Living, bouncing beats. Philipp Stoffel | Spotify | Bandcamp

Photo by: Crispin Tan Now that I have lived for eleven years on the other side of the country from where I grew up, I have a more pronounced affection for what I call my hometown heroes, who are up-and-coming athletes or performers or persons of note. I relish in seeing success for other folks who are also where I’m from, even though I could never see myself returning for good.

Nmesh's chopped up jam "Heavyweight Subliminal" is a piece of modern art that masquerades as a song with a music video. It circulates around a solid motif and reminds you that, like everyone else, you are equally as susceptible to covert psychological warfare. Nmesh | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

Beautiful things happen when ambient dreamwave marries vocals with soul. Purelink | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp Loraine James | YouTube | Soundcloud

Written like a persuasive essay, "SPANK!" by HiTech gets your ass shaking even if you aren't listening to the lyrics. HiTech | website | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

Work through your own crash-related trauma with "Blue Mountains," the closing track on Singapore Dreaming that ironically ends with steady claps of a cymbal. Subsonic Eye | buy Singapore Dreaming | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | Bandcamp

A beautiful reel of vintage nature footage, with aerial footage taken in helicopters instead of by drones, accompanies the latest contemporary vaporwave effort by Jazz Playaz. "If I Could" appears on the back half of their latest LP, Channel Surfing, which is available on ultra-limited 140-gram vinyl on Bandcamp. Jazz Playaz | order Channel Surfing | YouTube | Spotify SIC Records | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

A healthy reminder to forge your own path, not follow someone else's. CATT | website | Facebook | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp

A hopeful start to MOLLY'S SON, an album-long ode to deramcastmoe's mom. dreamcastmoe | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

Ascendant psych rock. Saving Miles Lemon | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp

State Change, the new album from composer Molly Joyce, is an achievement in many ways. Joyce tells a poetic autobiographical tale about an accident that permanently injured her left hand using adaptive tools with a compositional focus on disability. As if the music itself wasn't already vulnerable—"August 6, 1999" is sparse enough to let you imagine the pain for yourself.

An improvised story with slight conflict and gentle, compassionate resolution. Louis Prince | website | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp Joseph Shabason | website | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp

Spectral nu-jazz sunbeams. Błoto | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp

Twinkling breakbeat reggae. Riddim Research Lab | buy "Cry Fi Dem" single | Bandcamp Lay-Far | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

If daydreams were a hi-hat and emotions a steady groove. Purelink | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp

End the suspense and dive into this funky brass shindig. Omar | buy Brighter the Days | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp

The Citation sample caught my attention off the bat, and each emcees flow kept me happily hanging around. dreamcastmoe | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp NAPPYNAPPA | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

All of Jess Kerber's debut album, From Way Down Here, is moving, but "Next To You" pulls at strings in my heart that I forgot were there. Something about the warbling cadence of Kerber's vocals... Jess Kerber | buy From Way Down Here | TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp

Carefree, jangly shoegaze. Subsonic Eye | buy Singapore Dreaming | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp

Harsh tones and chaotic vibes: industrial noise at its finest. Only Now | buy Timeslave III | website | Instagram | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

Though just a microcosm of the album My Inner Rest, "Value" is an apt track to represent it. It is intricately composed and asserts the necessity of having faith in one's self, a message that Briana Marela projects through a kaleidoscope across the rest of the LP. Briana Marela | buy My Inner Rest | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

video content warning: violence with a car A shocking visual accompanies an equally evocative and brooding neo-classical track. Emil Friss | buy Moving Images | website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp

Buoyant chirps tow a steady, buzzing electro beat. Catching Flies | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp Fejka | website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

Very into everything Polish nu-jazz quartet Błoto is laying down on their record, Grzyby. This track has a haunting quality that never veers far from a funky groove. Błoto | buy Grzyby | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp

Yoruba empowerment anthem. salute | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud | Bandcamp Peter Xan | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Spotify | Soundcloud