I’m sitting here listening to a ghost rise from my speakers while my body responds physically to the familiar sound of distortion pedals; with every whine of guitar, an old tremor of hormonal angst climbs up the ribcage to my heart while my arms slowly and rigidly begin crossing themselves. Before I know it, 15-year-old me is huffing and puffing at the door, and she’s back with a vengeance. I spent my teens like a lot of isolated kids do, scribbling in my journal, rolling my eyes at anything that moved and crushing on boys and girls who looked straight through me. The only method of keeping the unpalatable world at bay was the pair of headphones secured tightly around my ears blasting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, BRMC and The Killers on heavy rotation. That is to say, in a time before kids my age had any sense of self beyond malaise and wretchedness, we had early 2000s indie. 

“Impossible Weight,” the title track off of Deep Sea Diver’s forthcoming October album, embodies that era. It’s The White Stripes meets Sleater-Kinney, meets a cool glass of water with a cruel and jagged lip, meets a hole I want to crawl into headfirst, partly because of nostalgia, and partly because I'm so glad you can still find it somewhere. Frontwoman Jessica Dobson’s vocals prick like needles alongside the jaunty four-on-the-floor drumline. They dance through the verses, pushing the sound up and out towards the epic. A meek wail of guitar is layered in and around the chorus right before Our Lady Sharon Van Etten enters, her steady rich voice ringing out and grounding us against the bouncing instrumentals. The two singers move together in harmony before the music strips down once more, this time to only Van Etten’s low murmur—then the layers build back up again into a thunderous bridge. There’s something about the way that she draws out the last vowel in the line, “So I’ll just let you down now,” that creeps me out and electrifies me at the same time. Kind of like looking back at how formative music from a certain timeframe can be to a generation, how it accompanied us during that period and therefore shaped us as well. Yes, it’s true time (and therapy) heals all, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t run to preorder the LP from my local record shop immediately after listening. Photo by Matt Wignall.

Baby Rose’s distinct and uniquely soulful vocals lend themselves to her equally soulful lyricism. “Borderline”, one of her latest singles to be released explores the push and pull of an undefined relationship in a state of flux. “Heavy stuck in the motions / but we’ll just keep it going / trying to find where we stand." When does it end? Where is the line between something and nothing? The emotions behind such uncertainty are emphasized throughout the song, ultimately ending in, “Maybe if I could just stop / dreaming of him, I’d be fine / I don’t know where to reside / I’m still / on the borderline, “ a feeling many know all too well. The rising Atlanta native’s layered vocals and old jazz-infused instrumentation give this track the exact pensive and somber feeling the lyrics themselves convey. Charismatic and unique, Baby Rose is absolutely one to watch.

“Calm Me Down” is the fun and eclectic new single from digital punk rockers Top Bunk. Formed in Silver Lake, LA the band is made up of a large handful of friends who had musical eccentricity in common. “Calm Me Down” is an excellent portrayal of what they’re capable of—clocking in at just 2:22, the tiny track has a big sound and isn’t afraid to break the rules of conventional songwriting. A lush arrangement creates vast soundscapes through buzzy, vibrant synths and electronic keys. A throbbing bass line introduces you to the song, bopping to a smooth, catchy beat, and carries the rhythm the whole way through—creating nice consistency in a track so packed with sounds. Frontman Petro A.P.’s voice is clear and fluid, switching between languages and cadences with seamless ease and transfixing from start to finish. Ultimately, “Calm Me Down” is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Now, you won’t be able to stop listening.

Indie surf rock band The Vaughns grab our attention and make a declaration of love in their latest single “Shout.” The New Jersey-based band have created a sparkling track full of infectious, shimmering guitar lines and catchy choruses that don’t fail to put a smile on listeners’ faces. According to lead vocalist, Anna Lies, “'Shout' is this last-ditch effort of declaring love, and attempting to keep someone’s attention before moving on. Influenced by the best of 90’s slacker rock married with indie pop melodies, the song builds to a spectacular chorus that shouts, begs, and pleads for love. As if that wasn't enough, every note in the track’s bright guitar line seems to reverberate with sheer uncensored happiness—building comfortably to one of the most joyful guitar solos you will ever hear.

"Ghostride" is the 2nd single from Crumb's anticipated debut album, Jinx, which will be self-released by the band on June 14th. This latest song features a mesmerizing combination of apathy and heartbreak, encapsulating the band’s singular blend of psych-rock and jazz. Listeners are quickly lulled into a daze by a dreamy guitar loop, followed by a repetitive and hypnotic drumbeat. This sensation is immediately validated by Lila Ramani’s voice droning, “the slow beats rock me back to sleep, keep me on automatic.” Ramani’s vocals hover over the top of a swirling mix of keys, bass, synth, and drums that faithfully echo her shifting mood. The lyrics and the melody mimic each other throughout the song; Ramani’s voice remains bored and impassive as the song takes on the guise of a soothing lullaby. It then quickly slides into a straining and eager tone, as the music swells to reflect the anxiety of watching a love slip between your fingers and being unable to stop it. The true heartbreak of the song comes in the final lyric of the chorus, when Ramani laments, “People come and people go but I stay.” When the chorus comes around for the first time, Ramani is unable to fully deliver the line—making it all the more tragic when she finally gets the words out and leaves them to hang as the song slips away as hazily as it began.

A door opens to a new future after the loss of something once beloved on "Loss & Relax," one of two recently released tracks from Portland songwriter Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout. A compelling account of the strength of community and the resilience of the human soul, "Loss & Relax" finds Paul seeking comfort in memories of moving water and the cyclical nature of life—"oh, the loss of you / brings me to / a place that I call home." Beginning with a buzzing melodic guitar riff and airy vocals, the song moves through its varying cadence with confidence. Eventually ruminating in the intensity of memory and nostalgia, "Loss & Relax" builds to a conclusion that is both rock & roll and reverie.