It seems like there’s not a lot that Jackie Mendoza can’t do. The Brooklyn via San Diego visionary writes and produces enchanting ukelele synth pop, switches between English and Spanish with ease, and sometimes, directs music videos. Inspired by Latin pop and folk textures, Mendoza’s compositions re-imagine what electronica can sound like in 2018. On “La Luz,” her most popular track, her ukulele strums and breezy vocals swirl and echo into rippling beats hefted by Latin-inspired percussion and a sparse piano part. It makes for a transcendent sound that’s unlike anything else. Listen below and catch Jackie Mendoza at h0l0 on 12/13 alongside Snakeskin, Verdigrls, and Anna Altman. Sara Nuta

Tobias has been creating glitchy electronica for the last several years, and now he’s exploring new sonic territory: lyrics. Toby, his latest LP, is the 22-year-old’s first endeavor in recording and writing lyrics—and the culmination of several years of tinkering with instrumental experimental electronica. The hybrid album ripples with a fragmented fluidity, floating from mellow tracks (“Safe,” “Translucent,”) and picking up tension along the way (the anxious post-punk-y “Don’t Ask”) until it lands on the urgent closer “Boardsports.” Clocking in at just over thirty minutes, Toby reveals that there’s subtlety and economy to Tobias’ songwriting. Each of the 9 tracks has sparse, moody energy and listening to the entire record feels like driving through a dark road at night in the middle of nowhere. Listen below and catch Tobias perform alongside BLK SLK, Cutie, Chaste, and Died on 11/18 at Trans-Pecos. Sara Nuta

Steve Gunn is perhaps best known for his collaborations, having contributed his psychedelic-tinged folk guitar playing to tracks by Kurt Vile, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Michael Chapman, among others. But beyond that, Gunn is also a quality songwriter. His newest solo work—The Unseen In Between, out January 19^th via Matador Records—continues the practice of those releases allowing Gunn’s talents to take center focus. The first single “New Moon” takes a 5-minute crash course into the guitarist’s style and influences, beginning with tape-crisped acoustic guitar and floating vocals that welcome in tremolo-doused electric guitar and further adventuring into gentle psychedelia. Like much of Gunn’s work, it’s a drifting track that maintains soft edges and fits perfectly to light pensive moods. Watch the lyric video for “New Moon” below. – Cameron Carr

Burlington is in for a storm tonight. Locals Clever Girls will be joined at the Showcase Lounge of Higher Ground by fellow New Englanders Weakened Friends from Portland, Maine, who are currently touring with NYC’s Nervous Dater. This tour de force of ferocious indie rock is sure to melt a few faces and maybe even leave a few tearing up, given the fact that Clever Girls have the uncanny ability to shred while simultaneously dance delicately around broken hearts with lyrics like "I will bite my tongue, I won’t think out loud  / about how dumb I always get when I see you smile" (from "Dumb Smile.") They don’t attempt to be overly clever or tongue-in-cheek or didactic about subjects like love or self-doubt. Their debut LP Luck (streaming below) shows the band isn’t afraid to shoot in the dark; maybe they even prefer it that way, letting the goosebumps guide them as they fumble around, seeing what creates a spark. From the look of this album, it seems that they’ve figured out the formula for finding what’s real and drowning out the rest. – Lilly Milman, photo by Hannah Blauner 

Good things must once again come to an end it seems. It was announced in October that the beloved Elbo Room would be shutting down on January 1, 2019 — and with it will go the monthly Throwin’ Bo’s at the Elbo Room showcase. Founder Eli Anaya, however, will continue to book and promote shows under the name Throwin’ Bo’s Presents, and tonight will be his second to last show ever at The Elbo Room. The bill is stacked with all locals. Healing Potpourri will bring along their classic easy-listening lounge-psych, which should fit right in with the lo-fi jangly rock of April Magazine. Half Stack will be performing live for the first time since the release of their psych-influenced California country LP Quitting Time. Come experience what may be one of your last shows at the Elbo Room, and maybe sing along to a few swan songs while you’re there. Prepare by streaming some of our favorite tracks from these artists below. – Lilly Milman

Throwin’ Bo’s presents a night with Healing Potpourri, Half Stack, and April Magazine at Elbo Room Wedensday, November 14 @ 9pm $7 adv, $10 DOS // 21+

There’s a rawness that permeates the entirety of Éyal Hai’s debut record Flowers On The Moon, a characteristic that’s immediately present in both his wavering vocal delivery and varied instrumental direction. Against modulating synths, equal parts jazz and aggressive electronica, Hai’s vox slides and rolls, steeped in a palpable frustration from album opener "I Need A Minute" to closer "The Way I Feel Inside." It’s an uncompromising approach from start to finish, one that’s indicative of Hai’s multidisciplinary approach and desire to “merge jazz with 90’s grunge and pop” on his freshmen release. Such a cross-genre effort might make for odd bedfellows, but Hai’s channeling of an alternative angst into a medium a lot more complex than your usual power trio strikes a fresh middle ground, crafting an LP that incorporates elements both polished and gritty, and culminating in our favorite track "Sober Dream (One by One) – a tense song reminiscent of another NYC band that, in the late ’90s, synthesized a similar blend of influences in spectacular fashion: Soul Coughing.

Éyal Hai will play a record release show for Flowers On The Moon at Zone One on November 17th, supported by Birch and Friend Roulette. You can stream the record in full below. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Peel Dream Magazine is the brainchild of NYC-based musician Joe Stevens. His debut album, Modern Meta Physic, has soft fuzzy charm with a mellow, psych core. It’s an exploration of retro sounds and new age-y philosophies wrapped up into 13 hazy tracks. The band’s name hearkens back to the legendary BBC DJ John Peel, and its sound is also beholden to the past; part Velvet Underground and part Stereolab, PDM captures the warmth of nostalgia with its samples of old-school late tv programs, while transporting you to an entirely new era through its psych rock and lo-fi musings. In the best shoegazer tradition, Stevens’ airy vocal melodies are often barely audible in the mix, buried under the fuzz of the group’s distorted guitars. Listen below, and drift off. You can catch Peel Dream Magazine at Secret Project Robot on 12/2. Sara Nuta

Punk rock has taken on a number of forms since it’s emergence in the late 70’s. While some artists have celebrated its more abrasive aspects, many others embraced the speed and energy while adding melodic elements to it. Brooklyn’s Fat Heaven‘s new two-minute-long single “Crybaby”, with its aggressive and punchy power trio sound, clearly falls within the genre, with the band’s penchant for catchy vocal melodies placing them closer to poppier acts like Jimmy Eat World and Green Day. That said, there’s certainly enough edge on “Crybaby” to fuel a mosh pit.  The band’s lyrics, included on each of the four videos linked to the EP’s tracks, indicate thought behind the rhymes. “Suburban Nightmare” doubles-down on that approach with a high-powered lament on the working life. “Never Needed You” provides the perfect break-up song for those who’ve been in (and then out of) a relationship. Final cut “Fashionista” adds a 50’s feel to the progression while calling out style appropriation when it’s merely a pose. The band is promoting a live show on 11/16 at a “secret location” (DM them for address). – Dave Cromwell

With digital releases dating as far back as 2008, Gabby’s World has always been a little more than a side project for Eskimaux‘s Gabrielle Smith. But the artist decided to make it her main outlet when the previous band name proved controversial for PC reasons. Beast on Beast is the first full length to come out under the new moniker, but still delivers all the goods Ms. Smith has gotten us accustomed to: her delicate melodies, introspective lyrics, and fragile voice. Single Winter Withdraw, streaming below, feels particularly appropriate at this time of year. 
Be ready to catch Gabby’s World live at Zone One on November 15 befor she leaves on a US tour with like-minded Philly artist Yowler.

There is a lot of excitement among musicians about the new musical technology brought by a new, powerful generation of synthesizers, audio plugins and guitar effect pedals – we know something about it because this blog is supported by the various music gear expo we organize. And yet, 90% or more of the new music we cover doesn’t exploit this new technology to its full potential. If it’s true that great songs don’t need special effects, it can’t be denied that the sound of indie has mostly turned stale, and that the genre is in desperate need of a sonic lift. Rock’n’roll has always been propelled by new technology: the electric guitar’s role in the early days, the Beatles’s experimental pop, Jimi Hendrix’s creative use of feedback, Robert Fripp’s tape-based music and Radiohead’s sample mangling – just to mention a few – are all proofs that new technologyand experimentation are central to the genre’s health.  
NYC’s Altopalo is one of the few local artists we’ve heard this year that’s accepting the challenge posed by this new technology. Their latest full length frozenthere is a collection of ambient-soul, experimental tracks seemingly played by an abstract orchestra of camouflaged instruments. The soulful vocals of Rahm Silverglade tie together a record whose BPM is slowed down to downtempo territory to allow and highlight the band’s sonic exploration, and that carries on the conversation Tom Yorke and company started in 2000 with Kid A.  

Sammy Rae forges a sound entirely of her own in her debut EP, The Good Life, released July 20. This artist executes her style with such playful spirit and vocal dexterity that this new collection can’t help but gleam with personality. Rae’s tracks don’t feel as though they’re sung, but rather performed, and laced with a bit theatricality and a ton of confidence. Capable of fitting comfortably in either a swanky cocktail lounge, a roaring jazz club, a theater, or a suburban kitchen, her sultry jazz soul has a quality that allows it to wear a multitude of stylistic hats. The EP’s opening track, “The Feeling,” is a flawless preview of her sound, unveiling the liveliness that exists in her layers of joyful saxophone, bouncy percussion and vibrant lyrics. Sammy Rae’s songs are alive and pulse with brilliant authenticity, showcasing not only her musical acuity, but also her colorful character as an artist. To stream Sammy Rea’s The Good Life EP, check out her pages on Soundcloud or Bandcamp. See her live at Bowery Electric on November 19 – Rebecca Carroll

Reliant Tom’s Bad Orange is one of those records that proves art is all in the details. Each of the album’s nine tracks are underscored by sparse, gritty electronic production that feels at once cold and analogue, creating a musical mise-en-scene for powerful vocal performances by vocalist Claire Cuny. Track “Alien” perfectly sets the scene in this regard, with Cuny crooning against electronic drums and brooding bass in a manner similar to that of Trent Reznor or Thom Yorke circa OK Computer, albeit more melodic and less rough around the edges. Overall the entirety of Bad Orange is a moody, cool, and well-produced effort, representing a bold vision for Brooklyn duo’s first full length release. Stream below the video for single Happy Birthday, and the entire record under it. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)