With three full length albums and a fair share of movie placements under his composer and musician’s belt, Matt Shapiro cannot not be called a staple of the NYC scene. He recently unveiled The Addict (streaming below), the first single from the upcoming EP Fade In, scheduled for an early March release. Mostly electronic, The Addict represents – according to Shapiro himself – a return to a more disciplined and stripped down approach to writing, after the epic and layered sound of his latest LP Metaphysical. However, after the initial bars (which are stripped down indeed), The Addict builds into a rich and warm sound conveyed by luxurious, ’80s inspired synth pads and by Matt’s soulful tenor and spot on falsettos, which sing about the best addictions of all – Falling in Love.

We’re happy to report that Oakland’s own Rex Ruit will be playing at The Starline Social Club this Thursday the 28th as part of Noise Pop. Tracks like “Vertigo” and “South” give this rocky post-punk album a lighter feel. Lovely guitar melodies blend with vocals that come in and out of clarity and really push this album into an almost dream-pop beachy realm while still keeping that alternative feel the band is known for. They’ll be part of a pretty killer lineup: Black Marble, Spiritual Cramp and Shutups at one of our favorite venues. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

For these past few years, the conversational focus on mistreatment of women in entertainment has been in turns cathartic and grueling. It’s a long overdue conversation, and it was only a matter of time before it started to make its appearance as a focal point in music. Songwriter Emily Reo chooses pop as a medium to explore misogyny in the music industry and in every day life on “Strawberry”, the premiere track off her upcoming record Only You Can See It. Balancing sardonic lyrics with an anthemic instrumental, "Strawberry" features Reo’s voice front and center. After listing off a number of micro aggressions from patronizing men, she belts, “How many girls in this city are getting T-I-R-E-D”, and it’s easy to imagine a crowd screaming back in response. The track gives the clear impression of an artist coming into her own, ready to share herself with the world and not willing to take crap from anyone. Only You Can See It will be released on April 26th, and Reo will be celebrating the release that night at Baby’s All Right. In the meantime, mark your calendar, and stream “Strawberry” below. – Sunny Betz 

There are some songs that make you feel like they came from your own mind, that understand in a way that feels maybe a bit too close for comfort. And Somerville-based artist Saccharine‘s most recent full-length release Hollow Space is filled with them. In the vein of Ben Gibbard, Kevin King has infused emotional lyrics with an earnest and energetic delivery that leaves the listener feeling a whirlwind of excitement, awe, heartbreak. On this release, King’s songwriting is unrivaled, his arrangements are cathartic; the result is a set of songs that linger much longer than expected. See Saccharine live at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston on March 1, alongside Burlington rock darlings Clever Girls, who are currently on tour heading towards the Midwest. Until then, stream the full album below. – Lilly Milman

Sid Simons, the leader of Brooklyn freak folk collective Girl Skin, embodies the spirit of a wandering musician in a contemporary context. Originally of Portland, Oregon (with stints in Australia and Shanghai prior to settling in New York), Simons makes it immediately clear that he has channeled his long, strange trip into the group’s sonic output; the band’s last single “Bite Real Hard” prominently features acoustic guitars against mandolin accents and an echoey, sliding voice. Before getting too dedicated to a folksy, Americana sound, however, “Bite” becomes electric, drone-laden shredding emerging from the woodwork as Simon repeats, “everything I know, I have from you.” It’s a distinctly modern twist on the folk of yesteryear, reflecting Girl Skin’s ability to blend both old and new styles into a cohesive, instantly classic output.

Girl Skin will head south to SXSW next month, but they’ll be back at Rockwood Music Hall on April 7th. In the meantime, go for a walkabout and watch the video for “Bite Real Hard.” -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Andy DeLuca

Matt Jatkola and D. Orxata make up the Boston-based eclectic indie-pop duo FBGM. Their newest single "High" (streaming below) is a bouncy ode to highs and lows. The buoyant melody is kept afloat by a breezy delivery of deadpan lyrics like "How do you get me so high in the morning? … Why is it easy to cry in the morning?" The lyrics operate in paradoxes, and the production effortlessly adds a shimmery texture. Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Jatkola himself, the track is steeped in a heavy dose of experience and sentimentality. It’s undoubtedly the work of people who care about what they are creating, while also playing around with infectious pop sensibilities. FBGM is currently on a west coast tour and will return to New England on March 10 to play Hutghi’s at the Nook in Westfield, MA. – Lilly Milman

The atmospheric, often ethereal soundscapes of Brooklyn’s Raia Was are perfectly executed exercises in restraint, where a powerful vocal performance sharply navigates the dimly lit labyrinth of downtempo art pop. Her most recent release “Reprise” is a focused, minimalist effort – a song that reads as a lonely internal monologue on a cold, winter night. Was’s vox never explodes or relies on any melodramatic twists and turns, but rather plays counterpoint to the track’s synthy elements, finding strength in its hushed, sometimes breathy qualities; it serves as a preview of more carefully crafted tunes on Raia’s forthcoming debut record, Angel I’m Frightened (Side A/ Side B), which drops this spring.

Raia Was will perform tracks from her upcoming LP at Berlin on March 6th, supported by fellow Brooklynite Harb. Stream “Reprise” below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Lissy Laricchia

China’s newest single “And Then Nothing Happened” has the classic markers of a good country song: the story-telling, the clever lines, and twang all up in their guitars. Vocalist Michael James Tapscott has more of a Jeff Tweedy style than a true country boy, but we like that. The title track off their new album has lines like: “I’m nothing without my baby/and there’s nothing for me after last call.” Good ol’ fashioned Americana values. Overall, their album has a gentle Tom Petty feeling to it (check out track “Crossing the Ohio”). It’s full of lovely harmonies and everytime that sexy pedal steel touches a song it’s a fine moment indeed. How to summarize the album? To steal a quote from the band, they “…are a bunch of beautiful losers caught in a freeze frame hovering somewhere between mundanity and epiphany.” Give these losers a listen here, see them tonight at Papermill Creek Saloon, and catch them locally when they’re back from their West Coast Tour. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Brooklyn electronic psych rock duo GHXST dropped their latest digital album “Gloom” at the end of 2018. After playing a select number of hand picked shows around the release date, they are now preparing to showcase the new material at this years SXSW music festival. Lead track “Hunger” immediately establishes a dark, slow-burn foreboding that places emphasis on deep-end howling guitars, many of them sampled. Dreamy female vocals come adorned with a level of unsettling doom that would surely please David Lynch and his fans. Additional tracks like “Ocean is a Desert” and “Vaquero” continue that vibe while adding eery electronic elements reminiscent of Swiss industrial guitar-rock pioneers The Young Gods. “Bad Blood II” introduces a pulsating electronic synth progression, while “Ride” digs down into a bass-tone heavy groove that A Place To Bury Strangers frequently resides. Final track “Heatwaves” incorporates bended slide-guitar along with its apprehensive vocal delivery, dark ambience and snaking progression. GHXST will be performin at an official SXSW showcase on 3/13 at BD Riley’s. – Dave Cromwell

It might seem like the electronica genre is ever pushing forward into the future, but Brothertiger’s focus hones in on the past, specifically the 1980s, for his source of inspiration. That focus is more than just a passing interest, and it’s clear that frontman John Jagos knows his stuff. Listening to his moody new wave vocals and analog synths brings to mind bands like Duran Duran and Tears For Fears, who Jagos proudly claims as an influence (he even covered the entirety of the latter’s album Songs From the Big Chair in 2017). Luckily for Brothertiger, there’s some new tech to take advantage of – and with the help of more refined and modern production, his music showcases those influences with stunning and lush results. Brothertiger will celebrate the release of his new EP A Chain of Islands at the Knitting Factory on February 21st – you can check out its featured single “Shallow” below. – Sunny Betz

Pynkie, the stage name of New Jersey’s Lindsey Radice, is one of the musicians from the NYC area most often photographed while smiling – and we certainly like that. She will bring her charming bed-dream pop to Pianos on March 9 within the New Colossus Festival, a LES/East Village based city festival debuting this year that looks to fill void left by the death of the CMJ Music Marathon. Pynkie’s 2018 debut album Neoteny is filled with delicately performed songs that are at once inventive and intimate. 

The ever-evolving quartet VAURA follows up their 2013 album The Missing almost six years later with Sables, their most refined and contemplative release yet. Introspective and somber, Sables finds the band shedding most of its post-metal heaviness in favor of experiments with brooding kosmische musik and the more avant-garde elements of new wave.

Featuring Josh Strawn (Azar Swan) on vocals, guitar and synthesizers, Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia) on guitar, Toby Driver (Kayo Dot) on bass, and Charlie Schmid (Tombs) on drums and electronics, VAURA engages ever more with their UK and German prog/art rock influences to grandiose and eerie effect. While still retaining the distinctive and specific style carved out on the band’s first two releases — Selenelion in 2010 and The Missing the following year — Sables is the third LP, a concise collection of meditative compositions on endings and extinctions, complemented by the mixing and production work of legendary UK producer Peter Walsh (Scott Walker, Peter Gabriel).