This Saturday on January 27th at 10:00 PM, National Sawdust will be hosting the 23rd installment of their emerging artists spotlight series "The Revolution." As with every month, the event will feature live performances from three forward-thinking and boundary-pushing NYC-based artists representing three different genres. The artists being highlighted this month are rapper and saxophonist QuazztheKid, who is as equally influenced by jazz as he is by trap rap, psychedelic synthpop outfit SKYES, and internationally renowned jazz vocalist Michael Mayo. – Alexander Beebe

The precision with which Oakland indie rockers The Lovemakers attack the often butchered genre of 1980s inspired synth-pop is almost unbelievable. The opening track on their double single Cassingles, entitled “Lost and Profound” (streaming below) is high-energy, hypnotic pop at its finest, slapping listeners across the face with its nostalgic sounds and advanced production value. In one breath, founding member Lisa Light’s vocals are feminine and fatalistic. It is safe to say that The Lovemakers are masters at crafting sultry, summery synth-pop that hits hard on record and even harder live. Catch them playing next on February 14th at Great American Music Hall. Until then, just put your headphones in and put Cassingle on repeat because that’s what we’ll be doing here at the Deli. – Lilly Milman 

Emerging from the restless suburban sprawl of New Jersey, The Nectars find inspiration across the Hudson River (and beyond) in developing their alt-punk sound. Making a sticky impression with their debut single and video “Heaven” (streaming below), elements of classic 90’s and early aughts female fronted rock can be gleaned through both the audio and visual performance. While Gwen Stefani and No Doubt provide an obvious visual reference, other sonic elements emerge as the song progresses. “I should have never started looking at you – should have never started getting so close” serves as the essential sonic bridge through to its explosive chorus, which reveals how the beauty all around us is rediscovered once freed from a toxic relationship. The band embraces Sonic Youth’s forceful abandon, but soaring vocals bring to mind Amy Lee‘s range and quality with Evanescence. The Nectars will play The Meatlocker in Montclair, NJ on 1/27 with a stacked lineup of upcoming artists. – Dave Cromwell

When listening to the debut full-length LP Fish from the Sky from San Francisco-based E.G. Phillips, also known as Ducks With Pants, the first words that come to mind are ‘whimsical’ and ‘charming.’ The words ‘incredibly good’ also slip into the mix. Compiled of ten short tracks that blend quirky singer-songwriter pop with folk sensibilities, the album is Phillips’ “motley collection” of tracks he’s put together while living in the Bay and “haunting the various open mic venues in coffee houses and bars that the city makes available.” The opening track, “Tall Girls In Love” (streaming below) is the perfect example of what makes Phillips project so accessible. Apparently inspired by an episode of "Leave It To Beaver," the tongue-in-cheek lyrics absolutely refuse to take themselves too seriously (“the boys are intimidated / they hafta look up to see her eyes”), while the stripped down arrangements bring a certain intimacy one could only attain in the type of open mic night that Phillips describes. He will be next performing at Neck of the Woods on February 15th. – Lilly Milman 

Beginning with pummeling tom drums, Russian Baths‘ first single from the upcoming “Penance” EP could easily be a soundtrack to fleeing the titular Slenderman character. While the airy vocals emote almost plainly, the instrumentals jostle with each other to occasionally cacophonous peaks. At its calmest, “Slenderman” is a foreboding, gothic track but the noisy, feedback-laden guitars topple over in threatening outbursts that do justice to the fictional character’s horror legacy. Most startling about “Slenderman” is the calm portrayed in the vocals throughout it all. In another context the voice might be a soothing reassurance, but here it only adds to the tension. "Penance" is out February 23rd via Good Eye Records. – Cameron Carr

SHIMASHIMA Collective’s Abri makes hard-hitting retro soul-pop music (listen to her new song "Need to Know," and you’ll understand what I mean by "hard-hitting"). Abri’s unafraid and powerful vocals, combined with a dark, juicy Motown-inspired production make for a confident, pulsing track, and the songwriting displays an artist that takes ownership of whichever situation she’s put in. Abri is playing DROM on 1/24 with SHIMASHIMA, and the collective has more new music coming out this month. –Geena Kloeppel

With no fear, The Muckers embrace a rock ‘n’ roll of the past: cyclical riffing, healthy doses of reverb, song structures built for guitar solos, and a taste for the slightly psychedelic. There’s something classic New York about the band too, a bit of Strokes imagery (check the floppy hair and stylized logo font) and some garage rock sensibilities. But, the problem is, The Muckers only have one recording to their name, the retro-styled “Suspended for a Long Time.” For now, you’ll have to catch the band in concert to hear more—the group’s upcoming gig at Elsewhere on January 21st will be the next opportunity. – Cameron Carr

While electronica meets rock is hardly new at this point, Psymon Spine makes it sound like a totally novel idea. The Brooklyn group emphasizes the psychedelic and adventurous aspects of both genres, bringing in complex rhythmic samples, EDM beats, circling harmonies, and even folky guitar interludes. The results capture the intricacy of headier electronic music with the youthful energy of the indie rock of the early ‘00s reinassance (think Animal Collective and TV on the Radio). You can experience Psymon Spine’s unconventional sound live on January 27th when they take the stage at Alphaville. – Cameron Carr

Brooklyn via Seattle Tenderfoot‘s newest single "Semiprecious Life" (streaming) has a low hum which lends a calming touch to a song about an existential crisis. The track, which is included in the upcoming LP Break Apart (out February 2nd), features frontman Adam Kendall Woods’s breathy voice waxing about his old and changing home of Seattle, as construction noises pulse behind the rhythm. The other songs on Break Apart will deal with different kinds of change: relationships fading, health deteriorating, hopes dying and growing. To celebrate the release, Tenderfoot will play a show in Seattle in February and then one in Brooklyn on March 16th at C’mon Everybody. Listen to "Semiprecious Life" below. – Will Sisskind

“You bought yourself a gun, you think it makes you safer / And stop telling me what to do with my body, it’s my fucking body” Michelle Birsky sings on Birch’s synth-pop slow dancer “Pick Sides.” It can be difficult to confront large societal issues while maintaining the accessibility of pop music, but Birch pulls it off with tact, tucking the personal effects of political and social divisions into buoyant pop filled with sweeping synths and hip-hop inspired beats. Perhaps the duo’s music is all the more reletable because it acknowledges how these issues seep into our ordinary lives. Birch’s next performance will be at Baby’s All Right on January 27th opening for Cape Francis. – Cameron Carr

Near Northeast‘s latest single “Clusters” functions as a sort of response to the current craze for musical wallpaper. Demanding attention with a meditative and creeping intro, “Clusters” requires the listener to shut off distraction for its entirety. In return, the song conjures up the feelings one might get from a sudden realization about the meaning of life made on a quiet Saturday night spent at home. Decidedly proggy, the song avoids any sort of verse/chorus structure, keeping the music enticing and staying true to its theme of meditative contemplation throughout.

After listening I had some questions for the group, who were nice enough to answer.  Here’s what they had to say. 

If you imagine folk music to be a spectrum, with the Mountain Goats on one side and klezmer music on the other, where do you think you guys fit?

AB: If the term folk music originated to describe groups of people all sharing the same culture and making music, then we make folk music. We were all growing up and starting to make music around the time of Napster, Limewire, etc. I would download anything that caught my fancy, share burned CD-Rs with friends (you can fit a lot of mp3s in 700 megabytes), rip as many CDs from the library as I could get my hands on. We all grew up under different geographies and cultures, but we share a voracious appetite for all types of music and like to steal whatever speaks to us. Folk as a genre is an entry point for us – there’s nothing like a simple acoustic guitar with vocal harmonies.

AM: We’ve always been inspired by different types of music, "folk" and otherwise, and we try not to put labels on our songs and our style. That said, the two songs coming out on the Etxe Compilation album do showcase very different sides of the band — "Clusters" to me is an expansive song, with soundscapes reminiscent of Boards of Canada and some post-rock bands we love. The heart of our songs still have a folk music center, with Kelly’s vocals and an acoustic guitar as the basis for the song — but then we intentionally and mindfully mess it up. A whole lot.

Given that you frequently mention “meditation” in descriptions of your music, and that your music itself is—in a shallow sense of the word—less “stimulating” than a lot of other stuff being put out there, would you say that your group has a certain aversion to consumerism?

KS: It’s true that in some of our recent music–including this new song, Clusters–we take our time to explore a tone and feeling, resting in sparse, repetitive moments. Hooks are powerful, and catchiness can be a virtue, but open space can enhance those rewards — both for the performer and the listener. We hope people who consume our music are game to spend some time in these musical spaces with us. It’s not a statement about consumerism; It’s just what feels right to us right now.

AM: This question reminds me of a conversation we had last year. We were lucky enough to do a weeklong tour of Bosnia and Croatia in September 2017, and we got to meet musicians and visual artists and creative people from all over this very tragic region during our tour. One of our concert bookers, a funk musician based in Sarajevo who played in a very fun cover band, had the most apt compliment for us — he said "I love your music, incredibly deep and innovative, zero commercial potential, but I do love it!" We wear that as a badge of honor.

As a band and as people, what are your hopes for the near-future?

AM: We’ve got a couple of fun things in the horizon — the Etxe Compilation show is this Saturday, Jan 20 at Capital Fringe, a venue in Northeast DC that we love (show info here) — besides performing our own music, we will be featuring our friend Isabelle on cello on our other new song "Feuilles", which has a more traditional folk song. We will also be performing with our label mates Teething Veils on their 20+ min epic 2014 piece Constellations, something they’ve never performed in their entirety before. Beyond this Etxe release, we are also working with a San Francisco-based visual artist and filmmaker on an instrumental soundtrack for a "found film" shot circa 1918 — it is an anti-Western which was found in an abandoned underground cinema in the New Mexico desert that this artist is rearranging and getting scored in different ways. Beyond that, who knows — perhaps another album or EP? A tour of a new part of the country or the world the we are curious about?

Catch Near Northeast on Saturday, January 20 at Capital Fringe at the release show for "Etxe at 10 Years: a Compilation" — RSVP, and Thursday, January 25 at Gypsy Sally’s, playing with Seattle-based Kuinka – RSVP

-Mike Dranove

Today Stereogum picked still unreleased LP "All This Will Be" by Closer, a Brooklyn band blending punk and post rock we first covered about a month ago, as their Album of the Week. The records drops this coming Friday January 19th. We are posting below the two singles currently available for streaming. The release show will be at Silent Barn on the same night.