Most bands form around friendships, the members of Lo Tom are friends, but their success came in previous projects. Now they’re making music for fun, and don’t care what happens from there. “We just wanted to make music together,” the group said in a news release. Lo Tom Lo Tom July 14 The group…

Admittedly a bit late to the Sheer Mag party, I didn’t start hearing rumblings about the Philadelphia-based band until after its 2016 SXSW show. Friends returning from Austin gushed about the high-energy punk outfit who, at the time, had only put out a couple EPs. Need to Feel Your Love…

Back in 2011, Black Up by Shabazz Palaces shook up the rap game with its unique take on abstract lyricism and wonky glitch-hop production. Death Grips and Danny Brown were also dabbling in similar experimental techniques, but Butterfly and Baba made it their own with a more relaxed tenor. Quazarz: Born on a Gangster…

Public Service Broadcasting, “Every Valley.” Public Service Broadcasting’s third album, Every Valley, is a beautiful, though intense examination of the rise and fall of the Welsh mining industry. Obscure and oddly specific at first, the narrative explored on the band’s new release is one that could easily be extrapolated to…

A funky rhythm pulses and Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi utters, “I just want everyone to have a good time–I really do.” His voice sounds cool and suave, as if sweet-talking you to step into some dream sequence. Aptly named “Mirage,” the opening track is a surprisingly whimsical start…

Who would have thought that the Haim sisters’ sophomore release would be a concept album? It’s true; on Something To Tell You, the story picks up with a breakup. Danielle Haim is heartbroken on “I Want You Back,” begging for a second chance. She, bassist Este Haim and guitarist…

Broken Social Scene is one of those bands with a unique style, yet gains its edge from a blend of established sounds. Case-in-point, Canadian collective’s latest: Hug of Thunder. Hug of Thunder Broken Social Scene July 7 Like a neapolitan milkshake, Broken Social Scene has managed to combine three usually-independent flavors that no one…

For the last three decades the Melvins have charted their own wayward course through the heart of rock and roll, confounding critics and conventional wisdom at every turn. How many other bands can claim to have opened for Kiss in front of a quarter of a million people, hired…

Chris Baio, courtesy. Quirky is certainly one way to describe Chris Baio’s Man of the World, his second released under the name Baio. You’ve likely heard him previously playing bass and providing background vocals for Vampire Weekend, of which he’s a founding member. Man of the World Baio June 30 Baio…

If you were holding out hope Imagine Dragons would course correct after Smoke and Mirrors, then you will probably be disappointed with the latest offering by the Las Vegas band. With EDM-like beats set to random pulses of the electric guitar, Evolve, cannot decide if it wants to be pop or rock, and ends…