Slacker rock is often unfairly misunderstood from wider audiences. The lo-fi and haphazard veneer often gets misconstrued for lazy songwriting, but bands like Ghost King illustrate why that misconception is so undeserved. On "Slither," they combine the more psychedelic riffs of surf rock with the rickety velocity of garage rock, swerving back and forth through these inspirations with ease, effusing a multifaceted, hardworking ethos. The video for this latest single features the group dedicated to cleaning their community in an enthusiastic and slipshod manner, mirroring the dynamic sound of their music. This latest single is the first release from their upcoming album Dunbar Swamp which will release next January, and you can stream the video below. -Tucker Pennington 

Gnarcissists are a rare band—raw and practically splitting apart with convulsive energy. Not that the sound is something unfamiliar, there’s a bit of The Stooges relentless garage rock energy, a twinge of Sex Pistols snarl, and enough drug references to bring the Velvet Underground to mind. But Gnarcissists’ newest EP, released earlier this month, captures that feeling of something alive happening in front of you in ways that many retro rock and rollers are unable to. The band plays next at Baby’s All Right on October 27 for a free show put on by Dr. Martens. – Cameron Carr

New Hampshire’s favorite freak-folkers People Like You are back and spookier than ever in their newest single "Sounds of the House" (streaming below) which comes complete with a video filmed at Haunted Overload in Lee, N.H. It’s a shame that Halloween music isn’t a bigger genre, but People Like You are doing what they do best by moving forward into unexplored (and perhaps even haunted) territories. The kitschy clip places the band in the center of a ghoulish wonderland, populated by creepy baby dolls, masked performers, and monsters knocking on closet doors. Turn off the lights and take a look for yourself. Oh, and don’t look under the bed — you never know who or what may be lurking. Get into the Halloween spirit with People Like You tomorrow (10.26) at Charlie O’s World Famous Halloween Bash, or Saturday (10.27) at The Stone Church. – Lilly Milman

Listen to tracks by People Like You and more local artists on The Deli New England’s brand new Spotify playlist, Cold Cuts: Sounds of New England.

Frequenters of the Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge are likely to recognize the Boston-based Andrew DiMarzo Trio, who played their ForeverGrow EP release show at the venue back in February. The trio, made up of core members Andrew DiMarzo, Steven Viol, and Herman Ramanado, take a classic soul vocal arrangement and infuse it with a rock-inspired twist to create music that absolutely must be seen played live. Keep an eye out for more Boston-area show announcements from the Andrew DiMarzo Trio, but until then, mark January 13 in your calendar for a show at O’Brien’s Pub that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Lucky for you, The Deli New England is premiering the live recording of the track “Our Fence” (streaming below) now. – Lilly Milman 

New London Fire’s forthcoming record Tired of This Man may at first seem rooted within the zeitgeist of contemporary indie folk, but a closer listening reveals the group’s spiritual connection to the more overtly political Americana of the early 20th Century. “I hope people feel the same kind of kinship with [our] music that they once did with Phil Ochs or Woody Guthrie,” remarks band leader David Debiak (of Sleep Station and Electric Century). “We want to remind people of the importance of unions, of sticking together in protest.”

This connection is most apparent on tracks like “Now I’m Found,” in which Debiak sings about “gazing upon green and sprawling mountains” with nods to Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” In doing so, Tired of This Man seeks to revive a grounded sense of Americanism, one not bolstered by blind exceptionalism but instead a celebration of America as a sum of its many different and diverse parts, often employing Debiak’s own experiences as testament – contextualized in our current political climate, New London Fire offers a sharp rebuke while invoking the peace loving nature of the American folk tradition.

Tired of This Man will be out October 26th via The Preservation Society. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Brooklyn sludge trio A Deer A Horse let listeners read between the lines on their new single, “Double Wide” (streaming). The track is a heavy-leaded five minute foray into a scene with sparse details, yet every meticulously-chosen word creates an atmosphere of oncoming dread, each detail growled by vocalist and bassist Angela Phillips a Chekhovian set piece of extreme importance.

The elements described by Phillips on “Double Wide” – a knot, a shut door, the experience of meeting god – they all compose a tableau of possible final thoughts by a family member of Phillips, who several years ago took his own life. The bleak realness of the track is difficult to confront as a listener, but according to Phillips, the process of writing and performing “Double Wide” allows her relative’s passing to make “more sense, and it becomes a little easier to heal.” A trial by fire of emotional endurance and survival, “Double Wide” is a difficult track to consume, but the raw truth that informs its inception makes it necessary, important listening. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Kirsten Theon (@daggers_for_eyes)

Austin’s Thanks Light has released a charming new music video for "Little Pink Fluffy Clouds." It’s a colorful and creative compliment to the song’s jangly, indie-rock vibe, with chord structures and tones reminiscent of bands like Wilco, Why? and Pavement. The video is entirely composed of DIY stop-motion animation: figurines and shaving cream dance and swirl around the screen, while fridge-magnet letters and Lite-Brite spell out the song’s lyrics. It’s clear the indie quartet had fun with the video, and the fun is contagious. Check out the video below! – Ethan Ames

Thanks Light : : Little Pink Fluffy Clouds : : from Enjoy Eyes on Vimeo.

Sometimes the inadvertent paradox of grandiose music is that the bigger it sounds, the less personal it can feel. The archetype of one artist and their guitar making music that everyone can relate to often only applies to sounds that are stripped down. Yet on Dan Knishkowy’s new album as Adeline Hotel, titled Away Together, this pitfall is circumvented. The warm and bare-bones guitar playing is felt immediately on the opener "So Long", but when it builds to a transcendent apex, the same crisp, emotional pointedness can be felt. The album features guitars that paint a hazy picture and pianos that bring back lucidity as Knishkowy’s lyrics push through the gossamer of life: relationships and time passing by as reality blurs. Away Together is a record that furtively slips into your own memories, demolishing the barrier between listener and artist. While songs like "Lightning" and "Plastic Stars" bring a brash urgency to the record, it’s the eponymous coda that cements how versatile Knishkowy can be in creating personal music. Adeline Hotel will be playing a release show at Union Pool this Friday, Oct. 26, but you can stream the album in full below. -Tucker Pennington 

Since the 2016 release of his debut single, Where U Were, indie pop singer/songwriter Quiet Luke has been intriguing music listeners with his peculiar blend of soul, ambient and electronica. As a graduate of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, this solo artist has learned to express his musical talent in a variety of forms. Whether he is dabbling with synthesizers to produce his soulful, surreal style, or streaming social commentary through his latest performance art EP Your Happy Place (streaming below), Quiet Luke crafts music that intends to be bold. The disparity between his darker, more introspective lyrics and his music’s blissful shell creates a musical experience that’s at once entertaining and thought provoking. – Rebecca Carroll

Debut single “State Lines” recently brought NYC indie rock band Parlors under our radar; smooth yet gritty, packed with overdriven guitar riffs, and driven by Matt Fullam’s steady and raspy vocals, the track offers an inventive sound that’s polished with just enough of a bite. The tempo ebbs and flows along with mild instrumental build-ups, while remaining laced within a catchier songwriting flair. The group is recently formed but has already landed a show at uber-cool Lower East Side venue Nublu, scheduled for 11.30, during which they will release their debut 3-song EP. – Rebecca Carroll

The founding myth of Antarctigo Vespucci, a Brooklyn “powerpop violence” duo comprised of Chris Farren (of Fake Problems) and Jeff Rosenstock (of Bomb The Music Industry and solo acclaim) feels like a page taken from an as of yet unwritten sequel to Meet Me In the Bathroom; a chance meeting between two prolific songwriters lead to the creation of a band that best represents the continuation of rock and roll’s rebirth in New York City, fostered both by a classic Springsteen-esque energy and a desire to push beyond the traditional boundaries set on the genre. “White Noise,” the first single from their forthcoming Love in the Time of Email, totes both fuzzed out overdrive and pop-punk styled singability, a track that chugs along with an earworm chorus and scorching guitar in tandem. Farren and Rosenstock clearly have a foot in both camps of rock history, blazing towards a subgenreless future while relying upon quintessential guitar-laden soundscapes, playing to their strengths and influences in a way that feels instantantly classic. – ConnorMcInerney

Love in the Time of Email drops later this month on Polyvinyl Records – you can catch them live on November 4th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. In the meantime, stream “White Noise” below. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo via the artist’s Facebook.

Sam Owens a.k.a. Sam Evian released his latest album “You, Forever” on Saddle Creek Records over the summer.  In 2017, The NYC-based producer and songwriter also co-produced the solo album for Kazu Makino (of Blonde Redhead). Now, the two have joined forces in a re-imagined track entitled “Next To You.” This version is just as billowy and mellow as you might expect coming from the minds of these two musicians. But with help from Kazu’s haunting vocals and a sweeping instrumental section (metronome, violin, and bass), “Next To You” blooms into something more celestial and otherworldly. The song’s central message is short and sweet but tinted with a dreary cynicism about how the world sucks right now.  Makino murmurs, “I can’t fight the world’s battles/I just wanna be next to you.” It’s a truly gorgeous track, and you can listen below. – Sara Nuta