely still — as if he has become part of his surroundings. It is only during the songs climactic ending that he begins to gain a sort of agency and energy, walking down a path right towards the viewer. The track comes from The Dead Shakers’ debut LP All Circles Vanish, which took Bloom three years to create. It is a hugely collaborative effort, featuring a rotating cast of over a dozen creators. Catch The Dead Shakers playing live in Allston at O’Brien’s Pub on August 29. – Lilly Milman

The enigmatic Oakland five-piece Half Stack have released the first single off of their forthcoming LP Quitting Time. The freak-folk track “Dually” is textured with psychedelic influences that draw out and distort the vocals into a pleasantly unique incarnation of West Coast country. The repetition of the line “Is it real at all?” invites listeners to drift into Half Stack’s dream world, and we are happy to do it. Quitting Time will be released in full on October 19 via Processional Cross. – Lilly Milman 

SELLER is New Haven’s new favorite grunge pop band, having hit the ground running fast with their debut LP Present & Pretending — a melodic medley of confessional lyrics, scuzzy grunge-influenced harmonies, and surreally pleasant guitar solos. One of many highlights on the seven-track project is “Backwards & Sideways” (streaming below), which matches the lyrical integrity of Moose Blood with the musicality of the jazz-psych-grunge outfit Fleece. The rest of the album follows suit, sometimes even channeling the pop sensibilities of (dare I say?) pop-rockers Neon Trees (see: "Coffee Stains.") Although their next show is in New York (at Brooklyn’s Wayward Social on August 15,) the four-piece is always gigging around Connecticut. They will be back in West Haven to play The Cave on August 28. – Lilly Milman

The sophomore LP by Berkeley band Curling, entitled Definitely Band, is a feel-good frenzy of jangly shoegaze rock. This release — a mix of Beatlesque melodies that blow up and pop like bubble gum and fervently executed guitar riffs that make your heart jitter — is entirely their own. The second track on the album, “Flutter” (streaming below), genuinely brings about a thrilling frission, even on your tenth or eleventh spin of the track. Curling have outdone themselves this time. They will be playing at The Down & Out in L.A. on August 16, and then kicking off a summer tour the following day. – Lilly Milman

The mathy debut EP With Sadness by the emo Hartford duo Two Headed Girl is leaves no gory detail untouched. The emotional project, fronted by Celeste Padua and Angelica Padua, is hard to compare to anyone else. Right from the opening track “Holy Ghost,” this project swallows you whole with the intense choruses and surreal riffs. The duo’s delivery of lines like “I’ll die alone / we all die alone” (from the catchy “Miss Me”) does not touch melodramatic, instead coming across as completely genuine. “Target Practice” is effortlessly relatable, and “Favorite Song” is searingly honest. As you can imagine, the rest of the tracks follow suit. They will be playing a live show tomorrow, August 8, at MAC 650 Gallery & Artist Co-Op in Middletown, CT. – Lilly Milman, photo by Jillian Maraj

Stream the full With Sadness EP below.

The Burlington-based folk trio Emma Cook & Questionable Company has a mythic origin story; co-creators Andy Feltus and Max Guyton began playing music together as roommates at the University of Vermont, and later met Emma — with whom Andy fell in love. The trio played their first show together on Halloween in 2012, and have been an unstoppable force ever since. Yesterday, the trio released their newest single “You Know Why” (streaming below), a jazzy folk track that leverages Emma’s incomparably smooth vocals to create something that sounds close to magic. Their next show will be at ArtsRiot in Burlington on August 9. – Lilly Milman, photo by Kayhl Cooper

Al Harper doesn’t take herself too seriously in the video for “Sunny Somewhere” — a saccharine ballad that juxtaposes the feeling of knowing “it’s sunny somewhere” with the realization that somewhere isn’t necessarily here. While the track on its own has the potential to lean negative (“I feel like I am running out of time / and I just realized this party isn’t mind / what if I never end up with everything I want,”) the video — filled with cameos of Harper’s friends, jello shots, and karaoke — adds a certain lighthearted flair that highlights the full potential of Al Harper’s music. "I thought that since it’s essentially about finding your bliss, we should just put a bunch of things in it that make me feel good,” said Harper, who will be playing her next show on August 8 at the Knockout. – Lilly Milman, photo by Kelsey McClellan

Stream an exclusive premiere of the video, directed by John Snapp, below. (And watch out for the "Semi-Charmed Life" reference.)

Everyone knows that a demo tape is going to be a hit or miss. In the case of Boston duo Berta Bigtoe (made up of Ben Astrachan and Austin Koenigstein,) their debut the gap [demos] @ rat city exists within the sweet spot of lo-fi where the gentle hums of lo-fi and the excitable shouts of talent meet. Sincere in its delivery, exhilarating in its musicality and indicative of much greater heights, this tape has earned its place in the limelight. – Lilly Milman

Stream our favorite track “doggie den” below. 

The most recent release by Samuel Sandoval, the singer-songwriter from Meriden, Connecticut, Tupper (streaming below) is meant to be read almost as much as it is meant to be listened to. Take for example the opening line of “Philly, City of Brotherly Love” (“I knew they were rich by the way they left their plates on the table”) which uses simplicity to snap a cultural criticism into place. Sandoval’s sharp wit, colored by his experimental folk-leaning arrangements, interrogates, but it also soothes. The whispers are just as important as the shouts, a balance that is curated earnestly by Sandoval’s hand. – Lilly Milman, photo by Zack Gomez

The lineup of this month’s iteration of Throwin’ Bo’s is a melting pot of talent. First on the bill is the incomparable fuzz-pop of Oakland’s own Same Girls, who recently released the Deli-approved single “Domino.” Later in the night, Sacramento’s So Much Light — whose most recent single “Waiting For The Moment” was a collaborative effort with the formerly SF-based artist Geographer —will showcase his infectious electro-pop. Also in the mix is satchy, a neo-soul crooner hailing from L.A. supporting the release of his newest EP, The Muse. Stream our favorite tracks from each of these artists in the playlist below. – Lilly Milman

This event will be on Thursday, August 2 at 9 p.m. Throwin’ Bo’s is a monthly 21+ showcase held at The Elbo Room. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. RSVP on Facebook here.

The debut self-titled EP by the San Francisco-based quartet Moon Daze is hot and cold, dousing lyrics like “It’s okay, I didn’t love you anyway,” (from lead single “Leather Jacket”) in the syrupy sweet vocals of Florie Maschmeyer and Carissa Quiambao. The EP retains the surf sensibilities of the Bay Area, as seen in the bouncy “Disco,” but elevates them to a hypnotic dream-like state. Listen to the EP in full below, and see Moon Daze play live on August 3 at The UPTOWN in Oakland. – Lilly Milman, photo by Domini Dragoone