There is an alluring, melancholy feel to much of New York City based trio Hotline‘s music. Throughout their recently released 10AM EP a sense of longing and sadness can be felt. “Anywhere Else” leads off with an unadorned jangly pop enhanced by smooth, ethereal vocals. Atypical chord changes emerge, creating a bridge between the primary melodic progression. The universal theme of wanting to be “anywhere else” resonates with those looking to break out of their rut and just “go.” Angular, flowing arpeggios and busy snare drum rolls create the shifting undercurrent on “One Of Us”. However, more structured chords establish an instrumental break between verses, where a songs chorus frequently resides. Adding an extended over two minute open note instrumental coda sees the band dipping into early Sonic Youth territory. “Black Sequins” floats like a whimsical ride on some distant lazy river. Final cut “Soda Lime” moves with pace and purpose, capturing the thematic yearning running through the entire record. Hotline have two shows coming up, playing Alphaville on 11/12 with Wolf Diamond and Hygieia and then on 12/2 at Secret Project Robot. – Dave Cromwell

In August, Eyes of Love put out their highly anticipated debut LP, End of The Game. Helmed by Brooklyn songwriter Andrea Schiavelli, EoL is a true meeting of the minds that brings together some of the New York underground’s most innovative musicians including Lily Konigsberg (Palberta, Lily and Horn Horse), Sammy Weissberg (The Cradle, Sweet Baby Jesus), and Paco Cathcart (The Cradle, Shimmer). End of The Game is an expansive–and impressive–debut of 14 tracks ranging from breezy pop to lush orchestral arrangements. Schiavelli’s vocals find the ability to make any turn of phrase sound instantly classic and accessible, reminiscent of the Magnetic Fields. Be sure to give their excellent album a listen below, and catch the band live this friday when they’ll be playing alongside Straw Pipes, Sieve, and Inspect Element in a show put on by WNYU radio. – Sara Nuta

New York psych-rock revivalist LUKKA lets dynamic range form the backbone of her upcoming debut, ENCOUNTER, her understated vocal performance emerging as if from an antique telephone against bombastic, interwoven guitars and a punching percussive backbeat. It’s a spot-on choice in terms of production, as it fills the entirety of the LP with a sense of wandering space, evocative of both psych pioneers like The Zombies and contemporaries such as POND and Tame Impala. Careful to not lose the forest through the trees, however, ENCOUNTER never gets too spacey, tunneling forward with explosive sunburnt energy on tracks like “Life Is Like On TV” and recently dropped single, “Blackhole Fusion,” finding the perfect balance between stillness and motion that channels psych’s colorful past in the fashion of contemporary, energetic alternative rock.

You can catch LUKKA’s technicolor soundscape at Pianos on November 16th. Until then, stream single “Blackhole Fusion” below. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

The Rassle caught our ear back in 2011, when the two-piece was performing around Brooklyn and garnering attention for their excellent live shows and hybrid psych-noise-pop sound. We had lost hope to see a full-length release, but the indie rock duo–made up of brothers Blair and Reed Van Nort–is finally ready to deliver debut album Roll On.

The Rassle’s edgier sonic qualities are leveled out by their indie rock sensibility, mixing softer psych-inspired melodies with solidly catchy songwriting chops. It’s all topped off with a slick mastering and mixing sheen that makes for an effortlessly great rock record.The 9 tracks on this record gleam thanks to shiny production from John O’Mahony, but still manage to keep the band’s charming ramshackle sound intact. With everything from stadium anthems to hooky sing along choruses, there’s something for everyone on Roll On. Listen below and don’t miss this band live when you get the chance. – Sara Nuta

Back in February, Miles Arntzen a.k.a Miles Francis put out his debut solo EP Swimmers. Today he’s continuing to make waves with the release of new single and music video entitled “Sophomore Slump.”  Francis, who also played drums in Antibalas, is an NYC-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who crafts organic, off-kilter pop. Directed by Charles Billot, the accompanying visuals for “Sophomore Slump” find Francis maneuvering dark corridors and bright balloons, surrounded by masked figures in feather boas dancing alongside the song’s jittery melody. Here’s what he had to say on the video’s genesis, “The video is basically a dark funhouse version of my mind. The clutter, the calm; childhood, adulthood; confidence, insecurity – it’s all in there, and I’m surveying all of it.” Watch below! – Sara Nuta

Last week, Darkwing put out their new EP, Super Silver, which came out on the heels of their loosie “Ignorant Ghost.” Today, they’re premiering the visuals for “Vicious” off of the split track “Vicious/Who U R.”

Despite being based out of Brooklyn-via-New Jersey, Darkwing has a sound that’s got a lot of west coast blood in it; you can hear a blend of surf punk, scuzzy garage, and fuzzy Southern California rock elements on their latest. “Quid Facere” and “Alley Cat Blues” both dip into the band’s melancholic side, while “Necropants" and “Vicious / Who U R” showcase rowdier, hooky song structures while still flirting with cynicism.

The video for “Vicious” is a dizzying mash-up of fish-lens images–from lip-syncing to quick cuts of party scenes and raucous shows. The song finds a balance between their amped up, oddball energy and east-coast neuroticism. The video only clocks in at one minute but manages to feel much longer. Check out both the video and the EP below.

It’s hard to imagine “Dunk On Me” without the video, or the video without the song. The pairing, directed by Idle House and Blood Cultures, is outstanding. Drawn in by film grain and a wash of hazy synths and distant vocals, “Dunk On Me” abruptly rushes into a suffocating rush of clanging electronics and gothic imagery as school-age lovesickness develops into horror movie plotline in just over three-and-a-half minutes. The disjointed, experimental approach Blood Cultures takes on the track should reel you in, but with the video it’s an act that’s difficult to turn away from. Watch below. – Cameron Carr

New Rose is gearing up to release their full-length album, Crying Eyes, via Broken Circles this coming November. The NYC cosmic country six-piece has already debuted the record’s windswept first single “Plenty of Flowers” and now they’re sharing the beautifully languid “Weeping Willow.” The forthcoming album follows the band’s first full-length, Morning Haze, which came out in 2017 and set the precedent for their particular brand of dusty, Americana-inspired indie rock. “Weeping Willow” is no different and basks in much of the same nostalgia-inducing golden hour light, with droopy sliding guitars and lilting vocals. This time around, New Rose kicks up the dust a bit with a moody bassline and a cagey percussive opening that resembles an ‘80s drum machine. The song drifts back into a familiar warm breeze soon enough with a kind of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” sentimentality. The vocalist sings, “There’s a weeping willow that sings to me/ A southern landscape with a northern breeze,”  which is the perfect imagery for a band with a rootsy sound tethered to an east coast locale. If you’re in NYC you can catch the band live at their record release at Elsewhere (Zone One) on November 14th, where they will be playing with The Letter Yellow and Teen Body. Crying Eyes is out November 8th via Broken Circles and you can listen to “Weeping Willow” below.

There’s always a calm before the storm, a moment of stillness that precedes the calamity of things falling apart – and New York’s Hideout knows the feeling in a personal capacity. Their new single, “Picture Falling” explores the intrinsic details of the moment before panic sets in – “the thoughts and feelings before the wave of paranoia washes over you,” according to guitarist and songwriter Gabriel Rodriguez (who is also a member of Cults’ live ensemble). That being said, in the spirit of art making lemonade from lemons, “Picture Falling” channels dread into fun, energetic indie rock, the song’s chorus a melodic vocal give-and-take between Rodriguez and Scarlett Stephenson-Connolly over jangle pop riffs and interpolated electronic drums.

As a whole, “Picture” is presented as heartfelt shared catharsis, a sigh of relief for those who have felt their life fall apart yet lived to tell the tale – perhaps presenting an opportunity, according to Rodriguez, to “take hold and laugh along the wild ride.” Hideout maturely recognizes that we cannot control the occasional afflictions of psychosis, but by throwing up our hands and accepting that which we cannot change, we are all able to derive some trace of pleasure from the unpredictability of this crazy thing called life. 

You can see Hideout live at Baby’s All Right on November 25 opening for Montreal’s The Beaches. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

There aren’t too many country singers that wax-poetic about the larger than life figures of our world. It seems like the cultural focus of the genre has shifted toward different stories with different motifs. Yet artists like Rodes Rollins are trying to change that with songs like "Mystery Man." Appearing like a country-pop mirage on the horizon, Rollins’ vocals are watery and obscure, detailing a man in a "forsaken land" that cannot be shot dead. The track is less about a character’s arc and more about this legendary figure’s reputation, and it plays out over haunting instrumentals that border on psychedelic with twangy guitars that become surprisingly soothing. With its soft sonic palette, "Mystery Man" could fool listeners into thinking it’s a lullaby, but there’s a sense of unease and tension in the air, like a standoff between two gunslingers is imminent. – Tucker Pennington

Women That Rock is hosting its first-annual Halloween concert event Tuesday October 30th at beloved NY venue Brooklyn Bazaar, 150. This festival-style evening showcase will feature performances by six amazing femme-fronted artists, including Mrs. Smith, Ruby The Hatchet, Fern Mayo, MONTE, Clever Girls and The Values. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

In addition to the incredible artist lineup, guests will enjoy live Halloween tattoos, tarot readings, a Women That Rock Halloween photo booth experience and more spooky surprises! The evening will be MC’ed by popular Brooklyn-based artist Mima Good disguised as a surprise Halloween alter-ego. The event is being sponsored by Austin Eastciders, Fender & Guitar Center.

Women That Rock is a community of music curators and tastemakers dedicated to promoting and supporting the best up-and-coming women and gender-nonconforming artists. In addition to daily artist profiles and regular articles and promotion on their website, Women That Rock hosts 1-3 events a month in New York City, including a special NYC PRIDE event at Coney Island Baby in collaboration with Jess Jouise Dye (lead singer of popular Brooklyn band High Waisted), and a special summer showcase at Brooklyn Bazaar featuring GYMSHORTS, Sharkmuffin, MONTE, Lady Bits & Sister Munch, just to name a few of their previous events.

Alyse Vellturo has been releasing a steady stream of singles from her solo project, pronoun, this year. We’ve already heard “run” and “wrong,” in the lead up to pronoun’s debut album–which is due out later this year via Rhyme & Reason. Today we’re getting a new track called “you didn’t even make the bed.” Despite its dreamy quality, “you didn’t even make the bed” is written out of spite, and specifically, out of an all-too-familiar bitterness towards an ex. 

Vellturo details, “I wrote this when I got home after an ex had just moved out and left it kind of a mess, when I just wanted to scream at the sky, when it was the final straw. It transitions from the sad, defeated phase of a break up in to the angry one. This whole record addresses that phase, the one where you’re like "really…REALLY?!" 

The upcoming album is shaping up to be something spectacular, and you can catch pronoun this November when she hits the road with Justin Courtney Pierre (of Motion City Soundtrack) on tour. Listen to “you didn’t even make the bed” below, and see pronoun live at Bowery Ballroom on November 6th.