Bouncing onto the Baltimore scene, Parks Landing has unveiled their very first music video exclusively with The Deli Magazine. "Voices in My Head" perfectly encapsulates the band’s sound and energy: feel-good, upbeat, and serene. Mixing in fine bits of rock, pop, and indie, the vid captures the fun aura surrounding the band and is MTV-ready, that is if MTV still played music videos. Don’t miss their record release party at Ottobar on 11/21! -Jonathan Goodwin

Bursting onto the DC punk scene earlier this year, The Split Seconds just put out an eponymous LP, their debut release, filled with sick riffs and raw, throaty vocals. Their influences range from The Buzzcocks to Screeching Weasel, distilling classic punk elements from decades of material and still making it sound like a modern album. If you’re in the mood for top-notch punk rock, check out their new album and keep an eye out for future show announcements. -Jonathan Goodwin

Hailing from Leesburg, VA, Car Seat Headrest is making a huge splash on both coasts and across the Atlantic. What began as Will Toledo producing ten albums since 2015 has erupted into a full band getting covered by Rolling Stone and going on an international tour. They put out an LP last week called Teens of Spirit and it’s killer. Toledo built his vocals in the vein of The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and The Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff and the overall musicality inspires a wide range of feelings and energy. The new album would fit with any party, rife with roughly hewn instrumentals and angst-ridden lyrics. These guys are going to be huge, so catch them at DC9, 12/7, and Strange Matter in Richmond, 12/8. -Jonathan Goodwin

Dreampop sophomores Crescendo dropped the first single to their upcoming album Unless, which Gregory Cole (guitar/vox) poetically described as "a lightspeed space journey through our world firing at everything in our path." Building from the vitalic rhythms of debut LP Lost Thoughts, "Repulsor" shimmers with new wave and synthpop stylings. The single’s release also marks the official inauguration of guitarist Jess Krichelle, alongside Cole and Olive Kimoto (synth/vox). Unless is scheduled to release February 19th through Italian label We Were Never Being Boring.

Crescendo’s due a couple of shows this month — they’ll be playing with Florida homie Millionyoung and local heroes PART TIME. Check dates and venues below, and listen to the stream of "Repulsor". – Ryan Mo

11/24 The Hideout with Millionyoung (San Diego)

11/25 Harvard & Stone with PART TIME, Millionyoung, The New Division [DJ Set] (Los Angeles)

Toronto-based band, The Nursery, forges momentous pop music that highlights the grittier side of the genre. Pulling from indie pop and alt rock, their music is driven by steady drum-beats and grounding bass lines, while melodies blend together with vocals and lyrics flirting with epic overtones: “I remember the times we stared into/ eyes of strangers and learned the truth/ I wish I had the power of the moon/ to curve the tides and become immune.” 

The sweetly bold "Signing A Deal" (streaming below) by Brooklyn quartet Behaviors is the workaday artist’s poignant anthem. Featuring the sugary voice of lead singer Frans Mernick, the keys-sprinkled new single off the band’s forthcoming eponymous debut LP probingly reveals the great difficulties of surviving as a musician but emits sheer appreciation for the lifestyle. The pop song is far-reaching, though, pondering artistic success as much as an existential kind. While the band doesn’t seem to have any shows lined up, they are scheduled to release Behaviors this fall. – Zach Weg

The world of music lovers is divided in two categories: those who love pretty songs, and those who seek aural insanity. For the latter, we recommend Spray Paint, an Austin based trio whose sole purpose seems to be creating the most relentlessly tense music conceivable – edgy stuff! The group is also very prolific, having released five LPs in total, two this year alone, the latter (entitled "Doper") while touring the US. Fully dedicated to the cause, that’s how you find your audience.

On November 9, Controller, another band with a great live show we booked at CMJ 2015 (they actually packed Pianos that night), will be celebrating the release of their sophomore EP "No Future," which will gather singles released separately in 2015, including their best known tracks "Flame" and "Midnight Man." These two tracks illustrate the musical coordinates the band operates within, i.e. a dark sounding, tense rock sound with post punk influences, and a sunnier pop side that references radio friendly bands from the ’90s like The New Radicals. Title-track "No Future," the latest single, errs on the darker side big time – needless to say we dig that – and it’s probably their edgiest single to date, notwithstanding the signature pop explosion in the chorus. Thir show, originally scheduled at Elvis Guesthouse, will actually be at Berlin a few blocks down (yes, never heard of it!).

We are not sure if traces of Puerto Rico and Columbia can be found in Balancer‘s music (that’s where the band’s members hail from). There’s a certain "chill factor" in their music one wouldn’t instinctively associate with hustling NYC, hadn’t the Big Apple produced a recent musical phenomenon called "chill wave" and an invasion of mellow dream pop acts led by Real Estate – a scene the band squarely belongs to. But there is a certain romantic quality in their melodies and lyrics that is exquisitely Latin, and that contributes to making their songs so charming and appealing. The trio was one of the best live acts we saw (and booked) at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, thanks to a performance oozing with flair and instrumental confidence (we were particularly impressed with drummer Gabriela Jimeno). We are proud to premiere their newest single "Clarity" (streaming below), recorded in Seattle at the end of 2014 with long time collaborator Garrett Reynolds, during a session that also produced their previous single "Waves Remain."

Lawndale’s working class police-magnet NOYES (pronounced [noiz]) plays grungy noise rock, and they’ve always floated on the fringes of Los Angeles’ music scene, mingling with South Bay and Valley bands of DIY stature. But outside of the SoCal music hub, Kermit Obert (guitar/vox), Ian Fahrenreich (drums), and Daniel Garcia (bass) have been tearing up the West, whether at a sweaty Torrance house show in or a packed venue in Seattle. Back in their early formation, the three went under a different name — Moose (US), if only to distance and pay homage to the ’90s British band that first got trashed as "shoegazing". With the release of their first demo "Obscurities", Moose wasted no time playing out their first sonic incarnation of lo-fi garage scrunge.

Around 2013 Moose’s musical direction curved, morphing into NOYES, embracing discordant aggression and embarking on their first tour with Mountair buddies Ghost Noise. They haven’t looked back since, and though they’ve yet to be celebrated by tastemakers of Internet fame, NOYES has received great support from the local underground, playing with bands like Dustin and the Explosions, Loko Ono, The May Runners, and more. All the good vibes jam-packed themselves into the band’s breakthrough debut EP, recorded with Converse Rubber Tracks in 2014.

NOYES make their Smell debut tomorrow with a digital release of their brand new six-track EP titled "Relapse". They’re on with support from long-time mates Yogi Berra, Big Sis, and new kids No Chill from the Inland Empire. Listen to NOYES’ premiere single "Cut Off" and get turnt with respect to the gang and the venue. 

Because you don’t fuck with a band that’s played a sick cover to Daria’s theme song. You just don’t. – Ryan Mo, photo credit Nadia Adella

Bl_nk Sp_ces‘ songs marry the austere simplicity of early synth pop (Kraftwerk, Gary Numan) with a more modern melodic sensibility. The British born, NYC raised act released their debut album ‘Memory Man‘ in 2014, and since then have played regularly in NYC, including at the latest CMJ show. Check out their single The Great Shark Hunt (streaming below) and see them live at one of the last shows at Cameo Gallery on November 9th.

Those who fell in love with the arresting intensity of Jeff Buckley’s "Grace" should familiarize with Port St. Willow, the brainchild of NYC composer Nicholas Principe. The two artists share a beautifully expressive falsetto and preference for sparse atmospheres, but come from completely different places in terms of musicianship: you’ll rarely hear a plain guitar sound in Port St. Willow, since Principe is a keyboardist/sound designer. His music’s central elements are ambiance, melody and drone. Ghostly new single "Ordinary Pleasure," released on his brand new imprint People Teeth, reinforces this notion – it’s part of a full length entitled "Syncope," to be released in the near future. Written and recorded with a focus on improvisation, the album features guest appearances by Will Epstein (Nicolas Jaar, High Water), Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and David Moore (Bing & Ruth) among others.

Port St. Willow’s debut album earned some praise from none other than legendary producer Brian Eno – check out our 2013 post about it here. You can see the band live at Le Poisson Rouge on 11.17 and at Trans Pecos the day after.