Scowl, courtesy.

This week Butterfly Black evolves R&B, Dylan Chambers captures the spirit of soul music, Can’t Swim gets pop-punk just right, Scowl exudes punk rock, The Storm Windows reimagine a classic, and Altın Gün gives our lives a needed dose of psychedelic Turkish folk rock.

Butterfly Black, “Lifetime” — Butterfly Black, made up of producer and bassist Ben Williams and singer and Broadway star Syndee Winters (she plays Nala in stage production of “The Lion King”), modernize old-school R&B vibes on their second single. Winters’ vocals especially feel vintage and fresh all at once, and Williams’ production incorporates decades of musical evolution. It’s refreshing to hear the next step in a genre, rather than either an effort to recreate the good old days or a purely new sound.

Scowl, “Opening Night” — As a proud Banana Slug alum, I was biased in favor of Santa Cruz hardcore act Scowl before I ever heard them. Then I hit play and was even more sold. A big part of the reason I love Santa Cruz as a city is because it seems to have collectively decided that the parts of culture that changed shouldn’t have and not to recognize it, and this is an example of why that’s so great. If I put this on a cassette tape and told you it was a punk band from the early ’80s, you’d probably believe me. I love that.

Can’t Swim, “Nowhere, Ohio” — I have a test for whether a pop-punk song is good that I consider to be foolproof: If I was playing “Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2” and the song came on, would I notice? Would it be a notable break from the soundtrack or would I just keep playing? If it’s the latter; if it would fit in so seamlessly it would slide under my radar, that means it’s good. And “Nowhere, Ohio” meets that high standard. I can’t think of anything nicer to say about it.

Dylan Chambers, “Don’t Give Up on My Love” — Let’s get this out of the way: Dylan Chambers does not look like a soul singer. He does, however, sound like a soul singer, and that’s what’s important. “Don’t Give Up on My Love” sounds downright Motown in its writing and execution, a vibe that’s tragically rare in modern music. So thank you to Mr. Chambers for keeping it alive. You’re performing a public service.

Note: This Dylan is not the same as the Bay Area’s Dylan Chambers, the son of Lester Chambers, both of whom are also soul singers.

Altın Gün, “Güzelliğin On Para Etmez” — Amsterdam-based psychedelic Turkish folk band Altın Gün first got my attention at Outside Lands in 2019, to the point I put it among my five favorite acts of the fest. I wouldn’t shut up about Altın Gün. I’m pleased to say that the band is still exactly as good as it was then, and if you get a chance to see it live, I highly recommend it. As an added incentive to click that link and listen to the song on YouTube, all revenues from the song will be donated to the Red Cross to help Turkey recover from last week’s earthquake.

The Storm Windows, “Somebody to Love” — Finally, after praising Butterfly Black for evolving an old genre and praising Dylan Chambers for keeping an old genre alive, I’m going to praise The Storm Windows for totally reimagining a psychedelic rock classic. When I saw someone had covered Jefferson Airplane, one of my favorite bands, I was ready to be outraged. And yet it’s brilliant and it’s one of my picks. They kept just enough to make it recognizable by building an entirely new musical structure around it and it absolutely works, no notes.

Danny’s pick: The standout, for me, is “Opening Night” by Scowl. It’s punk in every sense, from the sound to the vibe and the genre’s distillation. Often, modern punk music is an homage or a replica, so whenever I see a band capture its spirit, I’m compelled to give it a bit more spotlight.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.