Get out your pastel gel pens because Sad Baxter is definitely going to be doodled all over your notebook by the end of homeroom. This female-fronted Lite Brite grunge trio is popping up all over the Nashville music scene. With their incredibly catchy lyrics about crushes named Eugene and unrequited young love backed by clean guitar and a strong and steady rhythm section, Sad Baxter will be spinning in your Walkman for the next million bus rides home.

Stream their EP and break out your Doc Martens and flannel for their upcoming shows around the Southeast. -Caroline Bowman

"Give me what you gave to him, and I’ll be fine," Midnight Pilot’s Grant Geertsma sings the title line of the opening track of their debut album with a plainitive hopefulness. It’s a reminder that love is sometimes a lonely place, and a fine first impression for the band. The album dropped May 5th, and has been making rounds on the blogosphere for its masterful production and rich blend of Americana and straightforward rock and roll. The four boys from West Michigan have been calling Nashville home for a few years, but there is a distinct Middle-America quality that remains in their music. The album so well-rounded and organic that you almost want to plant it to see if something grows. Of course, that would be a waste of very good vinyl. So, instead of burying a record in the dirt, go see Midnight Pilot this Thursday at the Stone Fox. The whole lineup is pretty stellar: newly-minted Yankee Blood (formerly Kelly Ruth,) Billy Crescendo and Juliana are rounding out the evening. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better show that night, especially one for $5. Get more info about the night HERE, and while you’re clicking links, check out Midnight Pilot at www.midnightpilot.com. -Terra James-Jura

On Friday, Aave released "Going Nowhere," which will be the fourth track of their first full-length album. This debut has been two years in the making, ever since their inceptionary songwriting sessions as a two-piece back in 2013. The single is a driven powerhouse of dreamwave, propelled by an unrelenting beat that cuts through guitar tone persisent as a sheet of rain (except when it suspends itself to let some spacey bleeps take over.) The steady drone riffs on the songs title, while in contrast, the vocal patterns are constantly changing. Aave’s album is due out later this summer via label Villain Place. For those who can’t wait until the album drops, Aave will be playing Mercy Lounge on June 27th with The Gills, That’s my Kid, and Luella & the Sun. -Terra James-Jura

Sisters Elle and Sheeran Puckett, the backbone of Poema, released single "Forget You in LA" at the start of this month. Their life in music is all but set in stone by this anectdote from their childhood in New Mexico: the sisters routinely sang Elvis tunes outside of their local gas station until they had busked enough to buy candy. This track proves to be a little more sophisticated than a rendition of "Blue Suede Shoes;" produced by Nolan Rossi, "Forget You in LA" is a deliberate meditation of getting over a flame and old habits. The girls prove themselves as nothing short of smooth each time they cruise back to the hook amid the measured groove of guitar echoing the languid mood of the tune. "Pretty Speeches" is the name of their upcoming 5-track EP (due out July 10th.) Learn more about the sisters keep atop of Poema news by visiting www.poemamusic.com.

We’re kicking off this week by digging into this new single (released June 5th ) by songwriter Patrick Kinsley and his band Fistful of Dollars. His debut track, "Back in Illinois" from his upcoming album "For a Thousand Miles" threw us for a loop; our lizard brains had already formed its opinion of what a country-leaning musician outta Nashville was going to sound like, so we were not prepared to catch echoes of Patterson Hood and Jay Farrar in this ode to the lonesome life of a truck-driving man.  Kinsley also comes across as refreshingly self-effacing, with the first line of his bio reading "Patrick Kinsley is a pretty lousy guitar player and sings just well enough to carry a tune." Even if this were true, Kinsley can pen a pretty compelling tune, and we love anything with some slide guitar. There is a video currently in the works, so keep checking www.patrickkinsley.com for updates!

Check out this debut single from brand-spanking new band of (mostly) brothers Renaissance Fair. Formerly operating under the moniker Cavalier, the band changed their name shortly after packing up and making the move from Memphis to Music City. They are currently in the midst of recording an EP, and this first single is an intro of what’s to come. The track, "Hope You’re Doing Well" kicks of with some thrashing guitars that echo the experimetal turn emo was starting to take just around the year 2000 (i.e., it ought to appeal to fans of Braid or The Promise Ring) before detailing, with no shortage of snark, the dodging of a potential bullet. The band is playing a show this Friday at Rocketown along with You Me and Everyone We Know, Daisyhead, and Future Crooks, so dust off your board, get an early start (the show is at 6pm) and check them out! -Terra James-Jura

Congratulations to Goove Circus, our newest Artist of the Month! The band has been kicking around Nashville since 2012, billing themselves as "rock/funk" which doesn’t neccessarily do justice to the sophistication of their sound, which is carried on languid reggae rhythms and jazz-inspired noodling, and, before a listener is completely overwhelmed by mental images of white men in dreadlocks, a perfectly executed turn into aggressive rock and roll. We particular fans the flow of "Knot Ain’t Pretty," embedded below. Their debut album, "Duane’s Basement," sets an overarching mood perfect for mischief sweltering summer nights, which makes RIGHT NOW the perfect time to check out this band. -Terra James-Jura

Got plans this weekend? Cancel them, because you belong at Mercy Lounge this Saturday night. This night consists of a double dose of Deli favorites: tribal noise hipsters Chalaxy are celebrating the release of their moody psychedelic single "Dizzy" and are premiering a newly revamped live set. Joining the night are Nashville standbys Blackfoot Gypsies, who have their own big excitements from a recent record deal with Plowboy Records and a new video for "Under my Skin" to boot (check it out below.) We’re stoked to see these two merry bands of hustlers in one night, and are equally excited to catch Matt Owen & Eclectic Tuba and Levi Ray for the first time. Saturday’s show kicks off at 9pm and will only set you back $5. -Terra James-Jura

We had this curiosity come across our desk recently, and we’re slowly being pulled into the meticulous soundscape of "Rotator" by avant-indie group Summer Palace. Delivered to us via our Open Submissions page with about as much fanfare as there is info about this mysterious individual(s?), we’re digging it for two reasons: it is 6 tracks of graceful experimentation with looping, harmonies and repetition, and the lack of an online presence suppresses our usual need to know the background of a group and the inevitable judgements we tend to pass in the research process. So we give props to Summer Palace for freeing up our minds to simple enjoy the aural stimlulation, which is currently lighting up the same drool-inducing sypapses as someone dragging their nails over our scalp (seriously, we could fall into a sweet, dreamless sleep to final track "Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.")  We’ll leave you with opener "Do I Do All I Can" and let you pass your own judgement. -Terra James-Jura

We’re stoked for this opportunity to see eclectic indie rocker James Wallace and the Naked Light at the Stone Fox this Thursday. With a sprawl of influences from gospel to African music to The Kinks, Wallace’s creations may be some of the easiest-listening sonic schizophrenia this side of the Mississippi. This 2013 release "More Strange News from Another Star" was as proudly out there as anything from Devendra Banhart, with the same comfortable hominess as fellow Nashvillian Langhorne Slim. Being vigins to his live show, we’re interested to see how it translates to the Stone Fox stage on the 21st, when he and the crew opens up for ‘baroque folk" of Asheville’s River Whyless. The lineup is further complimented by Southern Gothic outfit and Deli faves Honey Locust. The show kicks off at 9pm, and cover is $8.

In case our little blurb on Mr. Wheeler last week caught your ear, he’s bringing his brand of revival folk to The 5 Spot tonight with a cast of friends and talented musicians. Joining the lineup are Kyle Cox, Molly Parden and Carl Anderson. We’re especially excited to catch Wheeler’s pal and future tourmate (tonight kicks of the two’s "Southern Run" tour) Kyle Cox. This show also doubles as Cox’s vinyl release show for his album "The Plan, the Mess." The Orlando, FL native is capable of offering up cheeky songwriting with some good time rock and roll, like the first track off his record, "I Ain’t Been Lonely, Until I Met You." Rounding out tonight are local artists Molly Parden and Carl Anderson, making this show a steal at a $10 cover. Things kick off at 8pm, so don’t miss this double header of a release show! -Terra James-Jura

Liza Anne’s newest single "Ocean" opens with the ambient buzz of some train system, lending a sense of the impersonal to an otherwise deeply personal track. The song covers the songwriter’s reaction to a sudden change in a relationship, and the common sounds of transit provide a backdrop for the resulting anxiety and turmoil that can wrack one’s brain with brutal perisistence. This track dropped ahead of the May 19th release of Liza Anne’s second full-length album, TWO. Produced by Zachary Dyke of COIN, TWO is a follow-up to her debut album The Colder Months, released when the Georgia-born singer was barely nineteen. TWO has Liza Anne experimenting more with instrumentation (listen for the slowly rising swell of strings in "Ocean") as well as introducing more pop into her sound (single "Take it Back" is a prime example.) While it is a few more days until the album officially drops, you can check out this freshly posted Daytrotter session with our folkstress HERE. -Terra James-Jura

http://www.lizaannemusic.com/