On their debut EP Ambulances, the Brooklyn-based band Russian Baths, lithely manages to forge melodic music that is equally haunting as it is noisy. Marked by a wraithlike set of vocals that float over layers of pedal-driven cacophony, the band’s sound is so swirlingly hypnotic that it would make a perfect soundtrack for your next fever dream – should you ever need one. Russian Baths is distinctively New-York-Cool, and while their distorted guitars snarl and crunch their way through the two track release, the band still imbues them with a decidedly dance-y fervor. See them live at Union Pool on August 16th opening for IYEZ and Mueren Humanos. – Olivia Sisinni

Fresh out the time machine, Active Bird Community play indie rock music that could’ve been beamed straight out of the late 90’s. Clearly inspired by the tense, guitar-driven acts of yore like Interpol or Built to Spill, the quartet’s tunes are like love letters to a simpler time for indie-rock, when everyone knew what the hell it actually was. Their latest video for "Pick Me Apart" perfectly captures this ethos: Tom D’Augustino’s slacking vocals sing about the mess that is life, while "fun" events and happy people whir around him. The only time he shows positive emotions, then, is when he’s playing music with his friends under a blanket fort. It’s a video about lost youth, highs and lows, alligned thematically with college rock, but featuring a more mature sound. Active Bird Community also released a single back in April, and you can check them out at The Bowery Electric on July 23rd. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Buzzwords like "fresh" and "innovative" get thrown around all the time in music journalism. They are pretty cool sounding afterall. Rarely, though, does an artist and their music justify the usage or embody the spirits of those words. Boston’s People Like You do.  The indie outfit’s debut LP from two years ago flew under our radar, but now’s the perfect time to discuss it since they are working on its follow-up and playing a ton of live shows. At the core of their sound is the contrast between the band’s cerebral instrumental arrangements and the visceral vocals.  Each of their songs is a swirling mix of instruments and styles from classical glockenspiels,  jazz horns and persussion to indie-rock guitars. The isnstrumental parts are intriguing, inventive and could probably function as post-rock songs just by themselves. That would, however, take away singer Chris Lee’s emo and spoken-word styled vocals, and that would suck. Lee’s at times laconic, others verbose, but always emotional vocals crash head-first into the band’s instrumental arrangemtns to create a sound that excites emotions and provokes introspective thought. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Annique Monet is a Brooklyn based chanteuse who charms listeners into following her to her musical fun house, where they are treated to some sort of crazy, psychedelic dream. Her debut album and one of last year’s Deli NYC record of the month, Phantom Letters, still manages to awe us with an unconventionality that defies expectations.  Annique Monet is bringing her hypnotic music to Baby’s All Right for Heaters’ LP release on August 5th – be sure to catch her there for a mind-bending experience. – Madeleine Grossman

New York band, Modern Diet, certainly stays to true to their name, offering a modern mesh of indie pop and soul with some jazz undertones. Upbeat single, “Echo Parade” (from this year’s debut LP MD So Far) comes full circle as it begins calmly, presumably describing the uncertainty of love in the summertime, and builds up as the singer gets to the point, saying, “let’s slip and slide and sleep together again.”  The song takes a turn with instrumental focus, questioning the same cycle and repetition of love, and finishes in the calm way it started. Be sure to catch the band on at Shea Stadium on July 26th with Roofer’s Union, Special Guest and Del Water Gap. – Madeleine Grossman

In an era when human lives predominantly moved to the two dimensions of screens, a band with 184 Facebook likes called Young Bugs is not bound to cause much social media envy – which may actually be reassuring. Nonetheless, the Brooklyn trio, and their new video for single Spanish Knives II (streaming below) should be looked at as an example of why rock’n’roll can still be a lot of fun – hey, it’s not that complicated! Grab some cheap instruments, a mic, even a friend with a video camera if you have one, and try to make your own stuff happen, musically and visually; slowly get better at it, while having fun and maybe even "giving" some! Young Bugs just released their debut EP "Spanish Knives," you can listen to another song from it here.

There’s a delicate yet powerful force driving Dear Creek’s music, a Virginia-based band that fuses Indie folk, blues, jazz, and rock’s feel-good qualities into one sleek and melodious package. The compositional simplicity allows for X’s gentle vocals to soar over the vibrant guitar strums, creating a sense of sincerity and serenity that permeates each track. The languorous pace infuses each track with a subtle touch of melancholy, creating levels of textures in songs like “So It Goes” and “Hard to Breathe.” Though a pleasant listen for long car rides and languid summer afternoons their shows are infused with vigor and an energy not to be missed. Catch Dear Creek at DC Nine on July 19 and listen below. – Adriana S. Ballester

We enjoyed Ghost King‘s 2016 debut album "Bones" so much that we made it NYC Record of the Month back in April. The album sounds like a noteworthy recap of the (indie) guitar rock sound of the ’90s, with references to bands as disparate and glorious as Sonic Youth, the Violent Femmes, Pavement, The Pixies and Guided by Voices. The band will be performing at the Gateway on July 30th within a festival organized by a new blog focused on the Tri State Area Punk/DIY scene called Microscene. Check out their new video for under two minute single ‘Till You Belong to Me."

Read the Q&A with Ghos King about pedals and other guitar gear used in "Bones"

Folk may be an old, old genre, but that doesn’t mean everyone has given up on trying to innovate it. Take the latest project by Somerville band, Eternals for example.  On Isn’t That Any, the quartet intently root their music in the… rootiness of their lead singer’s voice and snare-heavy percussion typical of folk, but on each track they also mix in a different genre or influence seamlessly, giving the album a broad musical width while still maintaining a strong investment in folk. One intriguing moment in the record is when they segue directly from "See You," a song drenched in shoegaze, to the alt-folk pop jam "Bar Room Dancing." At other times they even bring in some synth textures – perhaps signifying the emergence of "synth folk" as a genre? In short, it’s always nice to see someone take the old traditional American music with open mind and heart, and Eternals have done just that on this latest LP.  You can check them out at Lilypad Inman on 7/22. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber

At first, Merrily James‘ music may strike listeners for the vulnerability the singer conveys to it.  However, upon a closer listen, the sexual metaphors introduced by the lyrics integrate that vulnerability with content that certainly adds an extra layer of intrigue and sensuality to the tracks. Her debut EP, Opia, produced by Tommy Eichmann (Alex Winston, Twin Wave) belongs squarely to the electro-soul-pop genre, yet it has a layer of rawness tinged with visceral, smooth vocals that separates it from the pack. In “Sticky Fingers” (streaming below) Merrily James sings, “I lick my sticky fingers/your sugar in my soul/I did everything I can/except to let you go,” exposing an endearing honesty and an anything-for-love attitude those "prudes" Hall and Oates would certainly disagree with. You can see Merrily James at Rough Trade on July 30th. – Madeleine Grossman

After nearly a decade in Brooklyn, prodigal son Bill Bartholomew is returning home to Rhode Island, together with his band silverteeth.  Alongside this relocation to Newport’s tiny but powerful music scene, they also released a self-titled EP, and it feels like the two may be correlated thematically. The project contains guitar-centric, no-nonsense alt-pop that opts for a tight, well-oiled sound. On the record, Bartholomew’s voice and guitar each drip with sentimentality, and stir the powerful emotions that occur when going through a major life event, such as a move back home. Silverteeth played a EP release show on July 8 at Aurora in Providence, which should the first of many New England shows to come. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Names can be misleading. Psych-punk trio Honey isn’t exactly sweet and smooth as you may expect, quite the opposite. The band, made up of members of Psychic Ills and Amen Dunes, plays a loud, tense and distorted brand of psychedelic garage that seem to teeter on the brink of a nervous breakdown. The track “Monk” (streaming below) off their debut LP Love is Hard lives up to the album’s name as it examines the devotion it takes to keep a relationship alive by comparing it to the vow of commitment and self-discipline that a monk would take. “Everything I do/ I do it for you/ Because I’m a monk!,” sings guitarist Dan Wise in the chorus, before melting into a swirling psychedelic finale. Honey will be playing St. Vitus on July 21st in support of Radioactivity. – John Honan