Sleepaway camp season has ended, but that won’t stop Camp Saint Helene from creating music that will give you memories of sunsets on the lake, sneaking out of your bunk at night, and holding eldritch rituals before a blazing fire. The group’s new track "Protector" inhabits the space between light and dark, hope and doom, life and destruction; it stems from the band spending most of their recording time in a studio on a Christian camp which became an arts colony. Liza Ibarra’s lyrics from the subconscious will intoxicate you like the shimmer of the lake or the twilight silence or the touch from a summer fling or the breath of darkness on the nape of your neck. Take a listen to "Protector" below; look out for Camp Saint Helene’s debut album Mother on September 27th. – Will Sisskind

What better spot for Fieldings to debut a whole new EP of their wonderfully weird tunes than Rubulad, Brooklyn’s nomadic venue? The trio of soft indie rockers will drop It’s All You, Cookie tonight; its final track, "Soft Shell Crabs", has already seen release – we are streaming it below. It retains the same echoing dreamy goodness as their tracks from their previous album "Soft Tissue", but it sounds as polished as — if not more so than — anything the group has released in their six years of existence. Take a listen to "Soft Shell Crabs" below, and if you can make it to the show, RSVP to Rubulad for the address. – Will Sisskind

"Runaways is a collection of very personal songs I would sing to myself when I felt alone, confused, hopeless, and needed to turn inward to process my struggle. I hope people will be able to relate to the universal themes in the songs and that they might find comfort in seeing their own experiences mirrored throughout the album."

Five years traveling in South America helped indie songwriter Kris Kelly discover love, loss, and home, all of which contributed to the songs on his upcoming record Runaways. The album, which comes out August 30th, features Kelly’s atmospheric compositions with the touches of a production team who has worked with Ani DiFranco and Devendra Banhart, among others. Much of the album also centers around Kelly meeting his now-husband during his travels, and their search for home back when returning to the States as a married couple was legally impossible. Now that they’ve found home, to listen to Runaways is to understand the path of Kelly’s journey from questioning into self-discovery. Take a listen to the album below, and here’s Kris Kelly’s Spotify profile. – Will Sisskind

Joanna Sternberg stands tall as a person of many artistic talents; beyond songwriting and playing multiple instruments, including paints and drawings, often used for the album covers. As Joanna’s visual art contributes to genre-defying — almost spiritual — music, the opposite is the same, as these songs create paintings that appear before your eyes as you listen to them. Sternberg just released debut record Then I Try Some More on Team Love Records last month, and set off on tour with Conor Oberst. Sternberg’s bringing the show back home for a bit, with the next performance at Alphaville on August 18th with Miwi La Lupa and Allegra Krieger. Take a listen to the leading track from Then I Try Some More, "This Is Not Who I Want To Be", below. – Will Sisskind

You know that feeling of spending a few glorious weeks at summer camp, enjoying time out on the water with your bunkmates and roasting marshmallows by the fire and falling in love, only to have to go home with your memories at the end of the season and let them linger in your mind as you try to stay awake in school? That’s what Long Beard‘s new single "Means To Me" sounds like. Feelings of nostalgia come through in Leslie Bear’s ethereal voice; a move back home to New Jersey inspired the wistfulness in her lyrics. The title track on Long Beard’s upcoming album Means To Me — like its previous single "Sweetheart" — explores the meaning of home, not only for Bear to ponder, but for the listener to consider as well. Long Beard will perform at Baby’s All Right on September 26th to support the release of Means To Me; take a listen to the title track below. – Will Sisskind

Fervent readers and movie buffs know Holly Golightly, the country-turned-cafe-society girl from Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Golightly (played by the unforgettable Audrey Hepburn) has an independent air, an entrancing one; she’s a character who literary analysts have studied as, among other things, a feminist icon. Now Brooklyn avant-blues-indie artist Mima Good has released a single named after Golightly, using clips from Breakfast at Tiffany’s to create a slowed-down groove which accompanies her musings on her own femininity. In her press release for "Holly Golightly", Raechel Rosen — the brains behind Mima Good — says: "To me, [Golightly] is a charming metaphor for surviving under capitalist patriarchy and making it look good as hell." And while toxic masculinity and misogyny still exist in New York and beyond, artists like Mima will take influence from icons like Golightly and keep surviving, too. Take a listen to the single. below. – Will Sisskind

Humeysha — the project of musician and songwriter Zain Alam — will release new EP Nusrat on the Beach on August 2nd; the record’s name takes inspiration from a dream of Alam’s, in which he saw legendary Pakistani vocalist and musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the beach. You can hear some of the passion and devotion from Nusrat’s music in the EP’s title track, mixed with the chilled out indie sounds from Alam which convey the surf and sand. The whole song acts as an aural gateway to Alam’s dream; you’ll dream it yourself. Take a listen to "Nusrat on the Beach" below. – Will Sisskind

The Rad Trads, one of NYC’s most energetic live acts, have taken to the road once more in order to blow listeners new and old away with their jazz and funk infused style of indie rock. Last September, the five piece released their LP On Tap, which included fun singles like "The Little Pie Blues" and "The Manhattan Bridge Serenade". They’ve traveled far and wide to support the release, having spent this past summer going across the Midwest. They’ll play several dates on the West Coast before heading back towards Brooklyn to play Baby’s All Right on August 20th. In between tour dates, they’ll create exclusive content for their supporters on Patreon. Take a listen to "The Little Pie Blues" below. – Will Sisskind

Sho Ishikura makes their recorded debut with the single "Planet Hurt", an R&B ballad in the vein of artists like Prince, with Ishikura’s soulful voice harmonizing over a seductive beat delivering lyrics such as "She gets me wet like a newborn." When Ishikura shared the song with fellow songwriters at an ASCAP workshop a couple of years ago, industry folks and other artists showed hesitation at the subject matter. However, a substantial amount of people were intrigued by Ishikura’s tune, creating a sense of controversy that helped create some buzz for it. The uproar of "Planet Hurt" — a track which blends pleasure with pain, light with dark —  makes it a piece of work worth your ears’ attention, so that you can form your own opinion about it. Take a listen to "Planet Hurt" below. – Will Sisskind

Lo-fi synthpop artist Grace Ives released her second album — appropriately titled 2nd — this past April. It received critical acclaim from sites like Pitchfork, where writer Sasha Geffen compared Ives’ music to LCD Soundsystem for its tracks’ electronic backbeats and succinct length. The album could attract resonate with the fans of James Murphy’s band, but also folks into Ariel Pink, or Slingshot Dakota — or any artist or band with a knack for sharp songwriting and explorative musical arrangements. Ives will perform on July 18th at Elsewhere on a bill with UK-based soul artist Tirzah; go discover both artists for yourself if you haven’t yet. Take a listen to Ives’ "Icing on the Cake" below. – Will Sisskind

So Sensitive — the dark-pop outfit born from the ashes of experimental duo Muscle & Marrow — will release their debut album Bedroom Drama on August 2nd. They’ve just released second single "My Heart Is Open," after setting the tone with "What’s A Girl To Do?". The new track continues the lightening of So Sensitive’s sound from their earlier days; the indie pop of Kira Clark and Keith McGraw seems accessible compared to the rumbling rawness of Muscle & Marrow. Despite that, "My Heart Is Open" remains full of emotion and grit as an homage to Clark’s songwriting hero Courtney Love. The single channels Bedroom Drama‘s themes of sexual identity, obsession, and sacrifice, showing that though the duo’s music is lighter, the subject matter certainly isn’t. Take a listen to "My Heart Is Open" below. – Will Sisskind

Brooklyn-based Anna Egge will drop her newest album Is It This Kiss on September 6th; to preview the record, she’s released the music video for a single from the record called "Cocaine Cowboys". The sparse country-tinged track nods to legends such as Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, and Hank Williams, weaving little more than Egge’s voice layered in harmony, a strummed acoustic guitar, and tiny touches of strings and wind instruments to create a beautiful and simple song. The video echoes this minimalistic approach: a pair of hands crafts the visuals to the lyrics, using paper cutouts and props such as cereal marshmallows, cotton balls, paper cutouts of the country stars to whom Egge pays homage, and a 45 of "Cocaine Cowboys" itself. Take a look for yourself at the video below. – Will Sisskind