Project Diem offers a different vision of the synth-pop aesthetic, one of lush melodies countered by delicate synths and soulful vocals. Refreshingly, the vocals are left relatively untouched by reverb and are left to deliver themselves earnestly. The duo works to combine a synth-driven sensibility with an emotional quality that is both raw yet approachable. The "mid-fi" production gives voice to a youthful and surprisingly catchy angst, one that blends in with the changing seasons and failed relationships. Make sure to check out Project Diem at Alphaville, 12.13. – Amanda Ogea

Releasing music under the moniker Warm Body, psychedelic rocker Ryan Foster creates a lyrics heavy long-form pop that says true to the beat.  Recent single release “Cold Summer” is a plodding, mid-tempo track where layers of twangy, bended electric guitars move the progression forward, while the story of existential worry regarding interpersonal relationships unfolds.  “Do be kind my love – I’m just fine with silence – and aren’t we all just dreaming anyway? Waiting for a better situation.”  Multi-layered vocal harmonies create a swirling, trippy sensation, while still managing to evoke pop classics like The Turtles “Happy Together,” or the more arranged tracks by Elliott Smith.  Clocking in at a full five minutes, the track ultimately develops beyond simpler pop song boundaries, moving deeper into a psych-jam realm.  Warm Body plays Sunnyvale on 12/21. – Dave Cromwell

Low Mein was birthed in an NYC coffee shop by musicians Eric Jaso and Shaun Wong. The duo offers the kind of upbeat slacker rock that gets blood pumping and immediately brings the jangly, beachy influence of bands like Girls to mind. Their latest single “Beach Party,” is a luminous, youthful anthem about the rapture of enjoying simple things. Fuzzy guitars, melodic bass, and rapid shaker rhythms sync to create a sonic and aesthetic world all its own. Don’t miss their set tomorrow at Alphaville and check out the single below. – Andrew Strader

The San Francisco-based Debbie Neigher, who goes by the name Lapel, provides danceable pop music with an edge. The seasoned keyboardist and backup vocalist gets her name from an anecdote about Margaret Trudeau, who responded to an interview question about her marriage with the phrase, “I want to be more than a rose in my husband’s lapel.” Her latest single “Less Of A Woman” (streaming below) follows the same feminist wave as her namesake, proclaiming her as a femme fatale force to be reckoned with in the Bay Area scene. She will be bringing her introspective pop to the Rickshaw Stop on December 13th, and then later to The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz on January 6th. – Lilly Milman

The music of Soft Glas — a.k.a. producer and songwriter Joao Gonzalez — evokes dreamy and funky vibes that both excite and chill the nerves. It’s music that works well in a full length format, and Joao seems aware of it, since Orange Earth, released in September, is the project’s third LP. Live, the musician plays/samples/loops a series of instruments on top of electronic tracks, and does it in an entertaining fashion – so much so that Soft Glas has was recently asked to tour in support of Oklahoma-based group Sports, playing shows in Los Angeles and Baltimore. He’ll return to NYC on December 13th at Mercury Lounge, and then on the 14th, in Brooklyn at Baby’s All Right. Catch either show if you can; otherwise, stream Soft Glas’s latest single "Perks of Being a Sunflower" below. Close your eyes, and daydream. – Will Sisskind

Charming NYC trio The Happy Fits plays an intriguing blend of folk, vintage pop and funk/soul. Their sound is sparse but – as you can hear in single "While You Fade Away" (streaming below) – it can be pretty punchy. If the bass in that track sounds a little bright to you, it’s because it’s not actually a bass, but a plucked cello, which impersonates the other four string instruments in all their songs. The young group has a fun live show and simple but sophisticated melodies everybody can relate to, and these are certainly two of the reasons why Pianos decided to give them a residency during the month of December. The next live performance will be on December 12, if you dig it, do not miss it!

If, when faced with the prospect of listening to world music, you can’t help but going "meh" (it’s a shared prejudice!) you owe it to yourself to check out Brooklyn’s Sandcatchers, both live (they are currently holding a Monday residency at Berlin) and on record. In sophomore LP "What We Found Along the Way" this quartet manage to effortlessly assemble tracks that blend middle eastern influences with Americana, post rock and noise rock as well. Based on an impossible time signature (what’s that, a 9/4 tempo?), streamiing single Flees Fast Singing is groovy, tense and unpredictable. A lot of their repertoire is softer, like opening track Sky Stirs (which betrays folky pasts) or favorite Drop Stars Like Memories, but the band seems to catch fire whenever the BPM revs up, like in Washed and Wild, where a twangy distorted lap steel and an oud compete for attention on top of a breakneck fast paced rhythm section. The group is composed of veteran musicians, and you can hear it in the top notch execution, which – as so rarely happens – is matched by a sound that is as original as it’s entertaining. Don’t miss the next performance at Berlin on Monday 12.11. – PDG

The Echo Friendly‘s 2014 debut LP Love Panic was a rather mellow indie pop-rock record filled with timeless melodies and moody atmospheres. The duo today is releasing the long awaited sophomore LP, called Surveying The Damage, and its first single is a testament to rising above anxiety called "Power Through". In keeping with that theme, the timely title track (premiered below) navigates breaking through feelings of insecurity in a hostile world, while revealing a sound that’s faster and rawer – a clue confirmed by the other single available for streaming. You can hear The Echo Friendly play both singles from the album and more during their record release show at Rough Trade on December 10th. – Will Sisskind

Our friends at OhMyRockness introduced us to the lovely music of New Jersey’s Fire is Motion, the brainchild of Adrian Amedor – we’ll let them do the intros:

"I have not researched this (because I’m a music blobber) but Fire is Motion has to be named after that Cap’n Jazz song that goes like this.

Fire is motion! Work is repetition! This is my document. We are all, all we’ve done. We are all, all we’ve done. We are all, all defenses. Fire is motion is motion growth?

God, I love that song.

Anyway, Fire is Motion doesn’t sound like Cap’n Jazz at all (except for a few nice math rock noodles here and there). Sorry for the red herring there. My bad. My blob.

So what does this New Jersey band (the work of one man, Adrian Amador, and his pals) sound like then?

That’s a great question! Blast this lovely EP below and find out!

Please note: there will be glockenspiels / horns / harmonies / builds / plenty of pretty parts"

Hiccup is a three-piece bubble grunge outfit that – if they weren’t based in space-deprived NYC – would surely sleep in blanket forts in a garage (and eat ice cream for breakfast). Their music would fit perfectly on a mix tape with Charlie Bliss and early Best Coast, and takes us back to that blissful window of our lives when eighth grade summer break was about to end and we procrastinated mowing the lawn by roller blading down that hill one more time. Guitarist Alex Knudson’s Morrissey-esque vocals trade off and harmonize with bassist Hallie Bulleit’s soprano, producing a pleasantly complementary vocal palette. Single "Dad Jokes" (video streaming below) reveals a band that knows how to write songs that go beyond your typical pop-punk power chord fueled tunes, which is a treat for the musically discerning ear. Catch them live at Baby’s Allright on Dec. 28th. – Meghan Rose

Though Glitterer has only performed a handful of shows since appearing on the scene in August, you may already be familiar with the project’s mastermind, Ned Russin, from his role as vocalist/bassist in Title Fight. That being said, Glitterer bares little, if any, resemblance to the Kingston, Pennsylvania band’s emo-tinged punk. This solo project leans heavily on keyboards and drum machines, brevity and simplicity. You can catch Glitterer at Alphaville on December 11^th. – Cameron Carr

Those partial to the slow-jam sounds of The Weather Channel’s past and layered vocal harmonies a la Freddie will find solace in the music of Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue, the newest project of Eric "Doc" Mendelsohn, formerly of Ghost Beach. Mendelsohn’s brought his funk to tour with bands like Imagine Dragons and Walk The Moon; now, he’s landed it in the studio, where he forged Pink Flamingo Rhythm Revue’s eponymous debut EP, out on January 5th. To promote the record, the Revue will play C’mon Everybody on Thursday 12/7 along with Sam O B and Pilot Violet. For a taste of their salacious sound, check out the groovy first single "I Stand Corrected", below. – Will Sisskind