There is something endearing about a band playing what they call "spooky rock and catchy tunes" at a venue where the mission directly names Christ. But The All-New Insane — who do indeed have the catchy tunes — will make it happen on December 12th at Rocketown. The group, made up of Friends For Sale’s Baker Legate and Sweetrocket’s Brian Simcox, has spent their year releasing singles, playing local shows, and recording their debut EP, Good Afternoon. That EP has just dropped on the group’s Bandcamp page; it includes all of their previously released singles from the year, as well as two new tracks called "Fake Affection" and "Blush". Catch The All-New Insane’s electric live show at Rocketown on 12/12, and take a listen to Good Afternoon below. – Will Sisskind

Alt-pop up-and-comers Drive!Drive! hit me deep in two ways: They have continued the time-honored tradition of using punctuation in their band name, and they have become the only band I know of with an aquatic street team. They’ve released their third single of 2018, titled "Love To Hate You", a pop banger in the lyrical and musical vein of Carly Rae Jepsen and Walk The Moon. Drive!Drive!’s inspiration for music comes from founder Alex Johnson’s desire to make music with other musicians who were in it for the fun and not the money; their collective passion comes through in "Love To Hate You". Their growing fan base has already fallen in love with the track; take a listen to it below for yourself. – Will Sisskind

Mountains Like Wax have performed and recorded explosive and emotional rock for the last few years; although they haven’t released much since their debut EP Tetralogy in 2015, what they have shared with the world has gained them a following and the fuel to keep moving forward. The duo of Mitchell Taylor and Samuel Katz have just released their latest single "Messed Up Your Hair", their third song to drop this year, and one that according to them most accentuates their band’s sound. The track begins soft, but builds into a cinematic expression of youthfulness in love and the fickleness of all it. The song has already received repeated play on Nashville stations 102.9 The Buzz and Lightning 100, getting featured spots on both stations. Stay tuned to Mountains Like Wax’s social media for upcoming shows; until then, listen to "Messed Up Your Hair" below. – Will Sisskind

Emma Hoeflinger of Oginalii has an affinity for Annie Clark; she aspires to be like the mind behind St. Vincent with her fearless guitar riffs and forward-thinking lyrics. She’ll take the stage at The 5 Spot on December 5th in order to showcase her and her band’s talents on the heels of their debut full-length album Cause and Affection, which drops in April 2019. The band have released three singles in the past few months: "Further In/Out", a feminist banger about rattling society’s cages; "No Littering", about freedom of choice; and "Forgotten Kindness", a call to empathy. Oginalii has progressed since 2013 from an acoustic act to a full band electric onslaught of musical might; you can catch them at The 5 Spot on 12/05 to see them in action. Until then, check out "Forgotten Kindness" below. – Will Sisskind

It’s been a busy year for Michael Logen; though his latest album New Medicine came out two years ago, he’s continued to perform in the Nashville scene and collaborate with other local, indie, and major recording artists to keep his folk sound fresh. His latest collaboration comes in the form of Sunset Avenue Sessions, an album which Logen worked on with fellow Americana artists Lizanne Knott and Jesse Terry. The album consists of five covers and six original songs performed by the trio, who just toured throughout October all over the UK. The covers include a couple of Tom Petty classics such as "Wildflowers" and "Learning To Fly", as well as a take on Buffalo Springfield’s "For What It’s Worth", providing an homage to the American songbooks of both old and new. The originals are takes on tracks from each of the artists’ discographies; you can take a listen to one of Logen’s tracks, "Ocean Floor", below. – Will Sisskind

At The Basement East on Wednesday 11.28, you can catch Alanna Royale perform at Women Rock!, a night chock full of female-fronted bands singing and playing their hearts out. Go and shake out the post-Thanksgiving blues to her funk-rock songs packed with percussive brass, old-school grooves, and Alanna belting out melodies that fill the room. You’ll hear covers of songs by legendary artists like Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, and more, as well as perhaps a few of Alanna’s originals, including tracks from her new EP So Bad You Can Taste It. Along with Alanna, the bill will feature music from fellow Nashville female-fronted groups and perfomers such as Slider, Jasmine Cain, Athena, Emily Nenni, and Emily Chambers. Take a listen to So Bad You Can Taste It below. – Will Sisskind

Now that the leftover turkey and/or tofurkey have been sealed tight in Tupperwares, according to every AOR radio station in America, it’s Christmas time. And to mark the occasion, blues rock artist Adia Victoria will present "Delta Blues Christmas" at Jack White’s Third Man Records on December 6th. She’ll perform as part of a night of entertainment which includes both a panel discussion about the history of black art and the blues as part of protest and activism and poetry from Nashville-based artists, including Victoria herself. Victoria will perform two sets of music; one acoustic set followed by a full band set of newer material, some of which will appear on her upcoming LP Silences. The sophomore album drops in February 2019, and a nationwide tour is set to follow the release. Victoria has already shared the first single from the album, called "Dope Queen Blues"; you can watch the lyric video for it below. – Will Sisskind

Those who have worked in the music industry often have an idea of what works; singer-songwriter and industry expat Sophia Boro is no exception. On her latest single "I Figure Now", she blends influences from her southern roots, her Suzuki violin training, and her California-born soul to create a track that has all the makings of a pop hit. The song — which includes Boro’s harmonized voice and a touch of glockenspiel — stands as a preview of what’s to come on Boro’s upcoming EP, which she’s busy perfecting. She’ll perform live at Two Old Hippies on December 5th; you can hear her set then. Listen to "I Figure Now" by clicking below. – Will Sisskind

Chaz McKinney has had a big year releasing music as Spazz Cardigan, the electro-pop songwriting vehicle which has put out four Spotify New Music Friday featured singles in 2018 alone. The most recent of those singles is "DOIDOIT", an introspective pop jam smacking of Mark Ronson’s work. More upbeat than some of his other singles to come out this year, McKinney’s "DOIDOIT" asks the question of "Why do we do the things that we do?" in many ways, such as: "Did I see it in a movie? Do I do it just because?" This electric track will be among the many McKinney plays at The Basement East as an opening act for Smallpools, who are releasing their EP So Social at the gig. That show will take place on December 2nd, and it’s sure to be a big one. Catch Spazz Cardigan live then; until then, take a listen to "DOIDOIT" below. – Will Sisskind

Jangle-pop artist and former Paper Rival member Patrick Damphier has announced his upcoming LP Say I’m Pretty, which drops on 02.01.2019. To kick off the countdown to release day, Damphier has posted the first single from the album, called "Pretend It". The track has a hazy feel much like the early 2010s work of Real Estate; Billboard, which premiered the single, called Damphier’s most recent work "broad-ranging" and "intricate". "Pretend It", with its dark post-punk influences, features fellow singer-songwriter collaborators Jessica Lea Mayfield, Richard Swift, and Molly Parden. It’s one of a handful of tracks that Damphier chose for Say I’m Pretty out of a catalogue of over 150. Take a listen to "Pretend It" below. – Will Sisskind

To close out another Black Friday, dark indietronica group Precog will take The East Room’s stage on November 23rd as part of a bill with Brooklyn industrial rock group Abbey Death and touring goth ambient rockers from Maryland, Ego Likeness. Precog have spent the year creating new music and playing around Nashville; their latest album, Pareidolia, came out last year to critical and public acclaim. The band takes inspiration from classic dark electronic groups like Depeche Mode and Massive Attack; however, their style holds back from copying tried-and-true genre formulas and instead experiments with implementing classical, industrial, and retrowave elements into their music. What results is music that reaches across timelines to become something that could be timeless. Take a listen to Pareidolia below, and catch them at The East Room on Black Friday. – Will Sisskind

Over the last several years, Daisyhead have staked out their turf in Nashville’s emo scene, releasing albums and touring around the States and in Europe. This past January, however, the band — led by Michael Roe — decided to take a break for the sake of their mental, physical, and financial health; they played a "Goodbye For Now" show in March at Cafe Coco. But just in time for the holidays, Daisyhead has sprung back in partnership with mental heath education non-profit Hope For The Day to release new music. The band’s upcoming EP I’ve Been Better covers some of the personal growth and therapy that Roe’s experienced over the year. The first track from the EP, "Making Me Feel Safe", kicks off the chorus with the line "I don’t wanna go on thinking every breath I take is a mistake", which sets the triumphant tone that Roe and Daisyhead have chosen to take on their road to recovery and renewal. "Making Me Feel Safe" also has a video, which you can watch below. Let’s hope that 2019 brings good things to Daisyhead. – Will Sisskind