Appalachian-inspired folk metal is having its moment, and the new record Fall's Resplendence by Robes of Snow is one example of how atmospheric black metal and traditional Appalachian music are a perfect match made in the holler.

On Montreal-based mathy art punk band Nushu’s new self-titled record, the connection between mind and body inspires a sound that remains cerebrally intensive, despite each song making perfect intuitive sense subconsciously.

Driven by angular riffs and energetic percussion, this exemplary blackened hardcore project plays with tempo as it veers from speedy to sluggish and back again over a concise 10-minute run.

Existing somewhere between ambient pop, baroque pop, and art pop, this lush yet minimal album is a must-listen for fans of Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, and Julee Cruise.

NYC experimental punk group Cronies candidly explores this struggle in their new release L1V3 S1CK0 L0V3 F3ST, a relentlessly high energy yet vulnerable noise punk project that toes the line between resistance and resignation.

In our humanist era, witnessing someone prostrate themselves so completely before God inspires emotions that many of us have never felt before. SAVED! By Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter will go down in history as one of the great religious testaments of our time.

Whether you come for the clicky, crunchy percussion and groovy post-funk sound, or for the quirky storytelling, 12 Shots of Nature demands attention from all of the senses.

With strong influences from Norwegian folk music, Mytevegar by Karl Seglem is a collection of progressive folk jazz that evokes these early customs through traditional instrumentation and spoken word.

Oftentimes, r&b strays so far from its jazz roots as to make the connection between the two somewhat difficult to see, but Stop Calling Me by Blaque Dynamite rekindles the abrasive jazz flame deep within r&b.

Even reading the lyric sheet with no audio will draw you into the darkest places within yourself, so the addition of the band’s raw yet thoughtful sound that rises and falls with every contour of the poetry all but forces you face-to-face with an incredibly honest mental mirror.

Simultaneously noisy and melodious, bright and sappy, catchy and novel, Supercrush by Blush unites the most potent pop elements of shoegaze, slowcore, and noise rock to create a record that won’t leave your weekly rotation anytime soon.

In many cases, our childhood memories are ones that stay with us. Even if subconsciously these early experiences influence our neural pathways, informing our future decisions and creative tastes. Finnish composer Islaja takes a deeply thoughtful approach to reflection in Angel Tape.

Though Justin Walter maintains all the same technical chops as these people who are continually swinging for the fences, Walter chooses instead to create a miniature landscape, tending to each minute detail to bring the brightest luster out of the dimmest materials.

Experimental music often leaves plenty of room for listener interpretation, which allows for a more intuitive approach to challenging questions. And for a deeply conceptual record like RITUAL / HABIT / CEREMONY by John Dwyer of Osees, the felt presence of direct experience is highly encouraged.

Like a long-term nuclear waste warning message, Atrocity Machine uses sharp, evocative imagery to show that nothing good lies ahead on our current path.

Insistent 16th note bass lines with bright, washed-out guitars charge forward alongside indifferent vocals, Ragdoll Dance’s lyrics and old school punk attitudes retrofitted for a 2020s audience.

Somewhat operating within the vocal pop tradition of Weyes Blood, Morrison writes songs as extended poems with few choruses or hooks, assigning a set of unique musical motifs to each stanza to give her songs the feeling of slowly drifting from one thought to another.

Price of Progress by SMILE, a relatively straightforward post-punk record that substitutes the genre’s typical washed-out singing for spoken, socially conscious poetry.

Rage generally motivates the mic in hip hop, but a far more menacing, brooding, pure negativity permeates the sound of Cells Impact by Easymind and oddeen.

Originally written while the artist was living alone in a foreign city and revamped following the onset of the pandemic, this dark wave post punk release exemplifies melancholy both instrumentally and lyrically.