Cosmic Analog Blue is a group that cannot hide its exotic nature: the group’s charming-bizarre blend of country, rock, orchestral, and Americana is served real thick and chill. The band’s latest single “Through the Underpass” begins with relaxed acoustic guitar strums and twangy vocals that pave the way for grand string instrument swells and eruptive drums; all instruments rise in volume to create a sonic tornado you find yourself chasing. The breakdowns are exquisite and are telling of the Boston group's penchant for creativity and free-flow combined with the precise organization to make it all work. The funky group released a self-titled EP back in 2018, and if this new single is any indication, the group is heating up again. We are streaming “Through the Underpass” for you below. - Rene Cobar

"Runaways is a collection of very personal songs I would sing to myself when I felt alone, confused, hopeless, and needed to turn inward to process my struggle. I hope people will be able to relate to the universal themes in the songs and that they might find comfort in seeing their own experiences mirrored throughout the album."

Five years traveling in South America helped indie songwriter Kris Kelly discover love, loss, and home, all of which contributed to the songs on his upcoming record Runaways. The album, which comes out August 30th, features Kelly's atmospheric compositions with the touches of a production team who has worked with Ani DiFranco and Devendra Banhart, among others. Much of the album also centers around Kelly meeting his now-husband during his travels, and their search for home back when returning to the States as a married couple was legally impossible. Now that they've found home, to listen to Runaways is to understand the path of Kelly's journey from questioning into self-discovery. Take a listen to the album below, and here's Kris Kelly's Spotify profile. - Will Sisskind

Yes, the music video for NH-based The Missouri Pacific’s “Heartland” (streaming) is as graphic as you think, and we love it. The band’s big sound, comprised of swelling trumpets, a sensuous bassline, and a quirky vocal delivery, is perfectly paired with New England’s unmistakable landscapes (Red Arrow spotted: so good). The drums are pounded on fast and fantastically, and the beats change enough to keep the listener entertained, within all of the fun it may be easy to miss the vital message rooted in the song. The 7 billion trees cut down each year around the world should be an alarming statistic for anyone, and The Missouri Pacific chose a powerful and quite symbolic way to remind us, for that we thank the group. - Rene Cobar 

Boston’s Amanda Palmer released There Will Be No Intermission back in March, of the twenty tracks on the record “Drowning in the Sound” always stood above them all. The sharp orchestral changes led by disjointed piano strains provide the canvas for Palmer to paint inconvenient portraits of society with her lyrics. Amanda tackles tough subjects like abortion, climate change, and today’s political whirlwind of division with both sophistication and a much-needed crudeness. The music video for the single is a dance movement spectacle of the turmoil within. Beautifully orchestrated by Coco Karol and directed by Michael Pope, the “Drowning in the Sound” music video is an elegant portrayal of inner turbulence in the face of difficult and personal decisions. The video begs to be viewed and felt with the same intensity it was created; it is art the way art should always be: provocative. We are streaming the music video for “Drowning in the Sound” below. - Rene Cobar

Myles Donovan (A Stick And A Stone, Ominous Cloud Ensemble, Disemballerina) and Eric Bandel (Nymph, Victory and Good Hunting) creatively combine talents to form Forgotten Bottom. The duo recently released Hostile Architecture, which will be available on cassette via Black Horizons. Subtle, intricate, suspenseful soundscapes are unravelled. A complex, classical beauty captures one’s focus. These compositions move with an organic, scene-transporting ardor.

Influences: Watching a city you love and grew up in become gentrified and developed beyond recognition over the decades, working with folks experiencing homelessness, working in psychiatric rehabilitation, old greek songs about prison and hash, the sound of the market frankford el, addiction and recovery, bartok duets, sonny sharrock, manic depression, too much caffeine, abandoned buildings, the opiod crisis in kensington, the overlooked crack cocaine epidemic in north philly, that oil refinery with the divine natural acoustics that exploded, profound and beautiful things muttered by nursing home residents, don't get us started