If the word "bueno" reminds you of something yummy you eat during that awesome South American vacation, well, that memory has nothing to do with what this post is about.  Bueno is a Staten Island band that plays a modern brand of post punk with noisy and slacking tendencies.  These influences can be heard in their most recent album cassette release, Guilt, whose songs are blunt and simply relatable – a fragment of their lyrics that stayed with us proclaims: “there used to be a Burger King there, now there’s not.”  Part of the band’s charm lies in its ability to discuss ordinary subjects in a way that is also evocative, but keeping a dead pan attitude.  Make sure to see them at Market Hotel on June 25th with The So So Glos and watch out for their soon to be announced upcoming LP. – Madeleine Grossman

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Venues in Riverside crowded with musicians and music lovers alike during the annual Saturation Fest, an event showcasing the rich diversity of talented artists living in Southern California, especially from the Inland Empire. A few days before the festival, LA Weekly published an article applauding the efforts of a few individuals involved with the festival. The author-outsider looked into the Riverside community as an idyllic refuge, away from the competition and high cost of living in Los Angeles. But having lived in Riverside since my tender alterna-tween years, I see things a little differently.

It’s important to note that the Inland Empire extends far beyond Riverside, where Saturation Fest is hosted. Many folks tend to gloss over the fact that it includes less whitebread areas like Fontana, Hemet, Murrieta, Temecula, or (God forbid!) Moreno Valley, all of which continue to witness a variety of DIY events more bizarre and outlandish than your average Weiner Records lover could fathom. A close examination of the festival’s lineup reveals just how many musical factions have populated the area over the last few years—there is no single genre uniting them, just a handful of familiar area codes.

And so, despite the article’s best efforts to convey a scene of diversity and exceptionalism, there was no mention of the labels that have been operating in the area for years on end, labels like Popgun, Family Time, Not Punk, Juniper Tree Songs, or Bridgetown. No mention of the all-ages DIY venues that have come and gone, and left their marks on us—The Dial in Temecula, Black Flame in San Bernardino, and the Blood Orange in Riverside all closed their doors within six months of one another. Of course, these were definitely too underground for an LA Weekly music journalist to sniff out.

Saturation Fest’s (lack of) coverage until now is just proof of how little the outside world (read: Los Angeles) knows or cares about what happens here, unless the outside world wants to relish a bit of self-hate for the clicks and comments. If you live here and you’re looking for the true freaks, the people that really don’t give a fuck about “making it” in the world of college rock journalists and out-of-touch music editors, you don’t need to look far at all. But they do. – Graeme Crane & Ryan Mo, photo by Goyo Paguaga

Brooklyn-based band Tiergarten marries the power rock guitar sound of the 90’s (think Failure and Screaming Trees) with the lush melodicism and harmonic complexity of shoegaze. Their latest single “Paradigm” (streaming) is characterized by tonal and dynamic shifts reminiscent of the loud/quiet/loud days of grunge. Second single “Aerons (Infinity Glow),” on the other hand, veers towards shoegaze with droney guitar parts and Alex Von Klemperer’s drawn-out vocals. The band’s debut EP ‘Magnificent Desolation’ is set to be self-released on June 17th, and release celebrations are scheduled for June 15th at Union Pool. – John Honan

Based off the lead single "Irrelevant" (streaming) it would appear that Boston band Lady Pills is transitioning to a more aggressive rock sound for their upcoming debut album Despite, scheduled for a July release. The deviating guitar patterns, refined percussion, heavy vocals and everything else that made their past releases enjoyable are still there, but on their newest release everything is kicked up a notch. The dynamic shifts are bolder, the rhythm section more prominent and the lyrics more intense. Regardless of whether this transformation will be seen throughout the LP or just on this track, it is encouraging to see the three-piece girl band experiment with their sound in convincing ways. You can check out Lady Pills’ new music at O’Brien’s Pub on 6/14. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Tonight great show at Irving Plaza, where you can catch a NYC Hip Hop triple feature of ferocious linguistic swashbuckling presented by Pigeons and Planes. Hometown heroes Aesop Rock, Homeboy Sandman, and Creature (of Rebelmatic) comprise three courses of boom-bap beatification. Bring Aderol and a Thesaurus, and check out Homeboy’s new video "Eyes. – BrokeMC

In the past two years, North Jersey band Forth Wanderers has had quite the run. They received a shout-out from Lorde, landed in our own picks for best NYC artists of 2015, and just finished a North American tour with Adult Mom. Not bad for a bunch of kids still in college! Those unfamliar, though, might think they’re older, given that their 2014 debut LP Tough Love is a solid blend of indie pop, rock and folk. The band’s sound is centered around the two electric guitars, which provide a layered quality without stepping on each other’s toes, and the voice of Ava Trilling, whose adorable alto conveys emotional weight to each song with a fatalistic tone that prevents her from indulging in overly dramatic antics. Forth Wanderers will play Mercury Lounge on June 20 and announced a yet to be released EP back in December – we are looking forward to both! — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Kami Maltz has one of those voices that dances through the air like a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower.  In the video for “Rain” from 2014’s Kami Maltz EP, Kami stands more or less motionless as images of nature fade and meld over her, a relentless dream, a treacherous magnificence.  “It was your dream and I followed through, this is where we’ve come.  The story’s still undone,” she sings with a knowing smirk – you can hear it live at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg on June 18th. – BrokeMC

You’ve certainly seen her name and probably heard her music around town. DC’s own folk songstress Sara Curtin is set to headline a show at DC9 on Saturday, 6/18. She has a lovely, hypnotic voice that’ll certainly entrance you into exploring more of her music. Hailed as one of DC’s finest musicians, she pours out sultry, slow, almost haunting melodies akin to Sharon van Etten. Her latest album, Michigan Lilium, is a masterpiece of smart lyrics and alluring music and was recorded in her very own home studio. Come out and catch this wondrous singer-songwriter’s early show at DC9, 6/18, headlining with Post Sixty-Five and Fellow Creatures. Doors at 6:30, $8. -Jonathan Goodwin 

Our first thought when we heard "Wednesday Night Melody" – the new single by Los Angeles power pop trio Bleached – was: "This song should be on Rock Band!" – which, if you think about it for a minute or two – is a heck of a compliment. The ladies’ new record "Welcome the Worms" showcases an evolution from their early vintage sounding garage-psych-pop, to a more muscular and modern "Alt" sound that, while more produced and punchy, retains the fun of those classic radio friendly punk songs a la’ Joan Jett. Check out this Q&A about guitars pedals with Bleachede’s guitarist Jessie Clavin on Delicious Audio!

Minimalist doesn’t always mean simple, and FAIR WTHR’s music is a textbook example of this. The NYC folk-pop band thrives on instrumental arrangements that don’t take up too much space, giving vocalist Sarah Kang all the room she needs to leave hearts heavy with a voice that’s a little reminiscent of Frankie Cosmos’. At times, though, the instruments take center stage such as on "Mama" where the band shifts dyanmics, gradually building their signature dreamy folk pop into a heavier, electric folk-rock. This band has the ability of writing songs that seem simple during casual listening, but then have a lot to offer after doing a little digging. FAIR WTHR will celebrate their already released EP at the Rockwood Music Hall on July 2nd. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

With their fuzzy garagey sound and distorted, nasal vocals, The Britanys‘ songs will throw you back to an older, grittier New York City – a place we’ve recently begun to miss. Not the seriously dangerous city of the ’60s, when the rock’n’roll lifestyle implied wavering between life and death, but a more recent and safe Big Apple, when Alphabet City still felt sketchy, the scene’s action was centered around the LES, and Williamsburg was still a rather ugly and cheap neighborhood with potential – those were the late ’90s/early aughts, by the way. It’s no surprise, then, to find that the band worked on their most recent material with Gordon Raphael (producer of The Strokes’ "Is this it?"). Single "Get My" (streaming) channels this modern garage rock style, a mixture of rock ‘n’ roll and pop that has the "Made in NYC" stamp all over it.  The Britany’s will share the stage with Frankie Rose, The So So Glos, and more at Out in the Streets Festival (June 16-17 at the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House in Queens) and are working on releasing a new EP in October.  – Madeleine Grossman

It may be possible to tell the two members of Brooklyn folk-pop band The Perennials are married just by listening to their music. In their debut single "Breadcrumbs" (streaming below) the two allude to woodland fables using vocals that are harmonized so well that one might believe that Pete and Amanda Wells were predestined to sing together. Their tracks’ instrumentation dinamically accompanies this vocal chemistry, bringing together drums, guitar and piano to create an emotionally charged but modern folk rock sound that is reminiscent of the one of their label’s founders, NYC’s band The National. Look out for a debut album later in the year. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber – Photo by Luis Ruiz

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!