Drug Church photo credit: Tommy Cantwell

Drug Church – “Weed Pin”: Driving rock n’ roll. About being unhireable, as Drug Church says. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And when life deals a crappy hand, write a sick rock song about it. That appears to be advice that Drug Church is following. A touch of shoegaze keeps us on our toes whilst jamming this mid-tempo alt/punk song. There’s a fair bit of ranting and raving here, which might put some folks off who prefer more positive fair, but there’s definitely a time and place for this.

Oddnesse – “I Used To”: When that synth-organ kicked in I knew I had to write about this track. Years ago, I went through a phase where I was really into new age music and I would lay on my bedroom floor to and zone out to the first forty or so seconds of Suzanne Ciani’s “Velocity of Love.” While this definitely is more indie rock, the feeling I get while hearing this song is similar.

The New Respects – “Something To Believe In”: I’ve been doing my due diligence in booking for the upcoming Steadfast Festival, and one curious thing I noticed is that The New Respects are listed on both contemporary pop and Christian rosters of booking agencies. Listening to this band certainly presents a crossover vibe, and the soul/funk/pop collective’s latest outing is an example of that. Like everything else I’ve heard from this band, “Something To Believe In” is danceable like nobody’s business. There’s also something about this song that makes me believe it could really take off in the top 40 world. Fingers crossed, eh?

General Crush – “Honey Clouds”: Holy Glass Animals, Batman! Don’t call this band a knockoff though. I like the sound of this song too much to trash the band in that way. Inspiration is always kosher, right? I couldn’t think of a more suitable title for this track than “Honey Clouds” for this dream pop journey. Crap, now I’m sitting here thinking of how I wish more bands would mix in xylophone samples into electropop arrangements.

Cones – “Later”: Right away I’m getting strong vibes of Day Wave, Real Estate, and Ex Cops (first album) here. Shoegaze-esque vocals overlaid on a synth backdrop and sunny guitar tones. The song is simple yet chock full of little earworm nuggets bursting forth at opportune moments. I dig it. The LA duo is signed to indie music stalwart Dangerbird Records.