In this sixth iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from fast-rising hip-hop to rambunctious punk to dreamy indie instrumentals. 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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“Everyone in the World” by Amazing Bill

As lead guitar player for local soul sensation Bosley, Will Lederer has learned a thing or two about pop music. On this debut solo record, his vintage-tinged pop tunes, like “Pets” and “ETC,” are certainly noteworthy, riddled with energy and brass. But we fell in love with his indie digressions. Drawing on the likes of darlings LCD Soundsystem and Tame Impala, this subtle second track blossoms into a beautiful electronic ballad, filling your ears with aching vocals, glissando keys, and a thunderous boom-clap beat. A clever lyricist, Lederer imagines a make-believe world of boyhood—or better yet, bad boyhood—filled with The Graduate flirtations, teenage infidelities, and infinite popularity. As the melody crescendos into an anthemic chorus, though, you realize he’s probably better off. Amazing Bill is actually one of the good guys. And his music happens to be great.

“Stupid” by Colada

Most of us can relate to the subject of this first single from singer-songwriter Colada. With the trappings of a ’90s R&B classic, this smooth number addresses that feeling of losing control, getting lost in your own head, giving into the temptation for someone new. Her honey-coated vocals capture those silly, head-over-heels attractions as they lilt about a lush, pop melody, produced by Bmore Club veteran DJ Mighty Mark and featuring guest vocals by beat queen TT The Artist. In the stoop-studded music video, the always-fashionable Al Rogers Jr. also stars as Colada’s love interest (and in our December issue’s music reviews, now on stands). Be sure to check out her debut album, Colada’s Way, out this Friday. 

“Downtown” by F City

We love the powder keg that is F City. This super-group trio, made up of singer Lala Anderson, drummer Landis Expandis, and bassist Paul Joyce, has just released a rambunctious double album, with one side dedicated to rabblerousing Southern Gothic punk and the other a soulful medley of funkadelic hip-hop. Both pay homage to sounds that came before, and they come through your ears like a rock-and-roll thunderstorm. We love this breakneck rhythm from the A side, sizzling with scuzzy fuzz guitar, swirling with trills of old-school organ, and electrifying by lightning-speed ratatat drums. The tight, rollicking rhythms and playful, call-and-response vocals put the band’s chemistry on full display. Expect to leave one of their live shows radiating with energy.  

“Fast Life” by Lor Choc

It’s safe to say that Lor Choc is one of Baltimore’s most promising young rap stars. The 19-year-old artist has already received local acclaim from the likes of The Sun and Baltimore Beat for her sharp rhymes and dexterous delivery, as well as national attention from trendsetting music publications Fader and Noisey via Vice. In this come-up track, the West Baltimore native celebrates the hustling pursuit of money and ultimately dreams (NSFW lyrics included). It touches on her own life, once living fast but now taking “a break because I’m focused on my development,” as the Baltimore City Community College student alludes to her current studies in computer engineering. With her singular voice and this sort of catchy, sparkling beat, inspired in part by pop-leaning inspirations like Lauryn Hill and India.Arie, the young rapper’s career won’t be slowing down anytime soon. 

“Trillium” by Peals

We’ve once again found ourselves lost in the 2016 release of Honey by Baltimore instrumental duo Peals. We said it before and we’ll say it again—this mesmerizing album was made for dreamers, and few songs more so than the lovely “Trillium.” William Cashion and Bruce Willen’s bright melody was just brought back into our consciousness with the release of a new music video that’s equally spellbinding and surreal. Propelled by steady taps, twinkling bells, a heartbreaking twang, and swell of bass, this blooming feat incites the imagination. The video itself transports you into the whimsical mind of musically inspired fifth graders. Watch their fantasies played out in real life, and then come up with your own.

Peals

Honey (Friends Records)

This album is made for dreamers. On this sophomore project by local instrumental pop duo Peals (William Cashion of Future Islands and Bruce Willen of Double Dagger), the band layers tempo and tone into a million tiny images, sending the listener’s imagination into auto-drive. Ethereal and lush, these nine songs dance between solitary soundscapes that stretch out like the horizon, and bright, brilliant symphonies that slowly build and bloom. In a textured crescendo of new wave guitar, static electronics, and the occasional twinkle of bells, each melody takes us on an unexpected journey, conjuring up emotions and memories unique to the individual listener. No two people will hear these songs the same.

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Cris Jacobs

Dust to Gold (American Showplace Music)

After 10 years, five records, and hundreds of shows, Cris Jacobs has become a fixture of the Baltimore music scene. As frontman of The Bridge, he gained a loyal following, eventually releasing his first solo album in 2012 and establishing himself as a hometown artist here to stay. He now returns with his second solo work, a soulful collection of songwriting that runs the gamut of Southern sound—a dusty suitcase filled with traveling stomps, heartbroken blues, and porch-sitting love songs, in which his earthy vocals meld with fearless finger-picking, thunderous drums, and a few quivers of slide guitar. In the brightest moments, Jacobs reaches new heights, but it’s in the dark, desperado corners of the album that he truly shines.

Lower Dens
Escape from Evil (Ribbon Music)

The very first chord: That’s where this album hits you. It opens with a hard strum of guitar that quivers, fades, and repeats before Jana Hunter’s voice jumps in clear and strong, more confident and, paradoxically, vulnerable than ever before. Beneath it, a steady, new wave beat keeps time, then in come the haunting backup vocals, which warmly permeate a number of tracks. This first one, “Sucker’s Shangri-La,” sets the tone for the rest of the album, which retains the band’s dark, trademark ambiance and moody atmospheres but tempers them with a newfound energy and brightness to create a sort of shadowy synth-pop. The sound is amped up—in volume, speed, and dimension—building on the expansion of their last record with added emotion, detail, and texture. The guitars sear and clash as strongly as ever, but now they meet Hunter’s androgynous vocals in the middle, and even let them shine. At times, she comes in high and light, while at others, she falls away in abandon or howls out in despair. The fluctuations are fitting for songs about hope and heartbreak, highs and lows. On either end of the spectrum, they are robust and undeniable. Sometimes, somewhat surprisingly, you find yourself dancing along.

Read our Q&A with lead singer Jana Hunter.

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Victoria Vox
When the Night Unravels (self-released)

Victoria Vox is a young woman of many talents: singer, songwriter, ukulele player, mouth trumpeter. The latter is a vocal technique from the Jazz Age and one Vox has come to master, using her mouth to mimic the sound of brass instruments. The Baltimore artist has recently garnered some attention for this skill, including the front page of The Wall Street Journal, but this album is her ninth. She’s no ingénue. She’s a pro. A smooth, easy fusion of jazz, pop, and soul, Vox combines sweet lyrics, soft melodies, and four-string strumming with electronic loops and a few friends on the likes of accordion, drums, and sax. Together, they create a full-band sound that harkens back to another era. Vox is an old soul, moving effortlessly between sultry, sexy jazz numbers; sunny, upbeat ditties; and honest R&B ballads, seamlessly weaving her candy-coated vocals through each. At its essence, it’s a classic volume of love songs—for broken hearts and open ones—and through it all, her yesteryear style shines.

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Peals
Seltzer (Thrill Jockey)

It’s tempting to listen to this cassette and try to break down all of its elements—try to figure out what’s it all about? A side project by Baltimore’s William Cashion of Future Islands and Bruce Willen of Double Dagger, it arrives on the scene laden with expectations. Instead, put on the two half-hour tracks and just let them lilt about you. Before long, you’ll be transported—relaxed—like listening to wind chimes in a soft, summer breeze. You drift off in the deep blue tones before new sounds purl in and others taper out. The static buzz, the ringing bells, the undulating bass all build but never climax, playing light and pretty and nostalgic, like old memories on a reel-to-reel. The ambient sounds and seamless dissonance create a peaceful space, and when each song ends, you feel as if you’ve just woken from a deep slumber. That is the greatest achievement of this album: Sometimes it feels good to get lost in a song.