Blackwater Holylight, the doom metal band formed in Portland, Oregon, has broken new ground with the release of their newest album Not Here Not Gone, commemorating their recent relocation to Los Angeles and crafting a culmination of the years they have spent together as a band with the intentional new sonic direction they have undertaken.

Big Scary Indian, the noise rock project fronted and helmed by Roshan Reddy, has served as an experimental ground for its creator in the years since its inception, allowing him to bridge and put into conversation the dichotomy of sounds he has loved since he was a teenager. The result has been a glistening, complex, and distinctly euphonious catalogue, bursting out in moments of beauty through the dissonance that the genre is typically known for.

If you exist outside of the hyper-intertwined Houston music scene, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard the name diptera yet. If that’s the case, it’s probably best you familiarize yourself with them, at least before their genre-bending, improvisationally-rooted sound comes knocking on your door of its own accord.

Chico Romano, the genre-bending band led by former Professor Caveman frontman Rob Romano, was born Ship of Theseus-style from the ashes of the infamous New Jersey indie band and, since its inception, has served as a unique creative vehicle for Romano’s sonic whims, carving out a unique lane with each individual addition to its slowly growing catalog.

Local Weatherman, the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band, first began as the solo, dormitory-born passion project of frontman Fritz Ortman, spurred by a desire to send his first true musical ramblings into the world as quickly as possible. As it has blossomed however, Local Weatherman has transformed into a complex and living sonic creature, with their newest EP, Right One?, serving as distinct evidence of that fact.

For New Jersey-based experimental rock artist Daniel Brooks, it has always been a matter of tinkering, both with his sound and his approach to his artistry, from the time he was a small child learning the basics of music on his Casio keyboard. Now, he has undergone a stark sonic transformation over the last few years, and that process of tinkering has only taken on a new, more nuanced and extensively layered form: one that is abundantly evident in each of his last two projects.

Julia, Julia, the solo project of punk and garage rock Julia Kugel Montoya, has now marked another step in its sonic exploration with the release of her second album, Sugaring A Strawberry. In doing so, it has signified another distinct departure from the intense and boundary-pushing music that her primary project, The Coathangers, has produced for almost two decades, returning Julia to her musical roots as a more delicate and intentional artist in a setting that has been nothing short of refreshing for her creatively.

Star’s Revenge, the budding side project of Emily Green (Geese) and Olive Faber (Sunflower Bean), has served not only as an outlet to but also an additional expression of the expanding creative thatcheries of its founders in the years since its creation.

Indigo Waves, the dream-pop duo born out of the college-aged friendship of Austin Oestreich and Matt Mink, has been carving out a unique brand of sonic experimentations since its inception, operating in the liminal space that exists between Oestreich’s acoustic songwriting habits and Mink’s fascination with obscure sound design. Now, as they leave behind their 2025 project, Mirror, and begin work on their newest album, it is that exact balance that will continue to define their ongoing pursuit of a new sonic frontier.

SHAGGO, the femme-punk band based in Brooklyn, NY, has broken ground on their unique brand of fun-filled, social ire-inspired punk with the release of their debut album, Chores, back in June and, since that time, have continued to carve out their sonic lane, all while maintaining the central aspect that has defined not only their sound but their existence as a band since its inception: a certain carefree quality that transcends the usual strictures of the genre.

Henry Walters, the guitarist and rock visionary from Michigan, has been carving out a unique, pop-driven lane since he was a teenager, pursuing the sounds that funneled into his childhood from his musical family and his older brothers. Now, as he continues to forge a new, digitally-rooted direction for the band, they are on the cusp of another major transformation, all while simultaneously maintaining the sonic roots that have defined the band since their foundation.

Kiersten Blue, the New Jersey-born singer-songwriter, has only ventured into the musical realm since pandemic-induced boredom led her to pick up a guitar for the first time since her childhood, but, in the time since, she has etched out a unique, ‘90s-inspired pop sound that, on her debut EP “Girl In The Mirror”, has brought her unique lyrical slant to its most complete fruition to date.

Kinna Mone, the Tel Aviv-based singer-songwriter, music producer, and DJ, has spent the year since her relocation refining her sound and honing her craft, and, with the release of her debut album, Therapeutic Nights Out, she has finally found the ideal outlet for her unique blend of sonic textures, transplanting the vulnerability and openness of her usual lyrical structures to the booming, bassy atmosphere of club music.

Angus Wayne, the indie artist from Nyack, New York, has spent years shifting between the different phases of his sound, constantly circling around and enclosing the personable and intimate sonic setting that caused him to fall in love with music in the first place, and, with the release of his new EP “lamppost” he has, at least temporarily, struck a balance, melding the lo-fi hip-hop and guitar-oriented sounds that have previously defined his surrealistic and existential output.

Dogs with Hats, the Chicago-based garage rock band born from the bedroom musings of lead vocalist Sam Shrier, made its initial mark on the scene with the release of their first EP, “Lampshades at the Party”, back in August, etching out their pop-influenced, rough around the edges sound across five energetic tracks. Yet, as they take their first steps towards their debut album, they feel as though they are poised to take large bounds forward in their sound, bringing their visions of the convergence of their influences and their unique stylistic choices to fruition.

Hannah Pruzinsky, a founding member and vocalist of the indie-folk band Sister., has been pursuing their own solo project, entitled h.pruz, since the pandemic, utilizing it as an outlet for an additional layer of their voice and creative energy, and, with the release of their second solo album Red sky at morning, they have found yet another evolution in their ever-expanding artistic intention.

Matté, the multi-faceted, Los Angeles-based alternative R&B artist, has been surrounded by music and musicians since he was a child, and he has been pursuing music professionally for almost half a decade. Yet, with the release of his newest project, CANCEL ME LATER, and its looming sequel, FORGIVE ME NOW, he feels as though he has finally brought out an edge to his sound that has been lurking in the background, displaying the full range of what he is capable of as a dynamic and talented vocalist while working to bring each track to life from the ground up.

Joyer, the noise-leaning, indie rock band led by brothers Nick and Shane Sullivan, has undergone multiple sonic transformations since its inception in the basement of the duo’s childhood home. Yet, with the release of their latest project, On the Other End of the Line…, they have reached an identity rooted in a careful intentionality, maintaining many of the Slowcore-driven influences that defined their earlier output while gaining a stronger appreciation for the traditional song structures that have lent a kind ear upon their newest creative era.

Oskar Jennefors, the artist behind Swedish psychedelic pop project Echo Thrills, has been invested in music his whole life, and, across his number of years in the industry, has taken on the breadth of multiple occupations and styles of musical expression. Yet, with the release of his first album The Inner City, under the Echo Thrills moniker, Jennefors has rediscovered his love for this expression, exploding forth from a bubbling cauldron of the genres and sounds that have defined him since his musical foundations.

Fatboi Sharif, who represents one of the most unique and harrowing voices in modern hip-hop, has been continuously attracted to the power latent in music, its capacity to bring out an inner, withheld emotion from both the listener and the artist, since he was a child.