Clockwise from top left: Maria Taylor, Divino Niño, Pond, The Altered Hours, Bipolar Sunshine and Barry Adamson.

Pond, “Human Touch” — Pond is to Tame Impala as the Stones are to The Beatles. Both bands hail from the rock scene of Western Australia. Both have an experimental, but accessible, approach to psychedelic and art rock. However, where Tame Impala pairs solid songwriting with radio-friendly ear candy, Pond is the edgier, messier and more disreputable cousin. Pond frontman Nicholas Allbrook—the former bassist of Tame Impala—has proven himself to have more than enough charisma behind the microphone. On “Human Touch,” he exudes a grimy, Iggy-Pop-esque wired energy, dancing in platform shoes on a street that looks like it backs into a jail.

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Bipolar Sunshine, “ANSWERS” — A lot of fans of The Weeknd will dig Bipolar Sunshine’s slick mix of soulful angst and retro-synth aesthetics. The Manchester singer has his own propulsive energy and “ANSWERS” is filled by his tense questioning and a sense of the unresolved. “Looking to the night sky searching for an answer/ Head’s far beyond reach of anyone,” he sings. Bipolar Sunshine’s delivery sometimes hints at the Caribbean-inflected accents of U.K. rap, even as it stays in the mode of introspective ballad. Synth stabs, waves and upward-bound arpeggios keep the neon-hued atmosphere going throughout.

Divino Niño, “Drive” — Divino Niño’s latest song zigs-zags between ’80s pop and contemporary Latin sounds, from bachata to rock en español. With traces of trap and jazz in the mix as well, it’s an eclectic and different sound that, over four and a half minutes, facilitates several shifts of mood. “Drive” is as varied as a long night out, with stretches of danceable groove punctuated by spells of blissed-out drift and pivot points of transition. Desire and mobility are intertwined here, in bilingual lyrics as psychedelic as the wild video. The act of driving is blurred with the pursuit of fantasy. This release from one of Chicago’s most exciting acts is a worthy follow-up to its acclaimed 2019 album, Foam, and bodes well for a planned release on the Winspear label.

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The Altered Hours, “You Are Wrong” — Irish art-rock group The Altered Hours gets something right with “You Are Wrong.” The band’s driving percussion and droning guitars sets the stage for singers Elaine Howley and Cathal MacGabhann to weave their sometimes-dissonant harmonies. The Altered Hours’ approach to rock is experimental and melancholic, unafraid to go to the darker places of human experience and try to mine something there. The group is said to have developed a cult following in Europe, and deserves to be more widely known in the U.S.—fans of Sonic Youth and the Swans, or angular indie bands like the A Frames, should absolutely have a listen.

Barry Adamson, “Broken Moments” — Barry Adamson is a boss. An often behind-the-scenes boss, but a boss as bad (good) as any. After years of playing in bands the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Iggy Pop and Magazine, this low-key legend went into composing soundtracks. He’s lent his atmosphere of cool to classics of modern cinema including “Lost Highway” and “Natural Born Killers.”

This cinematic bent has carried into Barry Adamson’s solo career, too. The videos to his songs—like 2018’s “Diamonds” or 2017’s “They Walk Among Us”—often play as short films, as visually striking or disturbing as the ones he’s set his music to. “Broken Moments” finds Adamson in a bittersweet mood. The jangling prettiness of the tune is set in contrast to Adamson’s sorrow-tinged baritone. If the upbeat breakup song is its own subgenre, “Broken Moments” might be an exemplary cut. “There’s beauty and truth between the broken moments,” he sings about a relationship that comes and goes. The song leaves it open whether that relationship continues. But it’s clear that either way, life is there and love is real.

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Maria Taylor, “It’s Coming for You” — The latest release from L.A.-based songwriter Maria Taylor (one half of dream-pop duo Azure Ray) hews close to earthy, retro rock sounds. “It’s Coming for You” is a sunny affair, reflecting the singer’s optimism on life slowly returning to normal following a pandemic that has been particularly exhausting for parents.

Taylor recorded the song two weeks after her two sons returned to school, feeling energized and inspired, and the song reflects this mood. Jangling guitars undergird a reverb-soaked vocal track. It’s rock that recalls ’90s radio hits with an energy that feels like driving a country road. For parents during the COVID-19 era, whether artists like Taylor or not, we may not be out of the woods yet, but we’ve got to hang on to those glimmers of hope.

Justin’s Pick: Every now and then something new and different comes along and stands out, and the genre-defying music of Divino Niño is definitely that. “Drive” shares the name of one of my favorite ’80s hits—the same-titled song by The Cars—and while it bears almost no resemblance, has something of the same eerie and nocturnal vibe. I love how Divino Niño mash up styles and sounds, are unafraid to be weird and flout expectations to make something truly unpredictable. Camilo Medina, Javier Forero and the rest of the group have something special going on.

Follow editor Justin Allen at Twitter.com/_justinallen_.