Hypnotizing listeners back into his universe yet again, Frank Ocean returns with highly hyped new single “DHL” from the artist’s first studio album release since 2016. The track dropped unannounced at the end of Ocean’s most recent blonded RADIO session, giving a taste of what is rumored to be a thirteen-track LP. Ocean teams up with electro-house producer Boys Noize on “DHL” and delivers swirling sounds and carefully casual lyrics. The song begins with his signature, stylized ambient noise—reminiscent of a more somber, slow version to the introduction of “Nikes.” He raps about a lover, things he’s bought, and attending fashion week in camping gear, “Look like I’m dressed for a hike / But I really look like I’m in Paris.” A mundane tone, almost droning, takes over the beats of the song and paints a portrait of Ocean in his day to day life—as normal as it can be. Following the announcement of “DHL” came the news of two other singles, “Cayendo” and “Dear April." Both were premiered at Ocean's new club PrEP+, where the artist played some remixed snippets. Both old and new Frank fans alike can look forward to new content being released in this era of activity.

Indie surf rock band The Vaughns grab our attention and make a declaration of love in their latest single “Shout.” The New Jersey-based band have created a sparkling track full of infectious, shimmering guitar lines and catchy choruses that don’t fail to put a smile on listeners’ faces. According to lead vocalist, Anna Lies, “'Shout' is this last-ditch effort of declaring love, and attempting to keep someone’s attention before moving on. Influenced by the best of 90’s slacker rock married with indie pop melodies, the song builds to a spectacular chorus that shouts, begs, and pleads for love. As if that wasn't enough, every note in the track’s bright guitar line seems to reverberate with sheer uncensored happiness—building comfortably to one of the most joyful guitar solos you will ever hear.

"Ghostride" is the 2nd single from Crumb's anticipated debut album, Jinx, which will be self-released by the band on June 14th. This latest song features a mesmerizing combination of apathy and heartbreak, encapsulating the band’s singular blend of psych-rock and jazz. Listeners are quickly lulled into a daze by a dreamy guitar loop, followed by a repetitive and hypnotic drumbeat. This sensation is immediately validated by Lila Ramani’s voice droning, “the slow beats rock me back to sleep, keep me on automatic.” Ramani’s vocals hover over the top of a swirling mix of keys, bass, synth, and drums that faithfully echo her shifting mood. The lyrics and the melody mimic each other throughout the song; Ramani’s voice remains bored and impassive as the song takes on the guise of a soothing lullaby. It then quickly slides into a straining and eager tone, as the music swells to reflect the anxiety of watching a love slip between your fingers and being unable to stop it. The true heartbreak of the song comes in the final lyric of the chorus, when Ramani laments, “People come and people go but I stay.” When the chorus comes around for the first time, Ramani is unable to fully deliver the line—making it all the more tragic when she finally gets the words out and leaves them to hang as the song slips away as hazily as it began.

A door opens to a new future after the loss of something once beloved on "Loss & Relax," one of two recently released tracks from Portland songwriter Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout. A compelling account of the strength of community and the resilience of the human soul, "Loss & Relax" finds Paul seeking comfort in memories of moving water and the cyclical nature of life—"oh, the loss of you / brings me to / a place that I call home." Beginning with a buzzing melodic guitar riff and airy vocals, the song moves through its varying cadence with confidence. Eventually ruminating in the intensity of memory and nostalgia, "Loss & Relax" builds to a conclusion that is both rock & roll and reverie.

“Palm Trees,” the newest single from indie-folk rocker Photo Ops, is the musical equivalent of a road trip down the Southern California coast. It’s a fitting sound for Terry Price, the singer and multi-instrumentalist behind Photo Ops; “Palm Trees” was written after he and his wife moved from Nashville to Los Angeles. A sun-soaked rumination on wealth and loneliness, it’s the second single from Photo Ops since the release of his 2016 LP, Vacation, and it’s undeniably his most feel-good track. There’s an infectious sense of optimism at the core of the arrangement—the upbeat percussion, shimmery guitar, and reverberating piano compliment the smooth, light vocal, making it impossible not to at least sway along to the beat. The lyrics are just as bright: “Palm trees taste the sunlight down the street / Sailboats on the horizon, they don’t mean a thing.” Photo Ops sings about witnessing the unnecessary excesses of materialism while thinking about what really matters in life: the people in your life. “Palm Trees” is a catchy, atmospheric single filled with beautiful melodies, and it’s here just in time for summer.

“Noise” is the first single from Brooklyn-based Zsela’s as-of-yet unnamed debut EP, making the attention she has received from outlets like The New York Times and Vogue all the more impressive. Somewhere between Florence Welch, Moses Sumney and Kate Tempest, but still floating on a plane of her own, Zsela’s opening statement is a promising debut from a singular talent. Her captivating delivery keeps ears glued to her devastating lyrics, like passersby slowing down by a roadside accident, singing, “They’re packing up the pieces / Of a broken love affair / And making it look easy.” Producer Daniel Aged, whose live performance and session recording credits include John Legend, Beck and Blood Orange, is a master of subtlety, leaving Zsela room to explore the track’s space vocally. “Noise” opens with an arrangement of soulful piano chords more akin to the ambience of a poetry reading, emphasizing Zsela’s rhythmic delivery, before showing off a full orchestration of flourishing instrumentation as the song reaches its crescendo.

Vancouver based production duo Potatohead People continue to combine cosmic themes with spacey synth pads over a thumping, dance-inducing beat in their latest single “Iced Tea.” The duo teamed up with fellow Vancouver artists Radina Vee and giorgi to create a refreshing song that touches on heartbreak, past relationships, and the things that remind us of old flames. The track is full of funky and winding bass lines that brilliantly stand out against its persistent percussion and catchy vocal lines. Radina Vee and giorgi's smooth and sensual vocals entrance listeners as they describe being reminded of a past relationship and how they “can’t even drink iced tea” without thinking of their old love.

Duncan Fellows are at their best when they wander through unexpected territory—structurally with unexpected twists and turns through different movements, musically with surprising chord changes, and lyrically, in “Deathwish Fish,” with the simply unknowable. The song, the opening track from the band’s upcoming Eyelids Shut EP, follows the narrator at the side of a close friend succumbing to a terminal illness, but much like The Antlers’ concept album Hospice, it is not a melancholic song. The psychedelic influences, interleaving guitar parts and quiet-loud-quiet-louder dynamics are reminiscent of the softer side of Cage the Elephant—by no means soft, but with a tenderness peeking through the distortion. In the sterile dungeon that is the fluorescent-lit hospital room, they “put on a Beatles tune and let the music fill the room,” and the song itself plays the same role, a comforting distraction in the face of worst-comes-to-worst. “Fishes keep swimming,” they sing in harmony—despite the seemingly insurmountable grief and the utter uncertainty of what lies ahead, like fish swimming ceaselessly lest they turn belly up, they have to keep moving forward.