There is something beautifully sinister and dangerous lurking underneath the surface of Casey Desmond’s latest release, Three Licks, under the moniker CMB. The Boston based electronica artist brightens up the reverb drenched scene of her city with oscillating synths and throbbing bass, oozing globs of neon with every beat. However, there is the scintillating threat of something more biting at our heels because the EP is more than just another glossy electronic composition. Bouncing between the glitchy dark ambiance of tracks like "Fade Into Nothing" and the bubbling magnetism of "I Don’t Know," Three Licks is an experimental project replete with raw emotions texturized by Desmond’s  electronic production and vocal talents. Delve deeper into Desmond’s rabbit hole and catch her performing at Great Scott on April 25. – Adriana S Ballester

Back in 2014, we shared the enjoyably gritty music from New York-based Americana songwriter Kate Vargas. Today, the New Mexico-hailing, Berklee College of Music graduate premieres on this very blog her latest single, “Second Skin” (streaming below). Featuring The Reckless Daughters and ambling to a guitar-lined looseness reminiscent of Tom Waits’ swampy gem “Clap Hands,” the bluesy track is as ruggedly resilient as its title suggests, climbing back up from down-home hardache. Don’t miss Kate at The Bowery Electric on 4/16. – Zach Weg Photograph by: Wick Beavers

A little over a month ago, new Brooklyn indie-pop act Yoke Lore made a humbly audacious introduction with the soaring song “Heavy Love” off its forthcoming debut EP ‘Far Shore.’ Now, project creator Adrian Galvin conveys the song’s helplessly twitching heart with a disturbingly compelling, accompanying music video (streaming below). Showing a still-faced young man alternately standing in and dancing through a bare white room, images of him and his past lover cutting through his mind, the clip is as hauntingly vital a portrait of post-romance ennui as can be expected from the warmly cerebral Galvin. While Yoke Lore doesn’t seem to have forthcoming shows listed, keep posted on the project’s Facebook page. – Zach Weg

Recent Deli NYC Artist of the month Silverbird and Crystal Stilts’ keyboardist Kyle Forester (pictured) will be sharing Berlin’s stage on April 6th, for a free show belonging to the PURSUIT series, also featuring a DJ set from Erika Spring of Au Revoir Simone. Both bands offer quality songwriting with dreamy overtones, with Kyle Forester opting for a mellower and at times folkier sound. His full length record is scheduled for a May release.

Asbury Park’s fertile music scene has had a long history of influence on the NY metro area and beyond. Local psych rock revival quartet gods is a recent offshoot of The Parlor Mob, releasing their debut EP “Endless Stunner” in early 2015. Leadoff track “New Future” builds off a forward driving snare and bass drum beat with tambourine-jingle enhancements, as guitar chord structures playfully invert The Beatles’ “Ticket To Ride.” Vocals begin as the drums drop out, creating a harmony-induced dreamlike sequence before the beat kicks back in. The lyrics “I have been waiting it seems until eternity brings me the light” underscore a chorus enphasized by riff heavy guitars. “Creatures” rises out of an electronic bass pulse center, allowing space and sonic textures to float around it. With individual percussive elements emphasized through heightened studio effects, an overall sinister feel in rhythm emerges. One could imagine this as film score music behind a pivotal travel scene. The pure pop’n’roll single “Puttin’ Me On” (streaming) seems as if molded from prime era “Electric Warrior” T-Rex combined with joyous groove of 70’s psych-pop bands like Mungo Jerry. Bolan-esque vibrato infused verses are followed by the handclap punctuated hook “B-B-Baby, don’t you know you drive me crazy, you do!” As catchy a pop rocker you’re likely to hear, the best elements lock together bass, lead and rhythm guitars. Clocking in under two-minutes, “dream, dream, dream” moves things further back in time with its mid-60’s British blues feel. The vibe is early Yardbirds, Eric Burden’s Animals and the Van Morrison fronted Them. Title track “Endless Stunner” serves as the EP’s big time rave up grand finale. Epic guitar hooks share sonic space with raucous vocal screams, abruptly staggered drums and dreamlike plateaus, bringing together the best of hard rock and prog. gods will be performing at the Good Room in Greenpoint on May 11, while The Parlor Mob play on April 8 at House of Independents during the Asbury Park Music In Film Festival. – Dave Cromwell

Tonight, come to one of Baltimore’s best music venues for one heck of a lineup. Opening up for the night is Baltimore’s indie rock group Slow Lights, with a sweetly soulful, melodic vibe to share. Following is another Baltimore band, the funky space rock quartet Greasy Hands. Their sound is fun and enthralling, blending guitar riffs and keys to make you move. Up next, Philly’s own progressive alt rock trio, The Humble. Working the pedals and belting out some guttural, yet hearty vocals, these guys are guaranteed to surprise. Closing out the night, headliners The Milestones hail from Baltimore and have mastered their unique blend of alt and dance rock. Make your Saturday night awesome and check out these great bands at Ottobar, doors at 9pm, just $10. -Jonathan Goodwin

Out of the musical maze that is Brooklyn’s synthpop scene rises Matt Koenig’s solo project Undercover Dream Lovers. The project’s intriguingly weird tracks have a knack for throwing together elements that would otherwise clash. With colorful bursts of synths and electronic textures, Undercover Dream Lover’s songs are equally fitting in an 80’s movie montage as in a futuristic space travel scene. “The Master” (streaming below) features undulating synths with distorted vocals that alternate between sounding close and distant, creating an interesting effect of fluctuating intersecting sonic waves. “When You Know It’s Alright” has piercing synths and spacey electronic bouts that burst in interspersed sections throughout the song, a track we could easily play over and over again as we drive down at night into whatever the future holds. Catch Undercover Dream Lover at Baby’s All Right for their EP release show on April 8.

Just a week after releasing its sophomore EP ‘Jackson’s Big Sky,’ steadily rising Brooklyn rock sextet Great Caesar now shares the achingly sublime music video (streaming below) for the track “Hey Mama." Showing the bandmembers singing the pining lyrics to the horn-blasted song in an abandoned warehouse that oozes an odd liquid, the crisp black-and-white clip conjures a creepy, almost Lynchian aura. Talking to Earmilk, Great Caesar frontman John-Michael Parker explains that the song does, in fact, tackle “disappointment and unfulfilled expectations, and the creeping anxiety of knowing you’ve done wrong by someone you love.” With his impassioned vocals and his bandmates’ wondrous playing, though, an undeniable warmth and hope for interpersonal reconciliation ultimately comes through. While Great Caesar doesn’t seem to have upcoming shows currently listed, keep posted on its Facebook page for future announcements. – Zach Weg 

Back in February Boston’s psych band Magic Shoppe released their second E.P. Interstellar Car Crash and it’s a trippy sonic masterpiece. The tracks are guitar centric pieces with distorted vocals floating in the background and cavernous reverb unabashedly pounding in your head. With beautifully languid melodies pulsing rhythmically throughout the E.P., Magic Shoppe succeeds at creating dynamic tunes that manage to maintain a sense of calm despite all that’s happening around them. The last track, “Interstella Car Crash” (streaming below), is the perfect example of that. Starting off with with an uniform tempo, vocals echoing in the distance the guitars sputter evenly before exploding into a spirited riff in the final minute. It’s like watching a star collapse into itself in slow motion and then witnessing it burst into a supernova of brilliant colors and sounds– a wondrous natural phenomena of galactic proportions that leaves us with our mouths agape, staring at the sky in awe.

How does quiet and cool come off as impassioned? One might ask lo-fi duo Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts (a band we stumbled upon at Baby’s All Right in February), who offer up a cool blend of subdued, almost shy instrumentals, with hushed, yet incredibly heartfelt vocal harmonies, injected with very unabashed emotionality. Colton Tracy’s delicate guitar is almost completely self-aware, melding into Trevor Tattan’s drums patterns; the one being struck in the exact same timbre as the other. Delicate picking and calm strumming lovingly coats and caresses the light hits of snare drum, or the pitter of hi-hat, all creating a foundation on which the two vocalists can find footing, and soothe one another, and consequently, the audience. The instruments play as though they’re peeking out from behind a curtain, until they flourish into lushly strummed chords, and the stage is set for the main attraction of vocal tranquility. – JP Basileo

Even though The Teen Age‘s recently released EP ‘Bad Seed’ was written as an “ode to growing older,” single “Backwards” feels emotionally rooted in the now. Under the production eye of Jason Finkel at Converse Rubber Tracks studios, the band makes the most out of immediately catchy guitar riffs and a joyously propulsive rhythm. While the verses may bring to mind early days of The Strokes, the chorus serves to elevate the track into an instant classic.  With its pairing of a guitar line melody with the vocal hook “I don’t want to live without you – I just keep on falling backwards,” the song is bound to woo fans of the heart-tugging surf-pop of Beach Fossils. This week the garagey quartet is playing two consecutive nights at Rough Trade: the first show is tonight (03.31) with Slaves,  the second one tomorrow (4/1) with two other Deli NYC favorites Celestial Shore and Monogold. – Dave Cromwell

Vundabar serves as a breath of fresh air out of the tidal waves of folk and hardcore rock that swamp Boston’s music scene. With indie rock at the core of its DNA, Vundabar infuses pop melodies and jangly guitar riffs to create their infectiously energetic sound. Often times switching up the tempo and rhythm mid-way through a song, these sudden changes of direction give their songs a welcomed air of unpredictability and a sharp edge to dance along on. What Vundabar manages to do wonderfully is probably how they take quiet moments in their songs and blow it up with bursts of jagged electric guitars and ragged vocals seamlessly, shocking you with currents of effervescence. The only thing that rivals their sound is their live performances, so catch them at Great Scott on April 30 and take listen below. – Adriana S Ballester