Mars Motel blends vibrant indie-rock guitar riffs with the ambient atmospheres of dream pop to create a sound that is both edgy and emotional, light and heavy, dangerously infectious, and ultimately fun. The choruses of the group’s latest single “Coming Up For Air” are super-charged with energy and show off the band’s late ‘90s and early ‘00s influences. The poise and intensity of the group’s music feels like a crossover between The Verve and Young the Giant, classy and perfectly suited for festivals. The band will be releasing its debut album Passenger X later this year and has a scheduled performance at Pianos on May 30th. Check out the single is streaming below. – Rene Cobar

By the time you hear the vocals of Obil frontman Miguel Martinez in the band’s debut single “Your Name” (streaming), you have already been engulfed by the track’s sonic atmosphere. Faint electric guitar notes flutter around in a whirlwind of synth parts, all to the rhythm of an exquisitely groovy drum beat. The bass on the track seems to melt in the ears of the listener as the song progresses. Martinez’s smooth vocals resemble those of Kings of Convenience lead singer Erlend Øye, both sharing an alluring composure. The group has released the single just in time for the summer, a catchy song that signals good things to come from the band. – Rene Cobar

The music of New Jersey’s Fence is the sonic equivalent to a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak: it is seasoned enough to have an intense flavor to it and raw enough to feel tender. The soft plucking of guitar strings that open up their track “Quidditch” (streaming, from their 2018 split EP with Aqui) doesn’t prepare you for the punk beat-driven feast of screaming solos and vocals that dominate the song. Still, the surprises are welcome, and the feeling of comradery in the harmonies and well-arranged instrumentation underscore the passion that seeps through the band’s music. Fence has been covering the music of Neutral Milk Hotel as of late, and their take on it in their new EP is worth a listen for fans of the psych-folk group. Check out "Quidditch" below. – Rene Cobar

The message embedded in Samia’s music video for her freshly minted single “Ode to Artifice” is the perfect accompaniment to the indie-pop song. The shy girl in the video (Samia) struggles with her identity at prom and is upstaged by her own more confident reflection. The fragmented duality in the video is not only relatable to anyone who has ever felt like they are not self-assured enough, but also offers an intimate look at the artist’s struggles. The person you are and the person others see don’t always line up, Samia seems to recognize this and send a powerful message of self-appreciation and authenticity through this video. The songwriter will be headlining Rough Trade on June 7 before yet another headlining show at Los Angeles’ Bootleg Theatre June 26. Check out the video for the song below (there is a cameo by Mary-Louise Parker in it that gets a thumbs up from us). – Rene Cobar

Shadow Year‘s latest single "PDA" (streaming) is smooth, thorny, and drips with something dank—the artwork for the single is right on the money. Led by its warm sounding bassline and sharp guitar riffs that contort without notice, the composition moves along with steadfast loyalty to indie rock. The group fits in perfectly into the post-punk inspired indie that young groups like Priests and The Coathangers are driving forward: they keep it interesting with messages that ask you to open up your mind. "People so addicted to the water underneath/Drip by drip/Covering," is repeated several times in the song, evoking the single’s artwork once again. What the water signifies is wholly left to the imagination; it could be politics, toxic relationships, or drugs, to name a few things – the band seems happy to let you fill in the blanks. Shadow is preparing for a fourteen-stop tour of the country that will start 06.01 in Washington D.C. – Rene Cobar

Forget your easy-listening diet; your ears gotta get a load of TOP nachos! The Queens, NY band’s 2018 record Dank Side of the Moon is stuffed with eruptive garage-rock tracks that never let up. The entire LP shows off the duo’s ability to create a zesty sonic experience: relentless drum beats, crunchy guitar riffs, and catchy choruses leave a feel-good aftertaste track after track. Yes, the choruses of songs like “Punk Vacation” (streaming) may seem overly simple at first but boy do they stick with you. The band’s upbeat approach to the hefty fuzz-rock that groups like Truckfighters have championed is what makes them a standout. If you are hungry for a good time, TOP nachos will showcase their delicious sonic dish June 1st at the Bushwick Public House. – Rene Cobar

Baseball Gregg is always keeping us on our toes. Just when we’re divining into some sweet n jazzy cabana beats, they switch gears and take us to a poppier place with funky baseline magic. Check out their newest single, “The Movies,” and in case you’re ready for summer, please enjoy their weird and solid music video for “Welcome the Night.” Love us some Wes Andersonian touches like that. They’re playing Milk Bar with Video Age and Max Gardener this Friday May 24. Thanks, Throwin’ Bo’s, for another tasty lineup. – Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

S. Holden Jaffe has released solo indie folk music as Del Water Gap for the better part of the decade, and just last month that project continued with the release of the new EP Don’t Get Dark. Again inspired by romantic encounters in dim rooms, the EP contains six tracks that capture the more pining side of love. Songs like "Theory of Emotion" and "Laid Down My Arms" feature Jaffe’s vulnerable lyric-writing skill and a more matured look at three-dimension love, showing not just the romance but the many facets of it, from the pleasure to the pain. Take a listen to the first track from the record, "Don’t Say Nothing", below. – Will Sisskind

Nationally acclaimed post-punkers Priests take their sound to unfamiliar territory on their latest release: The Seduction of Kansas. After making several album of the year lists with their 2017 release, Nothing Feels Natural, Priests work hard on Kansas to not only dive deeper into their aesthetics, but also to push their sound in a new direction.

Eschewing the comparitively subdued sound found on Natural’s title track, The Seduction of Kansas heightens the group’s punk aesthetics while also utilizing the band’s proclivity for unique instrumentation. Moving from a straight-up snarling punk opener on “Jesus’ Son”, the album enters somewhat experimental territory on its title track. Vaguely politically charged, the track oscillates between discordant verses and a synth infused, harmonious repitition of the line, “I’m the one who loves you.” The result is at once attention grabbing and musically impactful.

Heavy throughout the release are explorations of political subjects with a depth that only DC residents would get into. Perhaps the best example is the track “Good Time Charlie”. Inspired by the 2007 drama Charlie Wilson’s War, which used 1980’s US foreign policy in Afghanistan as its subject matter, the track contains lyrical nuggets like:

Like all great pornography, this story is touching
It’s somethin’ that I wanna see
(Black and gold tile, champagne flute)
Good time Charlie
(Sauna water dirtying the birthday suits)

After “Charlie” comes an an energetic semi-spoken word track “68 Screen”, and a bass heavy Riot Grrrl number “Control Freak”, as the group careens gracefully towards the album’s conclusion.

Making a follow up album to a widely acclaimed debut release is always difficult, and fans and critics tend to expect the band to explore new territory while also staying true to their original sound. On this score, and many others, Priests succeeds with flying colors.

-Mike Dranove

Broke for Free (BFF) just released a fun and weird video for their new track “Jibberish (Feat Awon)" and it is a weird and fun trip we won’t even try to explain. Mouths all over the place and we’re loving it. The man behind the noise, Tom Cascino, says his influences range from Outkast to Tycho, Modest Mouse to Tyler the Creator. He’s an all over the place hip hop eletro pop creator and “Jibberish” is a perfect introduction to his work. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Katie Rush is everything that is great about synth-pop music: the group confidently delivers a sonic meteor shower that dazzles with its dreamy synth melodies and sonorous bass lines. The harmonious flow of the band’s latest album Stage Life comes from R&B-lacquered vocals and essential drum beats. The group’s ten-track album is a sweet ride from start to finish that is powered by the tender yet sophisticated singing style of lead vocalist Katie Wagner. Think of Katie Rush as a soulful alternative to synth-pop group of the moment Chvrches. The record is dedicated to the memory of band member Sam Mehran who helped write, produce, mix, and master the album. We have the title track here for you. – Rene Cobar

Brooklyn-by-way-of-Burlington’s Little Slugger exists at the intersection of indie rock, rockabilly, and surf rock, creating music from a DIY show in Westworld. Their recent single “You’re on Your Own,” the debut track from forthcoming LP I Want To Live Here Forever, is full of unexpected musical twists, from the introduction of vocalist Sam Bevet’s drawling, baritone vocals, to a metamorphosis from high gain synths to jangling guitars, to a sliding, Surfaris-inspired shredding breakdown. And while the listenability of “You’re on Your Own” derives in part from this unpredictability, these varied instrumental components coalesce over the track’s nearly four minute run time to create Americana that’s weird in the best way, the sonic equivalent of the Further bus chugging down Interstate 80 and incorporating all Statesian influences it happens upon along the way. Hop aboard, and stream the single below. –Connor Beckett McInerney, Photo by Meera Jagroop