The music made by New York art-punk quartet Woodhead takes in equal parts from the complexity of progressive rock and the immediacy of punk. Full of abrupt rhythms, squalling guitars, and moments of unhinged screaming by guitarist/vocalist Vern Woodhead, it’s a sound that’s conscious of its ability to be challenging and abrasive. It can be heard on 2016’s El Inmortal, from the twisted garage pop of “Boys Float” to the flurry of free jazz saxophone on “El Perro.” On May 30, Woodhead will release a new video for a track called “Four Corners.” You can catch the band live that night at The Footlight. – Cameron Carr

The brainchild of accomplished DJs Gerald Watson and DJ 2-Tone Jones, Shaolin Jazz is a fresh look at the sounds of the Wu, mixing their signature flow with chill and jazzhop. Their latest release, Nancy from Shaolin, is a real treat. Starting off with a wonderful chillhop intro and title track, the album hits high points on “Special” and “My M.E.T.H.O.D”.

Aside from making great music, Shaolin Jazz seems committed to celebrating the aesthetics of the Wu, holding a unique film series screening classics like Shogun Assassin. The Next screening is May 29th, 6-10pm at Songbyrd. No cover.

Hoping for more releases, and for this group to put DC on the chillhop map.

-Mike Dranove

The first time I heard Mary-Elaine Jenkins was at a Janis Joplin tribute show at The Way Station in Brooklyn. It was a small venue, an intimate atmosphere, and she had come alone with her guitar. When she took the stage, I felt like I knew her somehow, like she had always been a friend. A New Yorker for over five years now, Mary-Elaine is a 13th-generation South Carolinian, so it makes sense that her modest southern charm would so easily make the audience immediately comfortable with her. And then she started singing. 

Jenkins’ voice is a mix of cloves, sage, ash, thorns, and honey. The music sets the mood of a sunrise on a brisk fall morning, wrapping a blanket around yourself in your pajamas and eating biscuits on a wooden rocking chair on a white front porch, only rolling hills in view for miles. Reminiscent of Jolie Holland, Lady Lamb, and yes, a piece of Janis Joplin, her lyrics and vocal style seem timeless and raw. 

Jenkins’ music is the opposite of frenetic. She knows how to sink into a slow blues groove and lives there like it’s the new pace of your life now, an especially powerful feat in our bustling metropolis. And yet it feels easy to sink down with her into a hammock you never want to climb out of. 

Recording at Good Child Music Studios, Jenkins collaborated with producer / engineer Thom Beemer, along with musicians Cat Popper (Ryan Adams), Lawson White (My Brightest Diamond, Tony Trischka), JJ Appleton, and Dave Hassell, to make an album as well traveled as it is rooted in the musical traditions of the Southern east coast.

Singles Fools Don’t Stay and The Rooster release today on Good Child Music and we are proud to premiere them below. They will be included in a debut LP scheduled for later in the year. You can catch Mary-Elaine Jenkins with band live at The Bitter End on Friday, June 22. – Meghan Rose, photo by Paul Storey.

The lyric “Steppin’ on your toes I’m a big brown man” is just one way in which Sam Sundos conveys his personality through his solo project, Sabri. That declaration comes from his latest release, “FUCK IT MAN,” which, notwithstanding the harsh title, is a smooth, dreamy soul track built on a plodding, stretched hip hop beat. But don’t try to put this man in a box: the Brooklyn-based singer has proven his versatility through his first single “Oh, Honey,” a poppier, piano driven tune with a George Michael feel to it, and “Hot Tub,” probably his most mature track, featuring a timeless soul melody, and an arrangement enriched by brass and funky guitar and electric piano licks reminiscent of the glorious Motown years. Sabri’s ever-changing sound serves as a reflection on his identity through his work; he has described his music as “a celebration of identity and an embrace of modern culture and technology.” You can catch him live at Elsewhere on May 25th. – Lily Crandall

In the 27th installment of the Deli-sponsored “The Revolution”, a performance series featuring promising local artists, three female pop and soul singers will take the stage to showcase their unique sound. For this month’s installation, the selected artists are Rue Brown, a soul singer with intriguing tracks blending electro and jazz, as well as avant-pop artist Sirintip, and Camille Trust, a singer-songwriter with a passionate, emotionally-driven pop sound. See them all this Saturday 05.26 at National Sawdust, at 10:00 PM – check out the three artists in the playlist streaming below. – Lily Crandall

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

Beechwood’s specialty is classic garage rock with a psych tinge. Sometimes it’s in-your-face, loud and proud punk, sometimes it’s syrupy indie pop, but the New York trio pretty much has their thing figured out. The group’s newest single, “Boy Before,” hits closer to the later with a glam rock guitar riff introducing a Jesus and Mary Chain-esque haze. Guitarist/vocalist Gordon Lawrence in particular shines on the track with an almost sleazily enticing, half-murmured vocal delivery. The track comes in advance of Inside The Flesh Hotel (preorder it here), out June 8 on Alive Records, and a string of European tour dates. Take a listen to “Boy Before” below. Beechwood is currently touring Europe – Cameron Carr

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The most recent EP Familiar Villains by Boston-based alt-rocker Jason Ebbs is a nostalgic reminder of the aggressively emotion-driven lyricism, youthfully optimistic delivery, and polished guitars that made alt-rock great in the mid-oughts. The EP is filled with plenty of clever arrangements and catchy lines—like the chorus of “Brick Wall” (streaming below) which quips “She’s a brick wall / a flash of passion / but there’s nothing on the other side,” which shine a light on a strong new voice in the Boston indie rock scene. – Lilly Milman

“Big Train” (streaming below) is the third and final single to be released off San Francisco-based quartet Pllush’s (formerly known as Plush) forthcoming debut LP Stranger to the Pain. The guitar-driven track showcases an intense collision between shoegaze, indie and pop. Self-described as “sob rock,” Pllush’s sound is unique; overlaying fuzzy guitars with emotional lyrics creates a gut-wrenching chorus (“Who’s gonna love me more / when I’m crying in the middle of the night? / Maybe I’m feeling torn / because nothing ever comes out right”) with a power that grows with each repetition, until it eventually explodes in a surprising mix of pop harmonies and grungey lead vocals. The full album will be released on June 8 and Pllush will be celebrating the record release that night at Bottom of the Hill. – Lilly Milman

Scheduled for August 4th from 4pm to midnight, the third edition of the Get Carried Away Music Festival this year features ten bands, mostly from the NYC area. On the bill also drinks, food and cool Brooklyn wares, all on board of the historic Timeless yacht during the perfect time of year to enjoy those East River breezes to cool off the hot August nights. The festival features mostly female-fronted groups, which is refreshing and also fair, since women have been producing some of the best indie music in recent times.

There’s still room for five more artists which will be selected through a special Battle of the Bands contest taking place on June 2 at Kingsland Bar in Greenpoint, 6pm-midnight. Band/artist submissions can be emailed to kelly.isaacs@getcarriedawaymusic.com.

The festival is now offering discount tickets at $65 each to the first 100 festival goers. Tickets are available here and on the festival website. Check out a playlist of the local bands playing this event, streaming below! – Meghan Rose

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

New Jersey quartet The Nectars is opening up a space for the rock of 20 years ago to spill like a smashed Capri Sun back into our consciousness. Their songs are about having fun, being free and in love, and offer a sound appropriately reminiscent of those positively punchy, female fronted, power pop bands of the late ’90s/early aughts like No Doubt and Paramore. Singer Jessica Kenny has the presence and vocal prowess to take this band beyond the local circuit (as a matter fact, they are already touring the UK) and songs like "I Want It" (our favorite) and recently released "We Will Run" (streaming below) have the melodic appeal to win over the new generation of rock seekers.  After a string of singles accompanied by lo-fi-ish videos, the band is set to release debut album Sci-Fi Television on June 1st.

Jessica Kenny describes the band’s new music video for "We Will Run" as “a love letter to simpler times. A tribute to the New Jersey of our youth." Set in a low rent rehearsal space and peppered with shots of the band just hanging out and riding bikes, the video’s mood is set for the juicy nostalgia the band aims to embody while letting us feel it new again. "We are sci-fi television love" Jessica repeats in the bridge. Somehow I’m reminded of Indiana Jones re-runs on TV, when the internet took so long to load that it wasn’t worth it, when having nothing to do on a Saturday was normal and blissfully boring – and getting a new CD was the best treat there ever was… – Meghan Rose