Just a few weeks ago, King Princess sailed off on her nationwide tour, selling out several dates and getting a torrent of good press before even stepping foot on stage for the first show. Also, she released the music video for the title track from her debut EP, called Make My Bed, which offers viewers an intimate performance from underneath her bed’s sheets. The slow and brief song of heartbreak differs from other tracks on the EP, such as "1950"; as the record goes on, the quiet pain shared in "Make My Bed" blossoms into romance that King Princess is eager to sing about. – Will Sisskind

Actress and singer-songwriter Lola Kirke dropped a double-whammy of news over the past week; she released the music video for her latest single "Supposed To" on Thursday, and announced that her first full-length album "Heart Head West" will see the light on August 10. Both the single and the album deal with matters personal to Kirke; self-doubt, family matters, and pressures from society bubble to the surface in her lyrics. In the video for "Supposed To", which Kirke directed herself, an older woman allows herself to let loose. Kirke says of the track: "How rebellious would you feel if you had spent your life just doing things that you felt that you were supposed to do? That society told you to do?" Kirke explores that theme and more on the upcoming LP; she’ll support its release with three shows at Union Pool on August 21, 22, and 23. Watch the video for "Supposed To" below. – Will Sisskind

Those who sit at college radio boards at two o’clock in the morning will find their new favorite song in Color Tongue‘s "Adult Lessons", the latest from the band and the first single from their upcoming EP Bealing Bells. Why will sprouting DJs fall in love with the opening crescendo of syllables and pounding drums signifying oncoming fear and demise? Because, building on the band’s visual album "Us and the Bugs" out last fall, "Adult Lessons" creates a bubble of emotion rife with fading screams. Then, the bubble bursts in a joyful prance of synth arpeggios and a relentless crashing drum beat, while the quartet’s vocals sing a twelve-note refrain to the heavens. It’s fine meditation music for a dimly lit radio studio or studio apartment late at night – or at any time of day, in fact. Bealing Bells hits the Internet later this summer, but you can catch Color Tongue live at Elsewhere’s Zone One on July 8th. – Will Sisskind

Dream-pop duo tiny deaths have released the video for their latest single, "Always". The single from the Minneapolis-Brooklyn group dropped last month, taking listeners on a echoing journey of growing pains. The accompanying music video — which seems to take inspiration from the classic one for Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill" — depicts the song’s themes in the form of interpretive dance, showing a younger and older woman in various stages of tenderness and at ever-changing distances. Vocalist Claire de Lune layers her voice in soothing harmonies over producer Grant Cutler’s beat-keeping bass and drums. The pulsing single is part of the band’s upcoming LP, which will hit shelves this fall via Handwritten Records. Watch the video for "Always" below. – Will Sisskind

Any fan of Vampire Weekend or The Black Keys will recognize and enjoy the dance-friendly, angular indie pop of The Happy Fits. The trio of Jersey-based youngsters have released their latest single "Grow Back" (streaming), a song that will appear on the band’s upcoming debut record Concentrate, out this June. "Grow Back" is a hard-driving track about a character named Mrs. Mae who is trying to escape a lobotomy by using a pair of scissors she snuck into her pocket. Musically, it packs more of a punch dynamics-wise than previous singles "Best Tears" and "Achey Bones", also included in the upcoming LP. A music video for "Grow Back" is on its way, but in the mean time you can catch the band live at The Saint in Asbury Park on May 28th.. – Will Sisskind

Northside Festival is on its way, which means yet another chance to catch all of Brooklyn’s quirky, up-and-coming, and unique acts playing at just about every venue between Greenpoint and Bushwick. At The Gutter on June 8th — the festival’s third evening — you can catch Nighttime, the melodic folk act of Eva Louise Goodman. The Vermont native released her latest EP back in 2015, but she’s kept busy gigging over the past few years in towns and cities across the States and Canada. She continues to release music online; stream her track "Dreams", an example of her atmospheric explorations, below. Her Northside show will accompany a potpourri of other great Brooklyn artists on the same stage, including experimental synth act Painted Faces, darkwave composer Nick Skrobisz, grunge rocker Maneka, and the noise pop wonder of Mezzanine Swimmers. – Will Sisskind

With a vocal range that reaches as high as her dreams and as low as the darkest depths of her lyrics, Samia has released her latest single "21" courtesy of Grand Jury. Though she had a brush with Spotify fame last year after the company put her on their "Badass Women" playlist, she hasn’t let the excitement get to her head. She packs her new single with her mellifluous vocals and most raw lyrics about turning twenty-one; topics discussed include making family proud, self-image, and the push to succeed against the drag of adulthood. Hear that in the chorus phrase "You’re alive and you’re on fire/Why are you so tired?" In the video, Samia dances around in any empty loft, scrawls desires on the walls, and stares out the window, looking for the thing that she feels she should have achieved before her twenty-first birthday. It’s safe to say that she’s achieved quite a bit already. Samia will play Elsewhere’s Zone 1 on June 1st; until then, check out the video for "21" below. – Will Sisskind

The Deli NYC premieres Hot Curl‘s new single, "Endless Summer", a six-minute psych track dropped just in time for warm weather and top-down drives to the beach. According to lead singer Prescott Horn, the song took shape during the coldest months of winter in the back of the now defunct Bushwick venue, Silent Barn. Nevertheless, the song delivers the torrid and laid-back aura of a ’60s surf film with billowing bass lines and blown-out drums to help drive the jangly guitars and acid-trip soundscape. If you enjoy Slowdive or DIIV and want a new addition to your Summer 2018 playlist, "Endless Summer" is your jam. You can experience it in a live setting on May 24th when Hot Curl releases it at their show at Berlin. – Will Sisskind

Sofar Sounds has released EZI‘s performance of "Anxious", a track from her debut EP Afraid of the Dark. The songstress — whose real name is Esther Zynn — released the EP at the beginning of the year, having written the songs during what she calls the lowest point in her life. However, with her powerful voice and catchy synthpop arrangements rife with gripping and vulnerable lyrics, things are looking up for EZI; she’s the first signee to Steve Madden’s 5Towns Records, and she’s played shows all across the country over the last few months. In a recent Facebook post, she says she’s the happiest she’s been "in forever." Take a listen to her recent video for single ‘Redemption" and to the Sofar performance of "Anxious" below. – Will Sisskind

Fans of Half Waif or SZA will enjoy the nu-soul of duendita, whose mesmerizing voice and beats will take the stage at C’mon Everybody on June 6th. Anyone who follows Princess Nokia’s work might have already heard duendita’s tracks; for the uninitiated, the artist has three new songs on her Soundcloud available for streaming now. The songs — titled "i’ma get you", "pray", and "yikes!" — all deliver intoxicating harmonies and instrumentation which blend the organic with the electronic. The three provoking tracks give a taste of what’s to come on duendita’s upcoming debut EP, titled direct line to My Creator. At C’mon Everybody, duendita will share the stage with fellow soul artists Zenizen and Cherubim. Listen to "pray" below. – Will Sisskind

The Misters just unveiled their self-produced single called "Make It Better". It’s the first release from the often-glistening band since last year’s debut EP Complicated People, which earned them a spot at Northside Festival. On "Make It Better", vocalist Michael Nitting delivers a performance that channels his live presence; you can imagine him singing in front of you, shirtless and shining in glitter, as the band’s semi-samba rhythms and smooth harmonies sear your eardrums with their raw heat. The single marks guitarist Jim White’s first foray into production; he captures the visceral experience of a Misters show in the studio recording. Catch one of those bombastic shows at Paper Box on May 17th. Until then, stream "Make It Better" below. – Will Sisskind

NJ-based Owel have made strides in the last several months; hot on the heels of the release of their sophomore album dear me, they embarked on a nationwide tour, let their bandmate Jane Park chase a new exciting opportunity, and released B-sides from the dear me recording sessions. Through the early part of 2018, the alt-rock now-quartet have prepared for their upcoming Midwest tour, which will take them through the middle and end of May. After traversing the Rust Belt, the band will return to the eastern states for shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Finally, on June 6th, they’ll return home to New Jersey for a homecoming set at The Saint in Asbury Park. If you missed the band’s last NY/NJ show at Pianos in April, mark the Asbury Park show on your calendar; with all that touring energy behind them, you’re sure to see a firecracker of a performance. Prepare yourself by listening to "Too Young To Fall In Love", a single from dear me, below. – Will Sisskind