There’s a wonderful sense of balance brought to the table by Miss Grit’s new Talk Talk EP, both in its approach to chaotic-tinged songwriting and the brilliant pallet of sounds explored. Each of the four songs toggle between airy and orchestral synthesizers that careen into fuzzy barrages of sound or simply glitch out at the seams. The marriage between the gutsy and the beautifully arranged is a marvel to witness, and this release is proving to be a standout for 2019. You can catch Miss Grit at Elsewhere on April 26 before they embark on a short U.K. tour. –Tucker Pennington

Sipper’s Joe Beerman is, as the lyrics of his new track suggests, a modern man – his voice has the breathy quality of Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam with the wandering, occasionally growl adjacent vocal delivery of Stephen Malkmus. Channeled simultaneously over stumbling, guitar driven indie, these elements give his new single “OMG” the quality of a hushed secret you weren’t supposed to hear; the song is dripping with an intimacy that’s as authentic as it is explosive. As its accompanying visual suggests, it’s the perfect soundtrack to a party you don’t want to be at, a fun indie romp wrapped up in malaise. Watch the video premiere below, and be sure to catch Sipper’s debut EP, out today (April 10th) on Invertebrate. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Nate Brenner, aka Naytronix, just released the single “Come Back” off his forthcoming album, Air, and it’s a fantastically mixed, warm and pleasing jam that pushes the limits of psych pop. The percussive backbone is blessed with drummer Hamir Atwal’s hard-to-mimic snappy jazz touch. The album features some other Oakland favorites, including Madeline Kenney and Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus. After his work scoring Sorry to Bother You, we’re not surprised. “Come Back” is a killer teaser and we can’t wait for the full album, out June 7th on Botcave records. – Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Union Jersey group Fire is Motion’s 2017 EP Still, I Try, put their dream pop and folk combination on full display and gives you plenty of reasons to check them out. The group recently toured the Midwest and is now back in the Tri-State Area prepping for shows in Brooklyn, the first of which will be at Elsewhere on April 27. The group appears to be growing both in recognition and band members as they have added a fifth guitarist in Shannon Moore (for a few shows for now it seems.) The music is seamless in its delivery of rich acoustic arrangements, and emotive vocal crescendos which, coupled with several minor chords help create a style that’s at once moody and light. Fire is Motion is keeping their story going, one performance and band member at a time. – Rene Cobar

Ravens & Chimes are ready to make some noise at Mercury Lounge on April 23 in support of their brand new album The Empty House. The NYC group has been a mainstay of the music scene in the city for nearly a decade, and new single "Big Ups" (streaming) showcases an undeniable maturation of their fervent indie-rock style. The speedy guitar riffs and body-shaking drum beats are still there, but a more polished production and singer songwriter Asher’s vocals gain in urgency and confidence take this track to a new level. The group’s record release will also include a performance from L.A.’s The Palms. – Rene Cobar

The Vaughns are about to have a fun spring.  Led by the euphonious vocals of singer and guitarist Anna Lies, the New Jersey natives have been building steady hype with each sticky new single, and on April 26 they are playing Gold Sounds in Brooklyn to kick-off their spring tour. The quartet has catchy hooks to spare, and used them to capture the hearts of their home state with their 2015 entry tomfoolery, which was nominated for three Asbury Park Music Awards. Now they are ready to share their infectious yet heartfelt brand of indie rock with the rest of the country. The Vaughns will tour the U.S. for fourteen dates and return to NYC May 23 for the final show at Arlene’s Grocery. – Rene Cobar

Folk-rock collective Dirty Bird has a new, lovely single out called “Once,” and they are celebrating it in style April 21 at the Mercury Lounge. The single contains strong male-female harmonies, a catchy lead melody and the band’s signature creative approach to Americana. The group seems to have improved the formula from their 2018 record Still To Be Ours, pushing their experimentation farther without betraying their own sound. This is a band that deserves to be seen live and will be supported by fellow folk-rock group Dead Gowns from Portland, Maine. Check out Dirty Bird’s new single below. – Rene Cobar

On I’m Not Getting Any Taller, the latest album from indie-folk outfit Daisy the Great, the duo solidifies its own voice that’s equal parts heart-wrenching and humorous. From first listen you can hear how they bend seemingly cutesy harmonies and mid-tempo, acoustic ballads into revealing and hypnotic displays of genuine hurt. The mundane, the absurd and the sentimental attachments found in life are lovingly displayed but still illustrate how affecting they can be. Songs like “Dips” morph from swaying, bluesy-pop to a dreamlike oasis that slips between your fingers before it crystalizes. Like a smile that can’t help but crack, I’m Not Getting Any Taller snaps a photo of the bleak and the blithe moments of life, something that rarely sounds as good as it does here. If you want to see Daisy the Great live and enjoy cocktails, you can catch them at Manhattan’s restaurant Le Fanfare on April 17, an event organized by our blogging friends The Wild Honey Pie in a collaboration with bourbon makers Noble Oak. –Tucker Pennington

Hip-hop up and comer Caine Casket is happy to go against the grain of the genre’s current mood by delving into his Liberian ancestry and producing emotionally charged lyrics that go beyond the surface of parties and money and examine the state of race relations in America today. By allowing percussive rhythms, electric guitars, and ambient sounds to lead the way in many of the tracks from his latest record 9 Nights, Caine Casket truly brings out the spirit of his ancestry and raises the pulse of today’s hip-hop with something wholly new and refreshing. Caine Casket will be representing Garden State, New Jersey at his next show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY. Check out his single “Domino” below. – Rene Cobar

Stello is bringing its unique brand of indie rock to Elsewhere on April 12, and the world suddenly seems like a better place to live in. Stello has been a staple of the NYC music scene for the last couple of years and their brand spanking new EP Triplet No. 3: Fountain is another grand display of sophisticated chord progressions, groovy basslines, and ascending tempos culminating in pleasant harmonies and cathartic finales. The new record showcases a costant evolution in the band’s sound that doesn’t betray their signature traits. Listen to “Sure Enough?” from the new EP below. – Rene Cobar, photo by  Nick Deveau

Night School just released their new music video and it’s not only a charming shoegazing dream, it’s a sweet homage to California landscape with a heavy hint of mystical witchiness. Love your shoes, Witch. Watch their music video with us, then come on out to The Chapel for their record release show. For those of your purities who can’t wait to get your hands on the record, order it here. – Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

You guys know the book Misery by Stephen King, right? The one where a novelist is captured by a crazed superfan and forced to write her a novel while chained up in Colorado? Well, New York multi-genre singer-songwriter Bobby Long clearly has a penchant for King’s work, with his newest music video “Nautical” a gallows humor interpretation of said story – except in this case, Long plays the lunatic, capturing and imprisoning his friend and producer Jack Dawson. While the video is an entire production unto itself, its bleakly hilarious visuals – where Long forces Dawson to play a concert to a sordid collection of mannequins and goats – repurpose the normally heartfelt lyricism of “Nautical” to comic effect; particularly, the tune’s chorus of “I’ll be alone with you” reads entirely differently in its new context. I won’t spoil its ending; watch the video below, and be sure to check out the rest of Long’s most recent studio effort, SULTANS, out now on Compass Records. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)