What America needs on July 4th—or at the very least, what it deserves in our current political climate of intense partisan divide— is honest-to-God punk music that will shake us from the collective drunken stupor of holiday shenanigans. Dryclean is here to deliver this necessary intervention on their just-released Tired & Wired EP. Delivering mid-paced melodic grooves reminiscent of ’90s California garage rock, the New York trio’s performance gets to the core of many collective frustrations, be it our relationship with technology on “Technodrome,” or the general listlessness of existence on “I Don’t Know.” While not an overtly confrontational EP, it’s a sharp reminder of the dehumanizing effects inherent to the 9-5 grind, and as such, an energetic act of resistance against the powers that be. Rip it below, and catch them at Sunnyvale on July 10th, supporting I Am The Polish Army. –Connor Beckett McInerney

Visionary music producer David Sisko is releasing a summer mixtape ("#1 Summer") to launch his NYC-based independent record label, Arena 01. Sisko has made quite the name for himself with his production approach to blur genre lines in favor of balancing creative expression with technical innovation. His credits include small and big artists like Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Gwen Stefani, and Sandflower, to name a few.  #1 Summer will be out on July 5th on all digital platforms worldwide. – Susan Moon

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Looking for something fun to do this 4th of July weekend? Do you love you some great mountains majesty, music of all shapes and genres, and food? Beverages? Trees? Camping? We recommend the High Sierra Music Festival for some good ol’ fashioned American purity. From Dispatch to Jim James, Del & Dawg to The New Mastersounds, the festival has something for most musical tastes. It’s like Burning Man but peaceful. Local favorites include Midnight North, Royal Jelly Live, Rainbow Girls, More Fatter and Eric Long. The festival runs from July 4th thru 7th in the lovely Quincy, Ca. We hope to see you there and tell us post-fest: which acts were your highlights? Land of the free, home of some killer music. May music bless America! – Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

 

On July 20th the Temescal Block Party is back with some killer Oakland and Bay Area-based bands. The punk rock Paper Dolls will be bustin a move, alongside rock n roll group Destroy Boys and dream pop duo Billie Gale. Come out to this (free!) festival. – Lucille Faulker

 

Animistic metaphors play center stage on “Olive Mountain,” the new single by Brooklyn psych-rock veterans Futurist. Interspersed among syncopated sunny guitar lines and trance inducing background vox, frontman Curtis Peel waxes on about “fountainhead’s through the noose,” “diamond science,” and “separating blood from a stone.” Futurist’s lyrics wouldn’t be out of place in a tarot deck, but they’re not entirely detached from reality; at the core of “Olive Mountain” is a clear yearning for closure, likely of a romantic nature. As such, the band’s ability to bridge the gap between the tangible and the transcendental endows their music with a unique magical realism, and promises more esoteric imagery on their forthcoming sophomore effort, Omens, out September 27th. Dig it below. -Connor Beckett McInerney, Photo by Shervin Lainez

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

Queens-based songwriter Kolb stepped not-so-quietly onto the scene last year with debut release Making Moves, an audaciously experimental effort that blends Bowie-esque vocal delivery with delightfully eclectic (and occasionally campy) instrumentation. With no shortage of out-of-tune toy instruments, unexpected cello lines, and bird calls, Kolb basks in the unexpected and outrageous, his voice endowed by a musical theater quality that, when situated among acoustic guitars and shifting time signatures, creates a vivacious, incredibly fun energy. While Kolb has yet to release a follow-up, the project’s glam-folk vision is unique in the New York scene; stream it below, and catch him at Mercury Lounge on July 6th, supporting Flying Fish Cove. -Connor Beckett McInerney

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

New York mutli-disciplinary artist Nathan Bajar channels R&B by-way-of slacker rock on new jam “Silver Surfer,” crafting something that relishes in both its sugary sweet melodies as well as the cracks and hisses of DIY production. Teaming up with fellow NYC musician Mel, who lays down a kicked-back molasses-like flow on the track’s bridge, Bajar lyrically describes an interstellar escape from the bustling Big City, finding inner peace through kitshfully detuned piano chords and day-dream fantasies of space travel, spoken into existence. And while only the ultra-wealthy among us may be able to afford recreational space travel (yet), the earnest desire for escapism at the core of Nathan Bajar’s provides a window for any listener to briefly (and metaphorically) touch the stars—or at the very least, provides a key addition to your summer beach playlist. Find yourself a shady spot before you stream it below, and catch Nathan Bajar at H0L0 on July 8th. -Connor Beckett McInerney

Brooklyn’s Operator Music Band pull no punches on new single “Slim Spin,” launching right into a three minute vamp of spring clock percussion, synth jazz chord progressions, and start-stop guitar solos of no wave origins. It’s hard to render the wide-breadth of influences OMB have channeled into this premiere track from their forthcoming album Duo Duo, but the New York quartet has an ear for understanding what distinct genre influences blend mellifluously. This is best demonstrated by the song’s second half, wherein over a repeated, hypnotic vocal line by singer and multi-instrumentalist Dara Hirsch, the group shifts keys seamlessly (and sometimes chromatically), building tension that coalesces in a melodic explosion of wurlitzer synths and sunburnt Fender riffs. It’s but a snippet of Operator Music Band’s penchant for the experimental, and it bodes well for the rest of the outfit’s sophomore record, out September 20th. Stream it below. -Connor Beckett McInerney

Bi-coastal electro duo Collapsing Scenery attack U.S imperialism aggressively (and grittily) on new single “New World Borders,” channelling longstanding critiques of American foreign policy into a genre-blending political takedown. Enlisting the help of Israeli-Palestinian hip-hop group DAM (whose verses in Arabic and English fit perfectly with the track’s specific criticism of Washington’s ineffectiveness in the Middle East), “New World Borders” is bolstered by a breathless, palpably exacerbated vocal performance over industrial instrumentation. Given that Collapsing Scenery was formed “under a pall of paranoia and disgust,” this particularly acerbic track is but one of the full-throttle condemnations off their recently dropped debut Stress Positions, out now via Metropolitan Indian. Stream it below. –Connor Beckett McInerney

N.A.O Quelly knows how to use his youth to his advantage, with new single “Mo Betta” a standout example of how the Bedstuy rapper fashions raucous energy and unconventional production into an experimental label debut. A signee of Joey Bada$$’s newly-minted Badmind imprint, “Mo Betta” features distorted, drill 808s coupled with ghostly discordant synth, all calling cards of track producer (and previous Bada$$ collaborator) Powers Pleasant. It provides the perfect venue for Quelly’s nasal spitfire flow, where the emcee’s speed and lyrical persona play against the negative space of Pleasant’s production. While lyrically “Mo Betta” isn’t the most compelling production (much of it focuses on Quelly’s recent success and his ability to get his bread up), it’s a promising introduction to a (at the time of writing) relatively unknown artist, and nearly guarantees a barn burning performance at his live debut on August 14th at Knitting Factory. Give a listen below. -Connor Beckett McInerney