On “Reaper,” a song off their recently released album Mirage on the Meadow, Pine Barons combine psychedelic instrumentals and vivid lyrical imagery to deliver a haunting track that truly rocks; perfect listening for this, the spookiest of seasons. The tone is firmly established within the first few seconds, as a series of long atmospheric tones from the synth drape themselves over the drum and guitar lines. Before the lyrics come in you have already been set on a meandering walk through the dark forest in your mind. 

Songwriter and vocalist Keith Abrams cleverly illustrates the concept of scattered thoughts in the pre-chorus where, utilizing different production effects, he plays two intertwining inner monologues: one perpetually questioning, and one confident in its defeatist statements but not offering any answers. From this back and forth bursts the hook, which delivers everything you could ask for in a great rock chorus. It’s melodic, it’s powerful and it stays with you long after the song has ended. For much of “Reaper” there is an expertly curated sense of movement, like some physical manifestation of inner anxieties is stalking you at a distance. The closing guitar solo and coda, which layer in melodic callbacks from earlier sections, bring about a feeling of envelopment, like that fog of fear has finally caught up and engulfed you. Photo by Chris Sikich.

Drinker meanders through a mix of dreamy vocals, minimalistic guitar, and atmospheric synth in their new single, “Holiday.” The hazy, dark-pop song is the effort of Los Angeles songwriter Aaron Mendelsohn and New York producer Ariel Loh. It was the first track the bicoastal duo wrote after Mendelsohn moved from New York to Los Angeles. Contrary to the lyrics, “I don’t wanna work / Don't wanna start a project I’m on holiday," this song helped assure Mendelsohn and Loh that they could write and produce music together even if they were on opposite coasts. “Holiday” is about grounding yourself in a new environment and allowing yourself to take everything in before getting settled in the mundane ritual of daily life. The song feels like a moment in between sleep and waking when reality and dreams meld together in a cloudy warmth. “Holiday” is the fourth single from their upcoming LP, Fragments due May 3rd via B3SCI Records.

Wanderwild unmistakably earns every comparison to The Strokes they receive. Between the simple drum arrangements of “Platinum,” the dual rhythm guitars riffing off one another and the telephone vocal processing, it’s clear that this Athens, Georgia outfit was inspired by the New York City indie heroes of the early 2000’s. Even the wry, self-aware humor is there, cutting a song off abruptly on the lyrics, “I’m just getting started.” The real highlight, though, is singer Matt Martin’s vocal eruption in the chorus, a sort of suave scream that not many since Julian Casablancas have been able to muster. “Rearrange my living room / Just for peace of mind,” he belts, unleashing the all-consuming nervousness that has overtaken him. In a song where the percussion keeps its steady, almost drum-machine-like rhythm until the very last chorus, it’s Martin’s vocals that carry the energy. Wanderwild’s new album, entitled Sleep Tight, Socialite, is due out April 17th.

A lost love, a grudge, a new fixation. Every song on Worn-Tin’s new album, Cycles, sings of the way any new obsession can seep into every part of you. Warner (the voice and creative mind behind Worn-Tin) wrote that the album was an exploration into those kinds of obsessions in his own life. The track, "Same Joke," seems to speak to the way those cravings tend to play out. Sonically, this surf rock lullaby creates an unhurried, intimate feel. Longing, dreaming and frustration— the song makes you feel those universal feelings that take over when yearning for someone or something you are unable to get. The vocals are wispy and soft, creating that somber lullaby effect that can be heard often throughout the album. By the end of the song, the catharsis for these powerful emotions of pining and then coping is fulfilled. As he sings “It’s the same joke every time,” he reassures us that each obsession is the same, even when it feels as though you can’t live without it, a new one will take its place soon enough.

Modern Diet’s “Side Effects” starts off so carefree, a sort of bedroom surf-pop rumination on a hazy weekend. But by the second time around the verse, the good vibes start to wear off and the nasty side effects kick in. A heavy distorted guitar swings from side to side, the whole band sputters with the drums and the “here we go again” that kicks off the chorus sounds less playful and more urgent. Wild nights turn into the inevitable mornings and singer Jake Cheriff is fighting that constant battle with his internal critic and his alarm clock, singing, “It’s time to get out of bed / Try not to think about it / I see you thinking ‘bout it / Try not to think about it.” In the final tempo change, that nervous, joyous moment when the song is nearly bursting at the seams, you can almost hear Win Butler yelling, “You better look out below.”

“Side Effects” is the first track from Sit Down and Dance, a recently released collection of old songs. Cheriff, in a Facebook post announcing the release, describes his younger self, who wrote these songs, as “a ridiculous person overflowing with angst and passion.” For Cheriff, hearing the song now “is as strange… as the future has turned out to be,” but that’s no surprise — if the song goes through phases as the Jake of yesteryear who is affected by, well, everything, then the Jake of today is listening to the song having seen a few more of those phases. It’s a rare gift to be able to peer so clearly at one’s younger self, so full of overblown emotions flying every which way, but Cheriff has let us in on that private moment, polished with the tools of the talented producer he has become.

Los Angeles’s Paige Stark is releasing her second single with us today at The Wild Honey Pie. “Depression Song” is the follow up to “Albatross” and both songs show an artist on the rise. A sea of genuine lyrics and emotions flood, “Depression Song” as Stark delves into the darkness of a mental illness that too many of us know by name. The languidness of the song mirrors depression at its core as Stark tells us again and again that she’s doing the best she can. Described as psychedelic folk, Stark's music takes what we love about soft indie folk songs one step further by subtly featuring the new sounds of this era in music. As you listen to "Depression Song" you'll be sure to sense the earnestness of this up-and-coming artist. (Photo credit: Marc Gabor)

Sunny dream-pop band Barrie’s new single, “Clovers,” feels both comfortably familiar and entirely new, like suddenly remembering a detail from your childhood that was once significant, but you haven’t thought about in years. Lyrically, in “Clovers,” that detail is a sun-basked, school bus ride home, and the instrumental arrangement serves to fully flesh out what that feels like. An upbeat piano line and soft, breezy vocals open the track in a pleasing 4/4 tempo, giving it an immediate air of unassuming accessibility that says this is a song for everybody. The beat starts to bop when the drums and bass are layered in a verse later, evoking the kind of optimism found at the heart of every catchy indie pop song and setting a mood to match. For a moment, you think you know where the song is headed. Then the choral synths hit and a wave of nostalgia washes over everything, warping the rosy-filmed optimism of the verses and shifting the mood to something a little more complex. “Clovers” is taken from Barrie’s debut album, Happy To Be Here, out May 3.

The brand-new Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo, mini golf recently released their self-titled debut EP— a refreshing mosaic of retro sonic elements. “Summer’s Over,” the second track off the project, truly captures the core of the duo’s nostalgic sound. The song nestles like a bird in a lightly shaded tree at the corner of the park on an early autumn day. Compressed piano and slammed, reverb-soaked vocals lilt gently against a swinging drum pattern. Atmospheric strings weave their way through the verses like rays of sun peaking in and out of the leaves. Mini golf’s “Summer’s Over” is a musical landscape that breathes new life into a familiar feeling we had almost forgotten.

Brooklyn musician and producer, Michelle Birsky aka Birch, continues with her self described “feminist synth-pop” in her newest single, “Spelling Lessons.” Birch brings the listener back to the first time she experienced sexism when she was a child. As she sings, “So, look me in the eye / Listen while I speak / I was a little girl / I still deserved a seat,” she details how it feels to be a woman in this world. It’s a constant uphill battle to be heard, respected, and understood. Though the message is charged with a level headed anger, her voice is calm as it floats over her rhythmic synths. She seems to be mourning a time before she realized there was such a thing as patriarchy, a time when she thought she was seen as an equal to her male peers. The single, co-produced with Ariel Loh, has a simple melody, but the amalgamation of synths and drum machines gives the track a full almost anthemic quality. A song about systematic sexism could lean more towards the morose, but Birch avoids this through an upbeat tempo and a dreamy atmosphere. Her lyrics do not fall into the realm of self-pity either, but rather exhibit strength in the face of adversity. Birch will be releasing her debut album “femme.one.” on April 5th. (Photo credit: Off Season Creative)

“Death (or S.F.?),” is a timeless and beautiful low-fi jam from indie folk-rocker Twain’s new record, New Miami Sound. Twain is Mat Davidson, a singer-songwriter who has long favored a raw, analog-like style of production. Complete with a teeming background hiss that hovers just within earshot, “Death (or S.F.?)” is just the same, sounding old in all the right ways. The piano, for instance, reverberates heavily, giving it an echo effect that makes it sound like a baby grand being played in a vintage parlor. The soft, muted drums and nostalgic strings flow easily through the song like they’re leading you down a dreamy Pacific landscape. Davidson’s candid lyrics and smooth vocals deftly match that mood: “I was walking in the park getting stoned with local losers / dreaming of my girl but knowing that I’d lose her.” Carefully arranged and masterfully mixed, “Death (or S.F.?)” is a quietly powerful opening track. Listening to it for the first time feels like dusting off a box of your parents’ old vinyl records and discovering they’re in near-mint condition--pleasing and surprising.

What was the last concert you were at where you knew all the words to all the songs? The one where you were seeing the band or artist whose songs got you through the highs and the lows of life. Do you remember? This is the kind of concert, Close Talker depicts in their newest single "Half Past Nine." For this exclusive premiere with The Wild Honey Pie, the band tells us, "A concert is a place where you can find people from every walk of life come together for the same reason. It’s a place where you share something in common with complete strangers and a place where you can experience something transcendent with people you will never even know. "Half Past Nine" is about a concert the three of us attended, at our favorite summer festival. It’s about looking around at friends, at strangers, and seeing each person sing along to words that mean so much to them — words that have carried them through times only they know about. It's about holding on to the moments that you never want to end, and then desperately trying to remember them after they are gone. It takes hindsight to recognize when something profound has happened, but every now and then, you're able to sense it right in the moment. This song is about those moments and the attempts to cling to them."

Close Talker is an emerging Canadian indie-rock band that consists of three childhood friends — Will Quiring, Matthew Kopperud, and Christopher Morien. Together the three of them have put out two records and have made a name for themselves both in the States and in Canada, garnering the attention of publications like NPR and Billboard Magazine. They will also be playing in Austin’s SXSW this year. A song like "Half Past Nine" shows why the band has found success, it's full of heart and nostalgia for moments that have passed but have made a lasting effect for the better.