When an artist sounds like where you come from, it can be an immediate, visceral kind of connection, and such is the connection I’ve found with Ali Holder’s track, “Reborn.” The pillowy organ, slow rhythm guitar, and ever-so-slight drawl on this track had already transported my heart to my hometown of Austin, TX before my mind had time to recognize the nostalgia. Growing up in Austin, I always assumed that no matter where you went in the world, you’d find singer-songwriters on every street and in every restaurant, every day of the week. I thought it was a basic part of shared human experience, like fending off grackles or getting unlimited free refills of unsweet iced tea. And from the ubiquitous, strumming masses of my youth, I have come to recognize there is absolutely an “Austin sound.” To me, it's a sound that I will never be able to shake as long as I live; to many, it’s inextricably linked to the strong, warm breezes of July evenings; and if you want to know what it can mean to you, well—I’d start here with Ali Holder.

In "What’s the Point" Empress Of has crafted a song that perfectly embodies the adrenaline rush of experiencing a conflicting romance. By opening with the contrast of a driving beat in its relatively high register with a languid mid-range synth and sweet vocals, you are immediately thrown into a state of confusion. The boundaries are muddied. This matches the energy of the lyrics perfectly: “I don’t know where the time has gone / I love you, I know it’s wrong.” After a quick break like a gasp, the bridge brings home the feeling of confusion. The arc of the song then swells gorgeously, breaking off suddenly and leaving you breathless.

Hailing from Mississippi and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Knowlton Bourne’s punk twang modulates both sonically and geographically between The Strokes and Rascal Flatts. "The Chunk" a song off his recently released third album, Songs from the Chunk, is a soulfully gritty anthem meditating on anxiety through catchy, grainy vocals and a lush guitar arrangement. Grasping for a feeling beyond apathy, Bourne sings out, “You said I should be fine / But I’m not all right," a sentiment which evolves throughout the song. At once enraged and unpretentiously cool, "The Chunk" reveals itself to be more than an upbeat indie darling, but instead a moment for pure chaotic good amidst the banality of life.

To build mysterious, silent anticipation as a band for 9 years and then suddenly release a song that means “unwelcome person” in Latin is the exact kind of ironic move Bright Eyes fans have come to expect from Conor Oberst and company. Despite Bright Eyes' long sabbatical as a group, Oberst was quite active in the 2010s, releasing four solo albums as well as a project with Desaparecidos, and all culminating in last year’s brilliant collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers as Better Oblivion Community Center. The longer the silence, the more expectations you build from your most loyal audience; and when you’re Bright Eyes, that audience is looking for lyrics that not only activate their tear ducts but also exercise their literary and cultural knowledge. In this way, the somber march of “Persona Non Grata” arguably marks a victorious return to lyrical form, as Oberst reflects his own inner world in every handpicked clothing item, Biblical image and historical reference. His aftershave is “blue” as he puts on “combat boots” for a date; he tells us that the kilt he puts on is to hide the weight he feels, and the moment we have finally stopped thinking about how weird that line is, a mournful bagpipe solo appears like a wry musical smile. One of Oberst’s strengths as a songwriter is that he is always planting a seed for something later on. And now that we know there’s something in the soil, we can't help but imagine the beauty of what might flower in the coming months.

More (!) tropical (!!) drums (!!!) on “Void.” When I reviewed “Give Me Another Chance,” the lead single off I’m Your Empress Of, I was struck by the levity they lend to the song. They call upon one of my all-time favorite songs, Solange’s “Losing You.” Both artists are represented by Terrible Records. The Brooklyn-based label elevates genre-fluid, avant-garde electropop from some of the best artists making music today (IMHO), including Moses Sumney, Miya Folick and of course, Empress Of. I’m Your Empress Of is a strong album. It feels like an extended narrative out of a chapter of LA-based artist Lorely Rodriguez’s life, and I’m grateful to live inside her brain for 33 minutes. Back to “Void,” AKA where we’ve all been living lately. Dancing in the space between self-despair and self-empowerment, where we’re particularly vulnerable to our insecurities. Empress Of jumps into that space headfirst. As “Thinking about you” repeats in the post-chorus, it sounds like it’s timed to the tick of a clock: a reminder of how slowly time moves when you’re stuck in your own head. “You never listen when I said, ‘It hurts’ / I talk big, but don’t know my worth.” It stings so good.

LA-based artist Heather Rivas's stand out track “'Bout Us" from her latest EP is a basket full of honest breakup sentiments wrapped in an indie-pop groove. The song starts off with a a gusty guitar strum and a simple melody line, “No, I don’t think about us. No, I can’t think about us.” Rivas empathetically takes us through the emotional turbulence of a relationship gone south—all the while juxtaposed with light, up-beat musical lines and perfect background harmonies reminiscent of dream-pop duo The xx. That combination of deep emotion and lighthearted jams makes Rivas's music ideal for the most vibrantly crowded house party, or just a solo car-cry. Few artists can strike that balance, but Heather Rivas has proven that she's an anomaly, and an artist to keep your eye on.

Longtime writing duo, H.E.R. and Lonr. aren't foreigners to generating well-curated alt hip-hop—with H.E.R. walking away with two Grammy wins for best R&B performance and best R&B album in 2019, and Lonr. earning 2 Grammy nominations for his contribution to the same album. Lonr. (which stands for Land of Nothing Real), has been cutting his teeth writing smart, honest and cut-to-the-heart hip-hop tracks professionally for over 3 years now. So it shouldn't surprise an anticipatory fanbase that "Make the Most" is a listenable and heart-felt R&B love song. Lo-fi beats and laid-back instrumentation make this track an easy listen. There's an earnestness in Lonr.'s lyrics and affectation that make him a natural pairing with H.E.R. Their harmonies feel organic, and for a dyad that writes together as often as these two (Lonr. is credited for co-writing "Feel a Way" and "As I Am" among other H.E.R. songs), perhaps that should be expected. Listen to Lonr.'s single "Make the Most" wherever you stream today!

“Bit of Rain” is an avant-pop, synth haven off of Lorely Rodriguez’s third studio album, I'm Your Empress of. 80’s tones combined with natural sounds meld together on this track, making for an upbeat sonic experience as the dull roar of a storm gently reverberates under contrasting electronic elements. Layers and layers of vocals, harmonies and ad-libs pepper the song with a high-energy feel and capture the excitement and emotional give-and-take of a new relationship. Nothing quite captures the feeling of certainty in the face of newness like the lines, “I’m leaning against you / Like I’m leaning on a wall that’s never gonna fall down,” and still, Empress Of revels in the heightened sense of self-awareness of wanting to know their every thought as she sings, “I caught you looking at me / Taking note of everything. / You closed your eyes, heavy blinds to a house / I want everything inside to spill out." Nowhere near her only relatable track, Empress Of’s new album is, quite honestly, hit-after-hit, and surely a knockout for this member of art-pop royalty.

Right in time for warmer weather is Liza Anne's third release this month: "Bad Vacation." This track displays Liza's style in its finest form. It's spunky, gritty-rock in indie-pop makeup. "Bad Vacation" perfectly strikes the balance between the genuine relief and high-voltage anxiety intrinsic to summertime sadness. "I wanna lay out / I need a way out" about sums it up. Comparing an old lover or friend-turned-enemy to something as annoying as sand in ice cream feels like a near-perfect analogy, as the people we'd rather forget tend to be more pestering than piteous. That might sound forthright, but Liza Anne isn't mincing words in this song. Being freed from her long, bad vacation makes her "in love with the feeling." This track is lots of fun and brimming with life. Her classic tongue-in-cheek tone takes a backseat to the boppy melody and triumphant chorus, making "Bad Vacation" a great, colorful summertime listen.

For almost two decades, Little Dragon has consistently gifted us releases that continue to be rich in both quality and creativity. Outside of their own albums, the Swedish band has brought their talents to collaborative projects with artists like KAYTRANADA, Gorillaz, and Flying Lotus. Now they’ve graced us once again with their newest album New Me, Same Us–their sixth studio album overall and first label release off Ninja Tune. Like the album title might suggest, Little Dragon meets us right between nostalgia and newness with the track “Another Lover.” Yukimi Nagana, owner of their signature vocals, delivers lines that yearn to understand the future of a relationship. Gorgeously specific lyrics like “I’m wearin’ your gold / You whisperin’ that it’s over / To yourself” pattern the song in ambiguity and ache. Either these partners are going to “always bloom” again or they’ll have to split and meet “another kind of pure lover” down the line. The R&B-pop style production and soothing bass that drives the track from start to finish creates a perfect backdrop for this smooth, potentially ill-fated jam.

Short and sweet, the new single “Friend”—a collaboration between BK-based indie folk-pop duo Daisy the Great and lo-fi artist Sipper—clocks in at just 1 minute, 21 seconds. In this brief time, the song manages to thoroughly convey the poignant and relatable feeling of coming to terms with that which many of us, until recently, have taken for granted. The lyrics are sung in simple terms but are so concise, so precise, that they almost immediately evoke that pang of longing for normalcy that has become an epidemic of its own. “I’m still inside / thinking if we all don’t die/ I’ll be better when we go outside again / I won’t be such a shit friend / I’ll see you when I can / I will.” The guitar strums and layered background vocals—including Daisy the Great's harmonies—give the song an uplifting sound and an optimistic lightness, despite the distressing circumstances alluded to in the lyrics. In the time of social distancing and self-isolation, “Friend” is a promise from one to another to be better when this is all over and we get another chance at normal.