If you haven’t checked out Thick yet, now is probably a good time. The Brooklyn garage rock trio has been buzzing lately with a nod from The New York Times in an article on how women are making the best rock music and a feature on Glassnote Records Noteworthy Compilation. The attention is much deserved. Thick play hooky garage-pop that marries grit, power and three way harmonies. Whether you’re already a fan or just want to see what the hype is about, you can catch the band at Union Pool on November 9 with The Wants, BLED, and Future Twin. – Cameron Carr

Far be it from Brooklyn breakout band Zuli to do anything with subtlety; they’ve released their debut album On Human Freakout Mountain at a pre-Halloween fiesta at Murmrr Ballroom, complete with some bloody Facebook pics to promote the event. The new LP contains ten tracks from Ryan Camenzuli — the brain behind Zuli — which carry the groove-laden jams of 2015’s Supernatural Voodoo up another level. Played live, these songs electrify any crowd; at the Halloween release show, produced by creative collectives CON TEMPLATE and Loop Troupe, they made listeners catch their breath more than any ghoul ever could. Listen to the title track of On Human Freakout Mountain below. – Will Sisskind

Sweet Cream is a band that sits comfortably in their genre. Namely, classic rock, though with a hint of country, and a few mingling folksy harmonies. "No Light Light" has a self-aware, sultry darkness to it, bringing out slick guitar fills from within the crevices of the arrangement. The band might not be breaking down walls, but their music approaches every aspect of classic rock with taste and nuance – Sweet Cream are certainly carving their name into the plaster. Catch them live at Mercury Lounge with The Wild Reeds on November 13th. -Geena Kloeppel

It’s easy to get lost in the day to day hustle, grinding your way through the work day, getting caught up in petty squabbles, forgetting that this city is filled with millions of complex human beings each with their own hopes and aspirations.  It’s this more soulful side of working drudgery that Cuchulain Kelly touches on in the music video for the song "Torn In Two".  Using a company meeting about "quarterly revenues" as its backdrop, the video shows us Kelly expressing his inner frustrations to his co-workers, only to be shown the door.  Of course we can all relate to the struggles of the Kelly in the video, doing the daily grind while suppressing the desire to grapple with and openly express our internal conflicts. 

All in all a charming song gleaned from the trials and tribulations of DC’s buttoned down culture.  

 -Michael Dranove

Queens’ Big Breakfast, repping Brooklyn micro-label Smoker’s Cough, flips flows tight as He-Man’s loincloth.  He’s definitely a rapper’s rapper.  His punchlines are clever, but they hinge more on the rhyme scheme than on mainstream references.  This puts him in the realm of DOOM and Breeze Brewin, which is great if you really love dynamic lyricism.  It’s also great if you smoked too much of that blunt and need to duck into a corner and get lost in your headphones.  His Sports Plus EP is available as a limited cassette and zine via his bandcamp page.  He plays at The Kingsland in Brooklyn November 4th.

Jersey City’s three-piece Overlake has been contributing innovative, intimate shoegaze to the local scene since forming in 2012, and their newest LP Fall shows they are getting better and better at it. The record is saturated with guitar-driven anthems of nostalgia, thematically focused on the transience of life. Each song encapsulates a moment in time, following no chronological order; instead, this album moves like an emotional catharsis complete with blooming guitar parts, driving percussion, and powerful bass lines. The band is currently on a US tour. They’ll return to their native NJ on December 9th with a show at WFMU’s Monty Hall. – Lilly Milman

We blogged about soulful NYC’s singer songwriter Aisha Badru earlier this year, after one of her songs was picked for a Volkswagen commercial. Aisha earlier this month  traveled to Bali, Indonesia to donate a portion of the income she received from that ad to rebuild a home for a local poverty-stricken family. In the meantime, her other single "Mind of Fire," a simple, a-cappella track dealing with how the needs of our daily lives end up killing our dreams and motivations, was racking up plays on Spotify (video streaming below). After completing a short October tour in the southern US states, Aisha is preparing to release her debut album "Pendulum," scheduled for early 2018. It will also feature single "Bridges," also streaming.

NYC songwriter Gabriel Kahane has released two new songs online in anticipation of his coming performances at BAM’s Harvey Theater later this fall. Little Love includes the title-track and "November", both songs featuring only his lush voice and his bubbling piano. The release comes just over a month before the start of 8980: Book of Travelers, a live concept performance based on his November 2016 train trip across the United States. The songs in 8980 take inspiration from that trip’s experiences, Kahane’s conversations with the people he met, and ruminations on the body politic. 8980 runs from November 30th to December 2nd at BAM’s Harvey Theater; the show will hit Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Paris going into 2018. – Will Sisskind

The 94 Knicks makes the classic type of garagey indie rock that’s at once uplifting and cathartic. The band writes surprisingly poignant lyrics, with songs that feel as if they could have been lifted from the scribbles of your personal journal, however their chunky guitars, command of dynamics, and  lo-fi, fuzzy goodness keep their tunes upbeat and head-bop worthy. Catch the band live at Elsewhere (the new venue by NYC promoters PopGun Presents) on November 6th and, in the meantime, stream their single Street Fighter below.-Olivia Sisinni 

It’s been just over a year since Sam Kogon released his second album, the retro psych-pop affair Pyschic Tears. After finishing up a summer tour, the vintage gear-aficionado has turned a little quiet—tribute to the Kinks here, another for Tom Petty there, a spare demo to a benefit release a few months back. Maybe the ‘70s rock lover is cooking up something new, who’s to say? Regardless, you’ll be able to catch up when Kogan and crew perform at Baby’s All Right on November 12^th. Brace yourselves for the baroque pop melodies and jangling guitars. – CC

There is a definite charm harnessed by the scudzy psychedelia of Bay Area band The Riot Professor, who channel the sunny 70s just as much as the contemporary stoner rock movement. In their new (aptly titled) single, “Stoner” (streaming below,) they find the sweet spot in between the two—a catchy, amalgamation of influences that fall together in near-perfect harmonies. It’s a controlled, slow brewing chaos of sound that is at once playful and technical, and is even mirrored in the lyrics ("Everyone’s an echo chamber.") This track comes off their upcoming EP Year of the Mirage, set to be released on October 27th. – Lilly Milman

This past summer of 2017, Brooklyn’s The Sofas released their first single "Hum," which immediately resonated with oddball indie rock lovers and fans of those fuzzadelic records from the ’90s bands like Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev were putting out early in their career. Streaming below, the single’s B side, "Rodeo Jones Is Dead." The band is about to release their debut full length "Chop Water" on Jurassic Pop Records; after the fun of "Hum," our attention and curiosity are guaranteed.

The band’s guitarist and bass player shared their thoughts on guitar pedals with our sister blog Delicious Audio, check out the Q&A here!