Ra Ra Riot’s recently released “Flowers” is the second single off their upcoming album, Superbloom. The first single, “Bad to Worse,” dropped in March, and the album itself is set to drop in early August. It will be their first LP since 2016’s Need Your Light.

“Flowers” is the perfect teaser for the album and the perfect song for any summer playlist. Produced by Rostam Batanglij, a former member ofVampire Weekend, the song is an upbeat ode to a lost love. The indie rock band sings, “Do I wonder if I should have stayed? / Every night / Every day” a bittersweet sentiment followed by “So don't bring flowers to my grave / Say goodbye from far away”—in an uplifting, pitched chorus paired with a quick-paced, dance-inducing rhythm. The song is quite matter of fact with lyrics like, “I know it ain't good but I'm feeling self-destructive,” in Wes Miles’, the lead vocalist, perfect tone. While the lyrics are raw and rather heart-wrenching, the instrumentals and beat keep the piece light and fun—a great song for reminiscing while keeping in mind the days ahead.

Kevin Parker, the artist behind the music project Tame Impala, has been quietly gifting the alternative rock world with singles after four years of focusing on other projects. After the 2015 Currents album, Parker started releasing funky remixes and collaborations with artists from all over the genre spectrum. Known for his multi-instrumental talents and his soulful falsetto, the collaborations have been ear-catching every time, adding to his reputation as a neo-psychedelic rock icon.

The first single he dropped this year was "Patience," a bit of an ironic name for the single that appeased the fans that had been yearning for a new project. Using piano riffs and bongos, it was the perfect intro back into Tame Impala’s sound—straying just far enough from the last album to keep fans from expecting anything too similar. The most recent single, “Borderline,” is very different than "Patience." However, it still possesses several elements reminiscent of Currents e.g. the dreamy synth rhythms and the echo that ripples out after Parker's vocals.

The lyrics themselves sing of the new Tame Impala, who's experienced four years of international popularity since the release of his last project. Instead of singing of lost love like much of the tracks in Currents, "Borderline" sings of riding the edge of going too far in a lyrical conversation or contemplation over the L.A. fame lifestyle. Throughout the song, Parker sings, “Will I be known and loved? / Is there one that I trust?”—using different tones in his vocals to represent the various thoughts and paranoia L.A. lifestyle can leave on one’s psyche. We cannot wait to see where Tame Impala takes its sound from here.

Starting out in a Michigan basement, JR JR—formerly known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.—has perfected the balance between electronic synth beats and heartfelt rhythms. In “Dumb Myself Down,” the creative minds behind it all, Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott, showcase their abilities to effectively get a crowd dancing while staying true to the indie characteristic of meaningful lyrics.

In this track, Epstein and Zotts explore the idea of ignorance being bliss. From the very start of the song, JR JR sings of yearning for the level of happiness that someone without any worries feels as they go about their day: “Danger lives just up ahead / Walking through mind fields as you dance.” Then, with the drop of the beat, the song's progressive build-up falls away. The listener is suddenly driven to dance, as JR JR sings along to lyrics alluding to their wishful desire to be dumb and therefore less aware. "Dumb Myself Down" is just one of 16 songs off the band’s double album, Invocations/Conversations, coming out May 31st.

Australian songwriter, Kurt Vile collaborator, and notable left-handed guitarist, Courtney Barnett is back with a new single, "Everybody Here Hates You," released as a Record Store Day exclusive. The title, though, does not indicate any sort of mean-spirited dig. Instead, the song is a look inside a mind plagued by insecurity. Barnett is no stranger to this level of candor in her music. Her most recent full-length album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, featured the track “I’m Not Your Mother, I'm Not Your Bitch,” and her lyrics often bring surprising life to the mundane and straightforward. “I feel stupid / I feel useless / I feel insane,” she opens, “I get my hair cut / I feel the same.” Already, in this first line, she introduces a drawl in her affectation on “i-i-i-insane” present throughout the song’s sluggish chug, like it’s taking every ounce of effort she has to sound this effortless. She’s uncharacteristically optimistic in the anthemic breakdown, shouting reassuringly, “We’re gonna tell everyone it’s okay.” Still, her judicious use of the tremolo bar in the final guitar solo reminds us of Barnett’s truly singular songwriting voice.

Indie alt-rock trio Middle Kids dive into the “lifelong quest for meaning” and touch on feelings of inadequacy in the expectations of one’s life in their latest track, “Real Thing.” The Sydney natives begin the song with a wavering, somber-sounding guitar intro paired with singer Hannah Joy’s attention-grabbing vocal sighs. Once the chorus hits, all three members come together to create a bittersweet melody backed up with fuzzed-out guitar and pulsing percussion. As a whole, the single is effortlessly layered and contains touching lyrics like, “Don’t it ever make you feel sad / Is this is the real thing.” This enables listeners to pick up on the song's themes of vulnerability and emotional isolation—staying true to this narrative of constantly searching for “meaning” in a world that doesn’t provide you with a clear path to happiness.

Big Thief’s new single “Cattails” feels like home. The major key is somewhat desirous and dreamy, and vocalist Adrianne Lenker’s upward inflections make the song feel like the sight of a car rolling up a gravel driveway it’s been away from for too long. As Lenker sings out, “And the clusters fell, like an empty bell / Meteor shower at the motel / Where the empty space is a saving grace / Making good time and doing well," the star brushed poetry of this song reverberates through the soul. Filled with endless grace, "Cattails" builds a kinship between the music and the listener that is satisfying in its broad nostalgia.