Sam Sessa didn’t always dream of being on the radio—at least not in the role he plays today, as a DJ with Towson’s own WTMD. “Sometimes sports writers are failed athletes, and music writers can be failed musicians—that’s definitely me,” says Sessa, who cut his teeth as a journalist before becoming the Baltimore Music Coordinator and host of Baltimore Hit Parade.

He grew up playing the accordion, eventually pivoting to the keyboard and organ bass during college at the University of Maryland, where he performed with a local jazz and cover band. Upon graduation, the journalism major went on to cover the entertainment beat at The Baltimore Sun from 2005 to 2013, which “just happened to be at a time when Baltimore’s music scene became one of the best in the country. I got really lucky,” Sessa says, pointing to the storied rise and record deals of artists such as Beach House, Future Islands, and Dan Deacon at the time.

“In the ‘90s, we had Dru Hill and Sisqó, which were incredible success stories for the city,” he says. “But we didn’t have as large of an audience, with attention being spread out on so many different bands, like it was in the mid to late 2000s. It was like your home team coming out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl.”

On Thursday, May 19 at The Charles Theater—in the first of what will be several free public screenings in Baltimore—this historic arch will be on full display in Sessa’s directorial debut, Do Whatever You Want All the Time: The Baltimore Music Scene 2005-2020. Created during the pandemic and named after an album by local art-rock band Ponytail (one of Sessa’s favorites), the short documentary film chronicles how Baltimore made its way onto the national stage, from the late aughts, when the city’s musical milieu was dubbed the best in the country by Rolling Stone, through the 2015 Baltimore Uprising, which, Sessa says, “changed the whole conversation on the local scene.”

“The uprising was a reckoning for a lot of different communities, including the Baltimore music community,” he says. “We made the film in the year of George Floyd’s death, and to compare what was happening in the rest of the country to what happened in Baltimore in 2015—that gave us chills.”

Despite the challenges, there’s an overarching theme of optimism as Baltimore’s musicianship continues to evolve. “Between artists like Micah E. Wood, Outcalls, Super City, and Modern Nomad, we’re seeing collaboration in ways that weren’t that common in the mid to late 2000s for a bunch of different reasons—that really gives me hope,” Sessa says. “The Baltimore music scene is perhaps more connected now than it has ever been.”

The film features up-and-coming indie bands like Snail Mail and Peach Face, as well as veteran artists such as Abdu Ali, Lafayette Gilchrist, and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak (plus images by Baltimore contributing photographer J.M. Giordano and an appearance by senior editor Lydia Woolever.)

Local cinematographer Julia Golonka, who filmed, edited, and co-produced the documentary with Sessa, wanted to make sure that every topic—in particular, racial themes—would resonate with viewers.

“I hope that people feel we did the scene justice,” says Golonka, who went to the same high school as Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan. “Growing up in Ellicott City, I’ve been listening to a lot of these artists for a while now. My Spotify Wrapped for last year was mostly the bands that are featured in the film. I just kept listening to them as I would edit. I hope the viewers feel inspired to do that too. This was a dream-come-true project.”

The same goes for Sessa, who refers to the film as “the bookends of my career, distilled into 24 minutes.”

“In 2005, we still had yet to even realize that the scene was a scene,” he says. “But to watch it coalesce over the years has been fulfilling to me. We’re thrilled to share this little time capsule.”

Every year, we’re seriously impressed by the amount of artistic talent in Baltimore, and 2019 was no different, with top-notch music coming out of the city—making its way onto both the local and national stage. It also felt like a year where the musical community came into its own. No, Rolling Stone didn’t name us the best music city in America again (not that we need that recognition to know that we are), but there were numerous moments of reckoning, if you will. Rising artists finally got their due. Established acts performed epic homecoming shows. Hallowed institutions wrestled with their futures. There were both losses of legends and celebrations of lifetimes, and each reminded us of the great impact this city has had, and continues to have, on the musical form. Here, we round up some of the most memorable moments of 2019. And we recommend keeping your ears perked for all that is to come in 2020.

Ethel Ennis passes away.
This past February, Baltimore’s “First Lady of Jazz” passed away at age 86. During the late 1950s and 1960s, the West Baltimore singer recorded for major labels, toured Europe, headlined the Newport Jazz Festival, and performed regularly with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. As a child, she learned to play piano at the Ames United Methodist Church in Sandtown-Winchester and later became a mainstay at the Red Fox on Pennsylvania Avenue. Disillusioned by the music industry, Ennis ultimately eschewed national stardom and returned to Baltimore for a more simple life, where she performed until her later years. Her mark on the greater musical world remains.

Dan Deacon performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
It felt like fate had somewhat of a hand in the moment when Dan Deacon first took to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall stage with members of the BSO this spring. At the time, the orchestra was in the midst of a contentious contract dispute that would eventually lead to a summer-long lockout of the musicians by the organization’s management (see below), while the electronic artist—15 years after moving to Baltimore and forever changing the local music scene—was quietly working on a new record about overcoming doubt, and reckoning with age and death and time. For a few hours, the two iconic musical acts, seemingly from opposite of the sonic spectrum, though Deacon studied composition in college, came together for a night that would become a gift to the city. The musicians filled the halls with hope, as concertgoers got out of their seats, ran down the aisles, and started an impromptu dance party in front of the venerable stage.

Abdu Ali releases FIYAH!!!.
Over the last several years, few musicians have been as influential and integral to the Baltimore music scene as Abdu Ali. From the glory days of their all-inclusive, underground Kahlon dance party at The Crown to national coverage by the likes of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR more recently, the avant-garde rapper has helped put Baltimore’s DIY culture on the map, remaining deeply rooted to their hometown city along the way. This spring, the release of their studio debut, FIYAH!!!, took their artistry to a new level, fusing hip-hop and Baltimore Club music with jazz and punk. The record and its release solidified Ali’s star power with a full-band lineup, led to a sold-out show at the Ottobar, and helped them nab a well-deserved “Artist of the Year” award from City Hall.

André De Shields wins his first Tony.
As a cherry on top of a 50-year acting career, 73-year-old Charm City native André De Shields took home his first Tony Award in June, winning best featured actor in a musical for his performance of the god Hermes in Hadestown. De Shields grew up in West Baltimore, one of 11 children, and graduated from City College before moving from regional theater to Broadway. He would go on to gain renown for his roles in shows like The Wiz and The Full Monty. A few weeks after the Tonys, he was also presented with a mayoral salute and key to the city by Mayor Jack Young. “This is what you get when you blow them out of the water,” he said during his acceptance speech, showing the crowd his Tony. “I did it the only way you could—the Baltimore way.”

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon slays on American Idol.
If you don’t watch American Idol, you might have missed, in our opinion, one of the most special stories of the television show’s history. If you do watch American Idol, you’ve already been a Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon fan for months. The Catonsville singer-songwriter placed sixth in the competition, wowing judges and viewers with his sensational falsetto, his original song “Almost Heaven,” and his backstory, the son of a Baptist pastor who discovered he was gay at age nine. This fall, Harmon released his debut album and this winter, graduated from Towson University, where he studied vocal performance.

Beach House gets sentimental at the Hippodrome.
In June, dream-pop duo Beach House returned to the city for their first big hometown performance since the Windjammer music festival at Pier Six in 2015. Taking over the hallowed stage of the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, singer Victoria LeGrand and guitarist Alex Scally put on a powerful show to promote their latest album, 7, with some old favorites thrown in along the way. Typically stoic performers, they both spoke sentimentally about the city, even referencing the Orioles. Opening acts were also must-see sets by Dan Deacon and Future Islands’ William Cashion.

The Ottobar persists and, as The Windup Space closes, Rituals opens in its stead.
Two big changes took place at local music venues this year, with the announcement of sales and closures stirring fear for a scene that already lamented a dearth of creative space. But a few months after the Ottobar announced that its longtime owners were selling the business, it was revealed that longtime bar manager Tecla Tesnau would be taking over the Remington rock club in late summer, keeping it in local hands, and it seems that little has changed. And just weeks after word surfaced that The Windup Space would be closing its doors, news broke that the location would be reopened as Rituals, a bar and venue that would keep the same all-inclusive, DIY tradition alive and well, allowing the arts community to let out a collective sigh of relief. There, lineups have included local favorites like Lower Dens, Eze Jackson, and Chiffon.

TT The Artist pays homage to Baltimore Club.
This summer, TT The Artist made her directorial debut with the sneak peek premiere of her upcoming music documentary, Dark City: Beneath The Beat. Despite relocating to Los Angeles, the beloved rapper has long been a fierce advocate of, and an active participant in, the city’s hometown musical genre, Baltimore Club—the story of which she tells in her unique, colorful film. Featuring cameos and music by fellow local artists such as DDm, Eze Jackson, Mighty Mark, and Rufus Roundtree, it now enters the finishing-touch and fundraising stages in hopes of joining the festival circuit in 2020.

DDm drops Beautiful Gowns.
This summer, DDm released his debut full-length album, Beautiful Gowns, which, unsurprisingly, turned out to be one of the most fun, infectious records to come out of Baltimore this year. That’s thanks to the pure showmanship of the city-born rapper who has brought bravado, wit, humor, and heart to his music and live performances across the city for years, from the local battle rap circuit through his Bond St. District duo and now in his solo career. A year after his planned debut, Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, was nixed, these 13 tracks stood testament to DDm’s determination and dauntless creativity. Self-released, locally produced, and spread without the help of local radio, singles like “He Say She Say” and “Pull Up”garnered thousands of listens on Spotify and views on YouTube all on their own. We personally love the bright, buoyant ballads of “Hooray” and “Forever 21.”

Future Islands rocks out at Union Collective.
In early September, thousands of Baltimore City music lovers packed into the parking lot of Union Collective for a night to remember by local dream-pop darlings Future Islands. Much like their impromptu Hampdenfest performance in 2014, the band’s free live show took place outside as the sun set, featuring both new material off their upcoming album and fan favorites like “Seasons” and “Balance,” with frontman Sam Herring’s mercurial dance moves out in full force. Opening acts included Baltimore artists Smoke Bellow, Joy Postell, and DJs Jason Willett and Jay Buim, and the brewery’s neighbor, The Charmery, sold three Future Islands-themed flavors of ice cream to support city non-profits.

The BSO survives a tumultuous year.
It was a long, strange trip around the sun for the century-old Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ongoing contract negotiations that tumbled into labor disputes, the cancellation of the summer season, a highly publicized lockout of the musicians by BSO management, followed by months of player protests outside the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. But this fall, both parties reached a one-year agreement that resulted in the meeting of many players’ demands and the on-time opening of the fall schedule. The organization has also since launched their newly formed vision committee and brought in outside help from arts-org “turnaround king” Michael Kaiser, so things are looking up. (Except for maestra Marin Alsop hinting at her departure.)

JPEGMAFIA continues to soar.
It’s been another big year for JPEGMAFIA. The alternative rap artist, known as Peggy, toured the U.S., to many sold-out crowds. He performed at the likes of Afro Punk, Firefly, and Coachella, where rolling stone called his set one of the best of the festival. He opened for big-name acts like Vince Staples and Flume. He garnered national press and profiles by the likes of Billboard, The Guardian, and Paper. And this fall, he released his latest album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs, to national acclaim— a colorful, cacophonous collage that takes us on a trip into his beautiful, manic, often NSFW dream world. All the while, even though he has since relocated to L.A., Peggy always gave love back to Baltimore, his former city, selling out two nights at the Ottobar, hopping on Abdu Ali’s latest record, and bringing fellow rising local rapper Butch Dawson along on his tour. For that, for as long as we can, we’ll continue to claim him as our own.

Morgan State’s marching band leads the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The holidays came early this year when it was announced that Morgan State University’s Magnificent Marching Machine would be leading the iconic procession of marching bands in the 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, making MSU the first of Maryland’s historically black colleges to perform in the parade’s history. Ahead of a giant Snoopy balloon, the college band, led by band leader Melvin Miles Jr., marched triumphantly in blue and white uniforms for nearly three miles from the Upper West Side, around Central Park, and down to the famed namesake department store on Herald Square. Millions of viewers watched from the city streets and on their television sets at home.

A star is born in Maggie Rogers.
In the 12 months of 2019, Eastern Shore native Maggie Rogers released a debut album via Capitol Records, starred as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, sold out her U.S. tour, performed at the likes of Coachella, attended the Met Gala, and garnered her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. While still a student at NYU, the singer-songwriter got her first taste of fame serendipitously, when a video of Pharrell Williams going ga-ga for one of her songs went viral. But everything that came next, and all that lies ahead, has undoubtedly been the result of her own talent and star staying power.

Check out our Spotify playlist below for Lydia’s Top 30 songs of 2019.

This March, Baltimore band Beach House quietly announced a summer show—their first big hometown performance since the Windjammer music festival at Pier Six in 2015—and at none other than the hallowed Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center in downtown Baltimore.

With the show set to start at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, the dream-pop duo will be performing as part of the North American tour to promote their seventh and latest album, aptly titled 7, which was released last spring. The luminous record carries the trademark trappings that first put them on the national map more than 10 years ago—Victoria LeGrand’s haunting vocals and lush synth and Alex Scally’s searing guitar—as well as a fresh dose of newfound energy and urgency that marks a subtle but significant evolution in their decade-long perfection of the dream-pop genre.

A sort of Windjammer encore, the lineup also features other local music legends of the last decade who performed at the waterfront festival four years ago, with opening acts including electronic artist Dan Deacon, as well as a solo set by Future Islands bassist William Cashion, who also performs as a part of instrumental duo Peals.

In what will surely be an iconic Baltimore performance, Beach House will play a mix of new songs and greatest hits from over the course of their 15-year career. In a sneak peak of the set list, Scally shares some tidbits about a few of the band’s favorite tracks.

“Drunk in LA”
Released last spring on the band’s seventh record, 7, this hypnotic song stems out of the production of their previous full-length release. It’s a blossoming song that unfolds as if watching the world through a haze, which, it turns out, they were. “The lyrics to this song were written in Los Angeles while mixing our album, Depression Cherry, and during an inspiring afternoon in the studio,” says Scally. “We were drinking a lot of wine and feeling both alive and very dead.”

“Myth”
Off the band’s 2012 sophomore record, Bloom—dubbed one of the best records of the year by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and NPR—this classic Beach House song continues to be one of the band’s most-listened-to tracks. “We wrote this song in 2011, but it still vibrates in the ‘right’ way, so we keep its light burning,” says Scally.

“Lemon Glow”
The first single off of 7 captures the fresh energy and innovation found on the rest of the new record. It’s one of the many songs that speak to the beauty in contrast, as the glitchy beat climbs into a shimmering crescendo and then abruptly ends, leaving the listener wanting more. “This is a song about love, but we use the ugliest keyboard sound ever for it,” says Scally. “It’s really fun to make ugly sounds work in a song.”

“Dive”
The second single off of 7, this signature slow-burner builds before erupting in a newly potent moment of thunderous live drums and lustrous guitar. “This is the last song we wrote for 7, and to us, it feels like a runt from a litter of puppies that jumps in the backseat of a car and charms everyone,” says Scally.

“Levitation”
The opening of the band’s gorgeous 2015 Depression Cherry sets the stage for the entire fifth record—a lush, lilting collection of songs that are at once sparkling, nostalgic, sad, and hopeful. As we wrote all those years ago, it rises like the light at dawn, all slow and dewy and soft. “The end and the beginning often have a similar feeling,” says Scally, “and we feel this song captures that paradox.

This was a big year for Baltimore music. A decade after Rolling Stone dubbed our city the best music scene in the country, local artists continued to make great music—in some ways better than ever—and they got recognized for it, both through local listeners and on the national stage.

Locally, Baltimore artists released a record number of highly anticipated albums over the course of the last 12 months, and in doing so, also treated us to a heap of had-to-be-there concerts on our hometown stages, from Snail Mail making her debut at The Parkway to DDm transforming the Soundstage into a fashion runway to one very memorable night starring TT The Artist at Union Collective during our first-ever Baltimore magazine Music Festival. (Be on the lookout for its return in 2019.) Nationally, it seemed as if every time we went online, another local musician was being recognized by a top tastemaker, from The Fader and Vice (both thanks in no small part to True Laurels’ Lawrence Burney) to, yes, Rolling Stone, plus NPR, Billboard, and The New York Times, with one especially deserved piece on local artists of color. Hearing this music, seeing these concerts, and reading these headlines amidst the chaos of 2018 gave us a glimmer of hope.

Picking favorites from this past year has felt nearly impossible—we simply didn’t know where to begin, or end—so to help narrow our focus, we’ve chosen 20 songs off those aforementioned new albums, which includes everything from fresh-faced folk and up-and-coming hip-hop to the rebirth of indie veterans and the solidification of new rock stars. Hear for yourself, via our Spotify playlist below, but in this age of quick consumption, we encourage you to listen to these records in full, and to find your own favorites. And to continue to follow the local music scene, these artists and others, into 2019 and beyond.

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“Dive” by Beach House
We’ve learned to no longer sit on the edge of our seats for a Beach House album as over the last few years the duo has continued to drop a sudden new song here or full-blown record release there without so much as a whiff of Internet buzz. But their seventh record, aptly titled 7, did serve as a solid reminder of the band’s ability to surprise us. It’s a hazy, haunting evolution in their decade-long perfection of shimmering, fuzzed-out dream-pop, with the new songs bringing a fresh sense of urgency and innovation, as heard in this second single. It builds in Beach House’s signature slow-burning way before erupting in a potent moment of thunderous live drums and lustrous guitar. This newfound clarity only further cements Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally as indie rock royalty, in Baltimore and beyond.
Honorable Mentions: “Lemon Glow,” “Drunk In LA,” “L’Inconnue.”

“Feel Nobody” by Butch Dawson

One of the biggest breakthroughs of the year might belong to Butch Dawson (and one of the biggest oversights of the year likely belongs to leaving him out of our Music Issue’s list of top 50 bands to watch). This mosh-ready single off the West Baltimore rapper’s autumn debut, Swamp Boy, was undoubtedly one of the most beloved songs in 2018, bringing his punkish, smoke-swirled brand of hip-hop to the forefront of the local music scene. Dawson’s unbridled fire was also recognized by The Fader and that aforementioned article in The New York Times.
Honorable Mentions: “Division St. Blues,” “Liberation,” “Distances.”

“Hollow Imitation” by Caleb Stine
Long before the birth of the Charm City Bluegrass Festival and the region’s recent folk music renaissance, there was Caleb Stine, stoking the flames of his genre and its deep ties to Maryland through Americana tales over the course of the last two decades. But Moon, the rustic raconteur’s first new solo record in some time, turns its attention away from the road and religion, toward the ground-shaking, all-consuming power of love. This reverential ballad is Stine’s storytelling at its very best, with saturated imagery unfolding like an old film.
Honorable Mentions: “Higher Ground,” “Garden,” “Bodhi Tree.”

“Rude” by DDm
Okay, so we know this record hasn’t officially dropped, but anyone who’s seen DDm perform over the last several months has already fallen for the new tracks off his upcoming Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, due out in the new year. DDm, aka Emmanuel Williams, aka Unkle Lulu, aka the Secretary of Shade, is the master of bona fide swagger, side-splitting braggadocio, and Beyoncé-worthy production, as showcased on this track. We can’t think of many (or any) other local artists who put on a performance quite like DDm; he brings it to everything he touches.
Honorable Mentions: “Ready To Wear,” “Try Me On,” “Forever 21.”

“Riddles” by Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
After a decade of cutting their chops and gaining a loyal following on the local scene, Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice finally got their national due this year, with the post-punk duo’s spring album, Riddles, via Car Park Records, lauded by the likes of NPR, Spin, and Rolling Stone. We could say it’s about time, but those years allowed ESMB to find new footing in this cathartic triumph, produced by friend and fellow local institution Dan Deacon. Out of 10 bold songs, this twinkling title track is the unrivaled star—swelling in synth-fueled emotion and ’80s-pop euphoria—speaking to facing your fears and, in turn, yourself. Just be sure to watch its Best of Baltimore-winning music video as well.
Honorable Mentions: “Kid Radium,” “Dunce,” “Tom.”

“Knock the Man Down” by The High & Wides
Yes, the city’s bluegrass scene has been growing like kudzu over the last few years, but few new bands have caught our eye—and ear—quite like this Baltimore-by-way-of-Eastern Shore string quartet. Their spring debut, Lifted, was met with critical acclaim for its reverence to, revolution from, and revival of the Americana genre; thought rooted in tradition, the band reimagines bluegrass for the 21st century. This track is all grit and gumption, from its jangly melody to its howling vocals and expert instrumentation—a back-woods boot-stomper for modern day.
Honorable Mentions: “Rake Out The Nails,” “Ballad of Caulk’s Field,” “Dark Blues.”

“Water” by Joy Postell
Diaspora, the full-length debut by Joy Postell, only affirmed what we already knew: the twenty-something soul powerhouse is a forerunner of the local music scene and a force to be reckoned with. Drawing inspiration from legends of the past (Nina Simone, Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughn), Postell looks toward the future as a black woman in America in 2018, and each of the album’s tracks tackle the African-American experience, from freedom to love. With a rippling jazz melody and the singer’s mighty vox, this second single is an especially poignant portrait, presenting young black minds as the seeds of future change. Indeed Postell, also featured in the summer New York Times feature, is one herself.
Honorable Mentions: “Consciousness,” “North Star,” “Free Black.”

“1539 N. Calvert” by JPEGMAFIA
Heading into 2019, JPEGMAFIA is definitely one of the city’s—and country’s—top wavemakers, thanks to a record year riding on the success of his boundary-pushing spring Veteran, with fiery live performances at the likes of Afropunk and spots in a slew of end-of-year best-of lists from Stereogum to Pitchfork sold. Though he now lives in L.A., we continue to claim the rap provocateur as our own. After all, this first track off the sophomore record is an ode to the former Bell Foundry art space in Greenmount West that abruptly closed after the Ghost Ship fire in California. The murky melody is a no-holds-barred stream-of-consciousness, best listened to alongside its dystopian Last Supper music video featuring other fellow Bell regulars.
Honorable Mentions: “Baby I’m Bleeding,” “Rock N Roll Is Dead,” “Macaulay Culkin.”

“Assume The Position” by Lafayette Gilchrist & The New Volcanoes
There are few living legends left in Baltimore quite like Lafayette Gilchrist. The Baltimore-by-way-of-D.C. jazz and 2018 Baker Artist Award winner is revered by critics and listeners alike for his dynamic domination of the keys, easily recognized on his iconic scores in David Simon’s HBO series, from The Wire to The Deuce, but the. On his latest EP, Deep Dancing Suite, Gilchrist and his 10-piece New Volcanoes bring back the uncontainable energy of jazz-era improvisation with a dose of modern danceability. Notably, this long-held hit gets new life at nearly double its original length, where keys, brass, and percussion take part in a lively jive. The reinvention stands testament to the artist’s freestyle fluency and finesse.
Honorable Mentions: “Deep Dancing Suite,” “Ping Pong,” “Return of the Inchworm.”

“Where I’m Bound” by Letitia VanSant
In her spring album and follow-up to 2015’s Parts & Labor, Gut It To The Studs, folk singer-songwriter Letitia VanSant crafts a thoughtful opus on new chapters and change, with this first melody being a love letter to that of personal growth. On it, VanSant’s mellifluent voice rolls bright and clear along a hearty river of acoustic guitar, upright bass, and old-school fiddle, setting the stage for the rest of the record and embracing the yet-to-be-seen discovery that still lies ahead of her. In the end of both this song and the entire record, she emerges newly powerful and perceptive. We’ll be anxious to see how she channels that newfound purpose on her next release.
Honorable Mentions: “Gut It To The Studs,” “Wild Heart Roam,” “Sundown Town.”

“Winning” by Peso Da Mafia
Last summer, Northeast Baltimore rap group Peso Da Mafia launched onto the local airwaves and, shortly thereafter, national stage with their come-up single turned viral dance video “Money Man.” It would be a tough act to follow, but by early 2018, the trio would drop this sneak peek off their debut Never A Drought via Warner Music subsidiary Asylum Records. With more than a million Spotify listens and YouTube music video views for this track, it’s safe to say that their slow-burn beats, confident rhymes, and catchy hooks are in anything but short supply. And with slots at SXSW and the BET Awards preshow, plus shout outs in Complex and XXL, it seems the big-wigs are watching, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Money Man,” “TSAY,” “About Us.”

“Homeward Bound” by Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols
We’ve heard this ballad around the Fells Point dive bars for a few years, but newly produced on the fall full-length, Forgive, by Sean K. Preston and his band The Loaded Pistols, the country blues number has taken on new meaning. This song details the heartache, hard luck, and hungry dreams that it takes to be a full-time musician, and in term, captures the essence of one of Baltimore’s most dogged performers and true-blue, truth-speaking storytellers. After more than a decade on the local scene, this ballad and its accompanying record not only document but put on full display the hard-earned talents of Preston and his bandmates.
Honorable Mentions: “Last Call,” “Barnburner,” “Life’s a Bitch.”

“cherubim” by serpentwithfeet
This spring, the unexpected sound of serpentwithfeet, aka Baltimore native Josiah Wise, brought the country’s top music critics to their knees. The avant-R&B artist’s debut soil was considered a singular tour de force—absorbing in its theatricality, moving in its occult spirituality, liberating in its effusive emotion—transcendent of all boundaries. In short, it’s unlike anything anyone had heard, as showcased in this devastatingly intimate devotional. The holy roller brings the multitudes of love, specifically queer black love, to light, melodically marching uphill to the pedestal upon which we humans put our lovers, chanting a declaration of dedication through an intricately layered chorus of Wise’s vibrato vocals and soaring tenor with every step along the way.
Honorable Mentions: “whisper,” “bless ur heart,” “mourning song.”

“Play Hard” by Soul Cannon
Seven years is a long time for any band to not release new music but still maintain its relevancy in the music business. But rules don’t apply to the hip-hop collective of Soul Cannon, which remains a vital force on the local scene for its explosive experimentation and fiery live shows. And MC Eze Jackson and his three classically trained comrades have only solidified that status through this winter’s self-titled record on which the quartet continues to break new ground through old tracks and new. Exhibit A: this agile sprint of a song that we can’t get enough of, founded in the tight tango of Jackson’s urgent, poetic vocals and his bandmates’ wily, propulsive instrumentation. The band is a well-oiled machine that inspires any listener—music, writer, whoever you are—to play harder, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Hospital Records,” “F Sharp,” “Talk Less.”

“Pristine” by Snail Mail
We wish Snail Mail had been around when we were in high school. Has there ever been a band that so perfectly bottles the essence of the teenage heart? Have there every been any lyrics—“Don’t you like me for me?” or “I know myself and I’ll never love anyone else”—that so captured and catapulted out into the world the hidden thoughts and emotions of that tumultuous time of life? Maybe that’s why this has been the year of Lindsey Jordan, with the Ellicott City 18-year-old, her debut Lush, via Matador Records, and this first single featured in nearly every noteworthy publication and best-of end-of-year list on record. And rightfully so—Jordan is the brooding, heart-on-her-sleeve rock star we needed in 2018. And next year, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Heat Wave,” “Golden Dream,” “Full Control.”

“Vulture” by Super City
To get a dose of the infectious energy and undeniable chemistry of Super City, pick any song off their fall Sanctuary—the indie (or “freakwave,” as they’ve been called) quintet’s new fall record. Though not one of the band’s first singles, we find this breakneck anthem to be a good starting point. Co-frontman Greg Wellham commands the mic on this pop-punk-go-go melody, riddled with livewire guitar, punchy drums, and one epic buildup starting at the 2:25 mark as they swat away negative energy. For the full effect, see it live for their fancy, fame-worthy footwork. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: these are the local rock gods you need to know now.
Honorable Mentions: “Sanctuary,” “Artificial Sin,” “Ghosts of Love.”

“I Lost You” by Surf Harp
Eighties kids will feel instantly drawn to Surf Harp’s Mr. Big Picture. Maybe it’s because of the indie quintet’s visuals, reminiscent of the early Macintosh computers and MTV music videos of our youth. Likely it’s their post-punk-meets-new-wave sound, as creative and off-kilter as a Talking Heads hit. This band finds their own lane, though, with each of this spring record’s 10 songs keeping their own unruly pace. For us, this shadowy ballad felt like the album’s diamond in the rough, building from windswept melancholia into a swirl of momentum, spinning out before the story ends, leaving you wanting more.
Honorable Mentions: “D.I. Cig,” “Catholic Glass,” “Homework Program.”

“Payroll” by TT The Artist
We’d like to put it on record: Baltimore Club queen TT The Artist is one of the hardest working musicians in the business. In 2018 alone, she premiered the trailer for her upcoming directorial debut, Dark City: Beneath the Beat, a full-length documentary on the city’s music and dance genre of Bmore Club; she moved to L.A. and launched her all-women Club Queen Records, still with frequent stints back east for filming and fiery performances; and she dropped the label’s first Club Queens EP with New Jersey’s UNIIQU3. But one listen to her label’s first single—full of unabashed bravado, electric beats, playful creativity, and featured on heavy rotation this summer on 92Q—and you’ll see that TT is just getting started.
Honorable Mentions: “Off The Chain,” “Freaking in the Club,” “Fall Back.”

“It’s Okay” by Wume
We knew we couldn’t wait for new music from experimental duo Wume after their mesmerizing 2015 EP, Maintain, but this fall, their new full-length record left us completely dazzled. In a quest for deeper truths, Toward the Shadow, via Northern Spy, offers a moment of reflection and introspection. Combining sparkling electronics by keyboardist Albert Schatz and newly prominent vocals in the form of philosophical incantations by drummer April Camlin, the band takes listeners on a trip into even more immersive soundscapes, urging them to dig deeper, to push further, to shift and breakthrough, just like the band has. This track is a rejuvenating listen in the chaos of our modern times.
Honorable Mentions: “Shadow,” “Walled Garden,” “Ravel.”

“The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs” by Wye Oak
We could feel something stirring in Wye Oak’s 2016 release of Tween. A transition. A simultaneous closure and commencement. A reawakening. And now, with this gorgeous spring record, it all makes sense, as the band has emerged as a stunning new version of itself—and yet after 12 years, we’ve maybe never felt more in tune with music by Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Out of a dozen deeply human songs, this title track is an illuminating crescendo, revealing the beauty of the journey toward yourself. We still find ourselves pouring over its lyrics for answers, ultimately finding some sort of solace in the song’s—and life’s—elusions. As Wasner concludes, “Sometimes it takes a long, long, long time,” and if Wye Oak’s long game is any indication, the wait is certainly worth it.
Honorable Mentions: “The Instrument,” “It Was Not Natural,” “Lifer.”

Beach House

7 (Sub Pop Records)

For more than a decade, we’ve turned to Beach House for its moody, bewitching sound. Over the course of six evocative albums, the indie duo has perfected the hazy genre of dream-pop, featuring songs so full of shimmering synth and fuzzed-out guitar that they might just burst, like some faraway supernova. But all that has changed on the band’s aptly named seventh record. In some ways, the evolution is subtle—old trappings still linger, like Victoria Legrand’s hauntingly lush vocals and Alex Scally’s searing, slide-studded guitar. But as a whole, these 11 tracks are a seismic, shape-shifting rebirth for the veteran Baltimore band. Layers of glitchy electronic beats and thunderous live drums fuel a fiery new urgency, born in part out of the societal discord of 2016 and ’17, with some verses acutely ruminating on the roles and pressures put on women by society—to be perfect, to be loved. (See “L’Inconnue.”) There’s a push and pull to these melodies, but out of that tension, Beach House finds clarity. Long shrouded in a sort of melancholic mystery, their music steps out of the shadows and into the luminous possibilities that lie ahead.

Caleb Stine

Moon (Self Released)

With nearly two decades and more than 10 albums under his belt in Baltimore, Caleb Stine has become a sort of spirit guide for the local folk scene. A rustic raconteur, this Americana musician has spun yarns on religion, the road, and quests for truth, but this is his first record on the ground-shaking, all-consuming power of love. The eight-song ode explores the affection in all its forms, achieving an arc that spans from the dewy, infatuated days of adolescence (“My Oh My”) to the quiet, peaceful evenings of adulthood (“Garden”). His pure vocals and poetic verses act as the heartbeat, pushing forward sweet and simplistic arrangements that are fueled by the aching pang of acoustic guitar, plus a new infusion of female harmonies and soul-baring strings. But in seeking to unravel this multitudinous emotion, Stine’s mix of pretty ditties and almost devotional ballads reveals the ways in which love teaches us not just about love, but about ourselves: that it’s okay to need other people. That that is what makes us human. “Hollow,” with its saturated imagery unfolding like an old, burned-out film, might be Stine’s storytelling at its best. Grab a copy of this new album—in part for its accompanying coloring book.

Read our interview with musician Caleb Stine.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from shimmering dream-pop to inspiring, world-infused soul music to New Wave post-punk. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“I Am” by Ama Chandra*

Ama Chandra is a local treasure, her story and message of survival showcasing the full potential of the human spirit. The local indie-soul singer’s music has long been focused on messages of love, but following a brutal assault in the summer of 2015, she has emerged with newfound purpose, transforming that traumatizing experience into a joyous celebration of life that permeates this song off her first full-length album since 2013. Recorded live at The Owen Brown Interfaith Center in Columbia, her masterful vocals soar to new levels—her soulful pipes floating in, light as a feather, before climbing up to powerful peaks. With the pitter-patter of hand drums and hearty plugs of upright bass, she creates her own world rhythm and makes a healing declaration that resonates with any listener: Despite all hardships, you still exist. You can start over. You will once again be free. Chandra, and her music, are living proof.

“Lemon Glow” by Beach House

On Valentine’s Day, Beach House gave us a glimpse of their upcoming spring album with this dreamy new number. “Wishing everyone out there love tonight,” they wrote on Instagram, and the Internet went wild. Everything that the Baltimore-based duo does is instant indie gold, and the song immediately skyrocketed into a slot under Pitchfork’s list of Best New Tracks. The band’s lush, lilting music is easy to get lost in; you come to, unsure of where the last song ended and the next one began. But on this new track, there’s a distinct fresh energy that propels the pulsing melody forward. The glitchy beat permeates outward but stays in tight, staccato lines as singer Victoria LeGrand’s ethereal vocals gain new lyrical clarity, and Alex Scally’s searing guitar builds heat toward a crescendo that never quite peaks. This shimmering tease—no doubt a love song—ends abruptly, leaving us wanting more.

“Simple Light” by Brendan Sullivan

The loss of Brendan Sullivan to Brooklyn was a big one for the Baltimore music scene. As GM (and just generally super nice guy) at The Crown, Sullivan had built the Station North venue into a living room for the local arts—where, on any given night, you could experience a witch’s brew of homegrown talent, from indie shoegaze and thrashing punk to experimental hip-hop and electronic R&B. Luckily, he’s still regularly booking Baltimore talent in New York. But on his solo debut, out now via Friends Records, Sullivan stands alone, having stripped away the vocal distortion and gritty, grunge guitar of his past work—having been one part of the much loved art-rock duo Weekends—to bare his soul. Recorded right here at home, this haunting, heart-aching hymn features a few simple guitar chords, a shimmering tap of hi-hat drums, and the smoldering slow burn of saxophone by Microkingdom’s John Dierker. Biggest of all, there’s Sullivan’s gravelly baritone. A la Nick Cave, a little late-life Leonard Cohen, we were instantly bewitched.

“D.I. Cig” by Surf Harp*

If you’re anything like us, once Surf Harp’s new album, Mr. Big Picture, drops this weekend, you’ll have it on constant rotation. The indie quintet brings it on this second full-length record. Exhibit A? This first single—a rhythmic, rolling avalanche of New Wave, post-punk, and pop. It shifts between freewheeling melodies that are at once meticulous and outside the box, with each exploding in jubilant, energetic bursts. Eighties-infused verses fly over urgent drums. Anthemic crescendo choruses soar above wily guitar riffs that we simply applaud. Electronic touches twinkle in and fritz out. This new album plays with the mundane structures of and societal emphasis on work. It’s almost too fitting that this rollicking number makes it hard to sit still in your seat.

“The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs” by Wye Oak

This gorgeous new song, off an equally gorgeous new album, feels like the Wye Oak we never knew we’d always been waiting for. A cascading sweep of percussion, live wire guitar, and twinkling electronic tones, it marks a new beginning for the 12-year-old Baltimore-born band. It’s a fusion of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stacks’  propulsive rock past with their shimmering synth present into a future that blossoms like a dream. Poetic verses reveal a moment of self-discovery—the realization that, however hard we try, we can’t hold onto the past, and yet, we can’t outrun the future, which can only truly be seen in the rear-view mirror, anyways. We are always at once both the old and new versions of ourselves. Embracing both speaks to the indie duo’s progression: reinvention, evolution, all leading to here and now (also heard on their second single, “It Was Not Natural,” out today, which we also highly recommend). This revelation—and this new music—seems to set the stage for all that is to come. 

*Not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist when it becomes available.

Baltimore’s music scene has had a number of peaks—the bluegrass days of the 1950s, the hard (and hair) rock era of the 1980s, the Bmore Club nights of the 1990s, and Wham City in the early aughts—but we have to say: The city couldn’t sound better than it does right now. In fact, we’re having trouble keeping up.

For that, and thanks to always inspiring music chats with local audio authority Sam Sessa of WTMD, we’ve decided to start a big Baltimore playlist—The Big Baltimore Playlist—as a showcase and celebration of Baltimore’s growing brood of talent. Check back each month for our top five songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“Chariot” by Beach House

This single, previously unreleased and now on the local duo’s upcoming B-Sides and Rarities, is a hazy slow jam that twinkles like summer stars. Lead singer Victoria Legrand’s luxurious vocals drift in and out like a cotton-candy-colored fog, and Alex Scally’s smooth, saturated guitar chords twang with our heartstrings. After more than 10 years, Beach House’s music is as gorgeous as ever.

“Soul Searching” by J Pope and the HearNow

Get lost in the funky rhythm of this title track off the brand-new debut by alt-soul sextet J Pope and the HearNow. It’s an addictive, slow-burning beat that lingers with smoky swirls of sax, plugging runs of bass, and the honey-coated, sophisticated rhymes of frontwoman J Pope—and leaves you wanting more.

“Good Thing” by Michael Nau

This velvety, vintage-tinged tune is built for warm weather. Cumberland native Michael Nau’s vocals swim softly along with his sunny-day melody, riddled with gentle jangling rhythms and an important message: forget the bad stuff, focus on the song title.

“Kronos” by Natural Velvet

There are lots of rabblerousing rock songs on the new record, Mirror To Make You, by post-punk quartet Natural Velvet, but we love the anthemic chorus of this ninth track. “I make the rules for tonight…” warbles frontwoman Corynne Ostermann, before she crescendoes into a high and brilliant, “I am, I choose, I chose!” Lady power at its most badass.

“No King” by Outcalls

Combining lush chamber vocals with a robust layering of electronic and acoustic sound, opera singers Melissa Wimbish and Britt Olsen-Ecker create their own brand of baroque indie-pop. Their whimsical pipes wind around an energetic beat that pulses in your ears long after its gone. It has us excited for what’s to come.

*Not available on Spotify yet. We’ll add it when it comes online.

Beach House
Thank Your Lucky Stars (Sub Pop Records)

Back in August, we praised Beach House’s then-new album, Depression Cherry. After 10 years, the local dream-pop duo had reached a new peak and its fifth record soared, theatrical and dazzling as ever. Then, a few weeks later, when we were just starting to untangle how those nine songs made us feel, the band threw a complete curve ball. Known for tarried releases, Beach House abruptly dropped another album. Not a B-side. Not leftovers from the cutting-room floor. The band insists this record stands alone, and upon listening, you’ll heartily agree. All the BH trappings are there—modern melancholy, youthful intoxication, shimmering nostalgia—but for the first time, those dreamy existential motifs land in the real world as the sound of the instruments retreats to reveal luminous narratives. Outlines of characters and places—flawed beauties, unrequited lovers, sepia suburbia—begin to crystallize like a teenage diary, intimate yet distant. Singer Victoria LeGrand’s voice is a velvety dream, lilting softly about the hazy ballads like a ghost. We’ll gladly let tracks like “All Your Yeahs” haunt us for months to come.

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Sun Club
The Dongo Durango (ATO Records)

There comes that pivotal moment in a band’s lifetime when it crosses the glittering line from small-town sensation to national darling, and Sun Club has reached that juncture. The local punk-pop band has just nabbed a record deal with ATO (which reps the likes of Alabama Shakes and My Morning Jacket); caught the attention of Spin, Stereogum, and MTV; played gigs at SXSW and Sweetlife; and now, in a chicken-before-the-egg moment, dropped its debut album. But there’s no question why: These self-taught, twentysomething musicians have created their own skateboard brand of sunny, surf rock that’s far more raw, effervescent, and accomplished than their 2014 EP. Each song is a rolling, rambunctious mosh of energy and good vibes. They’re a blow-out-the-speakers band of merry pranksters who defy the rules using wacky voices, weird interludes, and whimsical song structures with unanticipated shifts and sudden ends. But they do so in an eager, anthemic way, and even if we can’t understand all the words, we still want to follow them, wherever it is they’re going.

See our Q&A with Mikey Powers, the lead singer of Sun Club.

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Wildhoney
Your Face Sideways (Topshelf Records)

Wildhoney became famous this fall, but it wasn’t for the music. Well, it was, sort of. The local indie-pop quintet made national news when its debut album, Sleep Through It, was accidentally pressed onto what should have been vinyls of Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die, and some surprised fans actually liked it. Now the band is back with a new EP, stepping out of the songstress’s shadow and solidifying its sunny sound among the ranks of other C86-tinged bands—My Bloody Valentine, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vivian Girls, Best Coast—with that perfect fusion of ’60s and ’80s pop. With punk urgency, the band’s lo-fi shoegaze is a fuzzy jangle of shimmering guitar, gated drums, and honeyed vocals without all the digital effects we’ve come to expect. Each song is founded in lead singer Lauren Shusterich’s solid songwriting as her deadpan delivery weaves its way through the lovelorn lyrics of six break-up ballads. Throughout, her bandmates support those weightless warbles with golden harmonies, infectious melodies, and a plush bed of instrumental interplay. We’ll take that over Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” any day.

Microkingdom
Smooth Tendencies (Friends Records)

Microkingdom adds its own brand of discord to Baltimore’s vibrant DIY music scene. At it for almost a decade, the Baltimore trio is equal parts avant-garde jazz performance and psychedelic jam session, and its “non-jazz,” as the band calls it, is quite a trip. At first, the sax, drums, and guitar sound like a chaotic mess, but on closer listen, each track of this spring release takes you for a ride, evoking particularly vivid scenes in its noisy, scrambling swirl. “Chrome Dynasty” is like a smoldering summer night, high above Harlem or Chicago, all fire escapes, water towers, and burned-out stars. “Zero To Negative Diggity” is like a planetarium seminar—cardboard spaceships whirling out into the void. Then “Big Dry” is a mad thing—wiry nights of youth, heavy drinking, and smoke in some dark and dingy city club. At times, they also surprise you with their approachability—the warm one-night stand of “Midnite Plu$$” and swaggering funk of “Diamond Urge”—but this is not your mother’s smooth jazz. It is a layered freestyle of cacophonous art. We’d love to hear them jam out with fellow music misfits Matmos or Peals.

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TT The Artist
Gimme Yo Love (Nina Pop Records)

If Abdu Ali is the young prince of Baltimore Club music, TT The Artist is its princess. Like Ali, the MICA grad is here to drive the homegrown party music forward, while keeping it rooted in its past. A frequent performer at local clubs like The Crown, she’s a force to be reckoned with, blending hip-hop, pop, club, and house into pulse-raising, party-starting, booty-dropping bangers. With the swagger of Nicki Minaj, the millennial reach of Rye Rye, and her own confident rhymes, she disses haters, empowers women, falls recklessly for love, and incites jock-jam jump-offs. After a debut mixtape in 2012, gigs with Dan Deacon and Phantogram, and collabs with Blaqstarr and Diplo, she released her first impressive EP, Art Royalty, in February. NPR hailed its “Thug It Out” as one of its favorite songs of 2015. This past July, she dropped this second, smaller EP, with two tracks turned into seven amped-up remixes with the help of fellow local club artists. Hear it now, via Baltimore’s new dance label, Nina Pop Records, and see her live in September at the Bombadillo music festival at Druid Hill Park.

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Beach House
Depression Cherry (Sub Pop)

Arguably Baltimore’s biggest success, Beach House skyrocketed to indie stardom after 2010’s Teen Dream and 2012’s Bloom. Both were met with critical hosannahs, but praise can be both blessing and curse for an emerging band; those albums would be tough acts to follow. But here comes Depression Cherry, and it’s everything we’ve come to love about Beach House’s bedroom indie-pop. Fame hasn’t changed singer Victoria Legrand and guitarist Alex Scally; they are that same Baltimore duo, wary and unwilling to make a fuss about their art. They’d rather the music do the talking, so put the album on the stereo and listen for yourself. It’s all still there—the dreamy swirl, the intoxication of youth, its yearning desire—bottled robustly into nine new songs. The first track, “Levitation,” rises like the light at dawn, all slow and dewy and soft. Legrand’s sparkling organ whirls in, her husky voice purrs out, then in pangs the ragged reverb of Scally’s guitar. It is lush. It tingles. It cascades. It might be the most Beach House that Beach House has ever been. But the album is filled with little evolutions, too. They dive in with new volume and power, like in the searing single “Sparks,” and they deviate with splendor in the bare bones sweep of “10:37” and the fuzzy Wall-of-Sound, spoken-word pop of “PPP.” After 10 years, Beach House’s shimmer is shining brighter than ever before.

See our interview with Beach House guitarist Alex Scally.

It’s been 10 years since indie dream-pop duo Beach House started its journey towards becoming one of Baltimore’s biggest bands. French-born singer/organist Victoria LeGrand and Baltimore native guitarist Alex Scally burst into indie stardom with their last two albums, Teen Dream (2010) and Bloom (2012), and now they’re about to drop the much-anticipated Depression Cherry, out August 28 via Sub Pop Records. We talk to Scally about still loving Baltimore and their upcoming show at Pier Six Pavilion.

You guys just got back from a press tour in Europe. Is coming back to Baltimore still rejuvenating after being on the road?
Yeah, I’m born and raised in Baltimore City and I love Baltimore. I keep expecting the love to go away but it really doesn’t. There’s just something about the way the seasons are here, the people are here.

You’re about to start a pretty extensive tour for Depression Cherry.
We have a lot scheduled because we’ve always loved it. It’s always been fun and we learn a lot from it. I’m expecting to still love it, but it might be a little harder, because of the weird entity of getting old.

You’re playing some pretty amazing venues, too: Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the Fillmore in San Francisco.
We’ve played a lot of small venues and big venues and middle venues in our 10 years of doing this. We’ve tried to avoid big ones—they don’t lead to very good shows for us. I don’t think we’ve ever done Ryman before and that might be our biggest venue on the tour. We’ve played Fillmore probably five times, but it’s a pretty small place for such a big city.

And then you’ll be at Pier Six for Windjammer on August 29. We’ll be there.
You know, Baltimore is notoriously lacking in mid-sized venues. For one reason or another, whether its location or the way it’s designed, there just isn’t a place in Baltimore that’s 800, 1,100, 1,200 seats that is a place where everybody loves to go and is beautiful and sounds good. Imagine something like the 9:30 Club. Even when we had Sonar, it was one of the worst sounding places in the world, you know? We have The Lyric, but that’s very formal and kind of uptight.

It’s going to be pretty epic—triple headlining with Dan Deacon, Future Islands, and then all the other Baltimore bands. How did the idea come about?
I forget how it started but I think Dan and I were both saying, well, if we all joined forces, maybe we could play somewhere really fun, rather than have to do shows of our own in places we’re not psyched on. Future Islands hasn’t really done a Baltimore show since everything happened with them. I’ve gone to a couple summer shows at Pier Six and it just feels so fun being in the breezy harbor. We were like, shoot, let’s try to do a summer show there. Then we all invited a band and a DJ and the bill was set.

At first, I thought, interesting. Pier Six. I don’t know. It feels like such a big Baltimore venue for you guys but . . .
It’s actually not that big! When I was a kid and I would go there, it always felt so huge, but when I went to see Hall & Oates [last September] or whatever, it didn’t feel that huge. And it’s so cool having water on either side of you. And the way the hill rises up and the wind just blows across. It seems like a killer place to just lie around in the sun and drink beer all day.

And it’s going to be a benefit concert for Believe in Music, the Living Classrooms music education program.
Somewhere along the line, money started being discussed. Not in a negative way, just like, how we should set the ticket price? We saw all these different amounts that could make it sell out and it just started feeling weirder and weirder. Around the same time was when everything was happening surrounding the death of Freddie Gray and we decided this should definitely just be a charity show. So after expenses paid, it’s all for charity. I think our idea was: It should be small enough that the money would go directly into action, as opposed to an established, giant charity, where it would kind of just be another bit on the heap.

What band and DJ did you and Victoria pick for the lineup?
We picked Romantic States. Jim [Triplett] was in a band called Videohippos and this is his new band. We really like his songwriting. It’s just really unpretentious and simple. Their music is really beautifully simple, with just guitar and drums. In an era where everything feels overthought, it’s under-thought, in a good way. And we picked a DJ friend of ours, Big Party, who plays great music. We’ve played with Dan a bunch of times, and we were all on the Round Robin Tour [in 2008]. I would consider all of those guys good friends at this point.

It’s been a decade since you started Beach House. With all the work and travel and acclaim, do you still feel connected to the Baltimore music scene?
I feel really connected. We still have a lot of friends here. I don’t spend as much time out every night, and I might not know as many people every time I go out, but that also might be, like, getting older. Ten years ago, we were out every night of the week. It’s just a different culture being really young. But I still really love Baltimore and feel like a part of it. I think Baltimore is changing. It was changing back then, too. Like everything in reality, it’s always shifting and changing.

What sparked this album? Was it just the right time?
Touring is such a big part of our life because we learn so much. It’s so much of the way we interact with the universe. And then, when touring ends and you get home and you start to write, there’s a natural pace. This time, it took a little bit longer to decompress and take stock of things and feel natural again, and when we did, we began writing. Nothing is pre-imagined. Nothing is conscious.

You recorded and produced in Louisiana, but did you write it here?
We’ve written every song we’ve ever made in Baltimore. We always write at home.

Do you write in your practice space in Fells Point?
Every song comes about differently. Little things start—maybe at sound check, maybe at home on a guitar—and they evolve into something else and grow. We do a lot of jamming. It’s very collaborative. But we take our time with it. Sometimes it happens fast and other times it’s months before a song goes where it’s supposed to. These songs were probably starting around the same time Bloom came out. We didn’t have any time to work on them [before] then. We had burnt the candle on both ends and needed to recover.

Should it be listened to as a whole, as you’ve said in the past?
That’s something we were saying last album that we then realized is so stupid to tell people. I think people should listen to things however they want.

That being said, are there any songs that stand out for you?
Was there one that stands out to you?

I really love how bare bones “10:37” is. It feels like you, but it feels like something completely new, too.
Yeah, I personally think we’re breaking a lot of ground on this record, but we move at such a slow pace, it probably won’t even be noticed. I think every song is special to us for some reason. It’s awesome that you chose that song; someone else might say another. I often feel like a fool when I’m trying to convince someone to like a song I love—just playing it really loud and staring at them like, ‘Do you hear this?!’ And they’re like, ‘I don’t know . . . I don’t know if I’m hearing what you’re hearing . . .’

“Do you feel what I feel?!”
It’s so funny. It’s the ultimate human condition: wanting to know how someone else is feeling and if it’s similar to you.

Read our review of Depression Cherry in the August issue of Baltimore magazine, on newsstands now.