In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we pick five local songs to add to your current rotation, ranging from sparkly country-pop to experimental post-hardcore to dreamy instrumental soundscapes.

Check back each month for new top tracks, and follow our Spotify playlist (below) as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

“Cold 2 The Touch” by Angel Du$t
From its underground upbringing, Baltimore hardcore has fully emerged as the hottest genre in the city’s already on-fire music scene. And in many ways, we have Justice Tripp to thank for that.

In the early aughts, the Essex native helped transformed that break-neck sound into something more expansive—full of deep grooves and dynamic melodies—as the frontman of beloved band Trapped Under Ice. By the early 2010s, that group evolved into Angel Du$t (which, over the years, also featured members of Turnstile) and took the evolution even further, creating something all their own.

Hear their latest incarnation for yourself on this careening title track off their forthcoming album, out on the eve of Valentine’s Day next year.

“Baltimore (Jack’s Version)” by Bartees Strange
Before settling in Baltimore a couple years ago, this British-born, Oklahoma-raised artist lived a bit of a nomadic life. A military brat, he moved around the world in his early years, eventually residing in Brooklyn, then Washington, D.C., until relocating to Maryland—becoming an indie darling along the way. Think NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, Rolling Stone reviews, 4AD record deals.

On this Americana ballad off his latest album, co-produced by record-maker-to-the-stars Jack Antonoff, he confesses to the struggle of always searching for home. In rattling off the downsides of other cities—“New York City, it just costs too much”—and a deeply segregated country—“L.A.’s got everything, except for people like mine”—he leaves Baltimore unnamed, despite the song’s title. In a way, it seems to convey the possibility of this town for him.

“Cerulean Cove” by Birney-Willen
Landscapes is the stuff of dreams. Literally, the soundscapes on this second album from local filmmaker Albert Birney and multidisciplinary designer Bruce Willen are like soundtracks to those reverie states we often find ourselves in, and not just when we’re asleep. Walking down a city street, on a backroads drive, watching the morning light flicker through your bedroom window—all perfect occasions to listen to these 10 tunes.

And it’s unsurprising they’re so transportive, coming from this imaginative duo—with Birney writing and directing otherworldly films like Strawberry Mansion and the upcoming OBEX, and Willen creating visionary installations like Ghost Rivers in Remington, as well as equally mesmerizing instrumental music through his band Peals). We recommend getting lost in thought to any one of them, including this one. And the visual album to boot.

“Cowboy Like Me” by Enslow
It’s not every day that a popstar pops up in Baltimore. But over the last few years, Enslow has emerged as a bona fide singer-songwriter with a feel-good, girly, glittery sound that can stay on constant rotation and command the stage, too.

From Tiny Desk-style Instagram videos with her band through her Taylor Swift tribute concerts with WTMD, she’s garnered a loyal following for her powerhouse vocals, catchy hooks, and captivating live shows. Altogether, it’s a big-label sound, fusing modern electronic touches with hat tips to throwback inspiration.

On her brand-new follow-up album Crush, hear a big anthemic cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies” and this country-pop original that conjures both Chappell Roan and Kacey Musgraves (its title also showing off her inner Swifty).

“i can be ur lady” by Plant Dad
This spring release is a deep groove that we can’t stop listening to. For the past few years, Plant Dad has been putting out single after single of impressive bedroom pop. Born in the Philippines, frontman Ralph Bernabe grew up in Baltimore County, teaching himself guitar and piano before getting a formal music education from Towson University, also being part of the Maryland State Boychoir and All State Jazz Bands.

That early, enterprising start shows up in the Towson-alum indie artist’s wide-ranging sound, inspired by 1980s electronic pop, folk singer-songwriters, and more. We recommend digging back through Plant Dad’s oeuvre. But start with this track, from its slow-burn start to its rave-worthy chorus beats, featuring local musician Matt Hurd.

In the summer of 2017, The Big Baltimore Playlist was born. Back then, we launched this monthly column to showcase the local music scene and celebrate its sonic abundance. Here’s what we wrote at the time:

“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.”

Those words couldn’t be any truer today—a testament to the kind of talent that continues to brew up, boil over, and burst out of this singular, special town of ours, over and over again. And, by all measures, it doesn’t look like that’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

There are breakout bands like Turnstile, of course—and End It, and Jivebomb, and Pinkshift—bringing Baltimore’s hardcore sound to the masses. And standout artists like trumpet player Brandon Woody and saxophonist Daoure Diongue, shining a light on this city’s deeply rooted and respected jazz legacy, with a next-generation touch. Not to mention prolific DJ producers like SDOT, Tromac, and Kade Young, keeping club beats alive and well in their genre’s hometown, while boundary-breakers like Infinity Knives, Nourished by Time, and Mowder Oyal continue to keep us on our toes. And on and on it goes.

With that in mind, after a (not so brief) hiatus, we running it back to bring you The Big Baltimore Playlist—2.0! Check back each month for some of our favorite new songs (plus a few oldies but goodies) from the local scene, and follow along our Spotify playlist for a soundtrack to the city, to boot.

“Never Gonna Run Away” by Brandon Woody
If you’re new to the city and want to know what it sounds like, look no further than the searing trumpet of Brandon Woody. On his debut record, out now via the esteemed Blue Note Records out of New York City, the Baltimore native buoyantly bottles the many nuances of his hometown—its struggles and its triumphs—crafting a deeply moving tribute along the way. On this opening track, he and his Upendo band are joined by jazz vocalist Imani-Grace for a rich and rousing reminder: keep the faith.

“Could You Love Me?” by End It
One of the fastest rising bands coming out of Baltimore right now, this hardcore quartet is pure powder-keg energy, cranking out a deeply authentic, breakneck brand of its heavy, hard-hitting genre. For the uninitiated, dip your toes in with this euphoric cover of New York pioneers Maximum Penalty off End It’s just-dropped debut album, Wrong Side of Heaven.

And if you missed tickets to their sold-out Soundstage release party at the end of the month, revel in the live action of the music video, featuring scene royalty like No Idols’ Paris Roberts and Angel Du$t’s Justice Tripp, to name a few.

“You, Me, the Reign” by Micah E. Wood
Leave it to this beloved, heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter to make an outright fun album for processing our current moment of societal dystopia. Despite all the horrors, listening to this title track—featuring local rap legend Eze Jackson—you’ll likely find yourself crooning along, laughing out loud at a few lyrics (“silly dudes, combative…”), and positively loving on the music video, featuring protest photography by Baltimore contributor Isaiah Winters—just like we did. Thanks for all that, Micah.

“Baby Baby” by Nourished by Time
Marcus Brown has a sound like none other. Since 2019, the Baltimore native has been making music under this nom de plume, and boy, is “nourished by time” a fitting way to describe his sonic style. Each song is a layer cake of ethereal vocals and eclectic inspiration—lo-fi pop, ’90s R&B, new wave, post-punk, deep house, etc.—all coming together into something truly transcendent, like a dream. We could dance all night to this ninth track off his new album, Passionate Ones, which includes zero misses. This fall, we recommend you do the same.

“Never Enough” by Tromac
We could name so many songs to listen to off the new Turnstile album—aka the entire thing—but by now, we’re pretty sure every reader in Baltimore already knows Never Enough from front to back, too. Instead, do yourself a favor and dig into this Baltimore Club remix by Baltimore-based DJ-producer, who also happens to hail from P.G. County, like Turnstile’s own drummer Daniel Fang. (Afterwards, go read more about the local hit-maker in this Baltimore Beat profile.)

The more dancing the better as this year comes to a close. And any time we need a truly Bmore hype-up, we’ve got this bop on repeat.

Each month, we’re amazed by the musical talent of this city’s artistic community, but never has it been more apparent than in the age of coronavirus—acting as both a salve for hardship and a source of hope. Even from quarantine, artists are still honing their craft, and their fans can continue to show their support by purchasing music and merch. In this month’s Big Baltimore Playlist, we showcase 10 local songs to listen to right now, ranging from freewheeling jazz and meditative electronica to hard-hitting rap anthems. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist for a soundtrack to the city.

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“Tension, Tension, Release” by Ami Dang

On her Meditations Mixtape Volume 1, local Baker Artist Award winner Ami Dang uses her transcendent electronic music to ease the tension of these strange modern times. Created in response to her own family members’ coronavirus illness, these songs channel the vocal hymns of her Sikh upbringing to create space for prayer, healing, and reflection. Using traditions from Hindustani classical music, each, and in particular this last track, can be used as a breathing exercise of sorts, be it through singing along or using the moment to meditate.

“Water Talks” by Amy Reid

Speaking of meditative music, earlier this month, local singer-songwriter Amy Reid of beloved indie duo Chiffon released a stunning solo instrumental EP and this ambient track through D.C.’s Atlantic Rhythms. It’s a short, serene soundscape that slowly builds before bubbling into a bright, vivid melody, showcasing Reid’s mastery of the electronic melody. Especially during the times of COVID, we recommend using this song to start your day.

“Love On Deck” by Colada*

In 2017, Colada made broke out as a local slow-jam hitmaker with her TT The Artist collaboration, “Stupid,” exuding old-school R&B vibes, heart-on-her-sleeve rhymes, and good style for days. This new love song, recently released on TT’s Club Queen Records label, proves that’s more than just a one-hit wonder, with a languid beat, lilting melody, and Colada’s honeyed, confident vox running the show.

“Swivel” by Dapper Dan Midas

After much anticipation, rising star DDm is back with a new solo album, and for the first time, fittingly, it’s under his full original moniker, Dapper Dan Midas, which dates back to his early days on the local rap-battle circuit. These eight tracks are a reflective homage to his Baltimore upbringing, both in lyric—ruminating in smart, vigorous verses on the likes of racism, sexuality, and culture (if you missed The Wire reference)—and in style—shedding the pop trappings of recent past albums to brazenly showcase his rap prowess while baring his soul and paying tribute to the city’s black experience. This second track, with a driving beat and authoritative rhymes, is one of many standouts, best followed by his album-accompanying virtual video experience.

“Johnny Bag of Smoke” by Dope Body

After a five-year hiatus, punk-rock quartet Dope Body has reunited on a raw, rollicking new album, aptly titled Home Body, as it was recorded remotely from the bandmates’ respective homes in the midst of COVID quarantine. This rough-and-tumble first track kicks things off with a bang, featuring clashing drums, searing guitar, and singer Andrew Laumann’s all-out vocals. It’s a fervent, fuzzed-out anthem that makes us, even more, miss the collective mosh of live music venues.

“Queen of Spades” by Ellen Cherry*

Throughout April and May, Ellen Cherry gifted us the new songs off of her latest album, Collage, with the Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter releasing each one by one through a Facebook Live performance this spring. It was something to look forward to in the times of COVID. We found this third indie-folk track especially poignant, speaking to our past selves and relationships and the ability for change, fueled by steady drums, effusive synth, and Cherry’s own haunting vocals.

“Focus” by Josh Stokes

Long live the unlikely, experimental tunes of Josh Stokes. The singer-drummer dynamo is a regular on the local scene, working with other household names over the years like Future Islands, JPEGMAFIA, Eze Jackson, and Abdu Ali, but his solo work shows his unique approach and own staying power, fusing myriad inspirations and multiple genres across the generations into a new-age take on funk, soul, and R&B. Off his new EP, Toons, this second track is a trippy, textured slow-jam, thanks to layers of steady beats, distant backup vocals, and Stokes’ own ethereal croons, speaking to bringing out the best in each other.

“Bmore Careful” by Lafayette Gilchrist*

It’s unclear whether or not this 12-minute track was written in the times of coronavirus, but rich in staccato energy and layered in jubilant sound, it feels like a soundtrack to navigating the city streets in the wake of a global pandemic. Off his new album, Now, it is veteran musician Lafayette Gilchrist’s improvisational jazz at its very best—a buoyant, wandering exploration of the keys, with Herman Burney on bass and Eric Kennedy on drums. For the full effect, be sure to watch one of his livestream concerts at An Die Musik before the quarantine is up.

“And So On” by Michael Nau*

We need more little, lovely acoustic ditties in our lives these days. Luckily, Cumberland indie-folk artist Michael Nau has us covered with his latest record, So On So On. This similarly titled track features a few aching, jangly strums of guitar and Nau’s weightless, bare-bones vocals speaking in poetic, labyrinthine verse. Like much of his music, it’s a lesson in the art of simplicity, without ever losing power or touch. A must listen for the sticky, sun-dappled afternoons ahead.

“Drive” by Sickle Cell

There’s something immediate about this instrumental exit song off of Sickle Cell’s first full album, You Might Be Dead Tomorrow. A solo project from local artist Alexander Briscoe Jr. (Oda Red, Slow Jerks), the spring record is a personal reflection on life’s ephemerality, with this twelfth track unfolding like a cinematic, into-the-sunset, final scene, and yet at the same time the mark of a new beginning. Founded in new wave and post punk, Briscoe intertwines electronic drumbeats and ’80s-infused synth with slow, undulating progressions of livewire electric guitar, urging the listener follow, too.

*Not on Spotify. We’ll add if/when it becomes available.

Each month, we’re amazed by the musical talent of this city’s artistic community, but never has it been more apparent than in the age of coronavirus, acting as both a salve and a source of hope. Even from quarantine, artists are continuing to hone their craft, and their fans can still show their support by purchasing music and and merch. In this month’s The Big Baltimore Playlist, we showcase 10 local songs to listen to right now, ranging from pandemic jingles to iconic cover songs and uplifting original hip hop. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist for a soundtrack to the city.

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“No To Corona” by Butch Dawson

Leave it to Butch Dawson to drop the city’s first coronavirus anthem. Over a murky, moody beat, the punk-infused rapper and tongue-in-cheek wordsmith turns a hand-washing jingle into hard-knocking hip-hop. Along the way, he covers all the bases: personal hygiene, social distancing, disinfectant products, protective equipment, and more. It’s a touch of levity—and legitimate advice—in the strange times of COVID.

“Haven” by :3ION*

Few musicians know how to pull our heartstrings quite like Elon Battle, or :3ION, whose electronic R&B melodies continually evolve the modern love song. On this ethereal new single, the singer-songwriter’s falsetto vocals float light as a feather, lilting over a twinkling melody that glitches in and out like the state between sleep and wake. The repeated decrescendo lyrics reassure romantic loyalty, even or especially through hardship, which could likely be related to by many a listener these days.

“Now I Live in Truth” by Greg Hatem*

Local musician and Natural Velvet drummer Greg Hatem has released a new solo album, Springlight, that loosely recollects a psychedelic journey, with this final song marking the trip’s end. Swirling in effusive synth and technicolor soundscapes, it’s a futuristic pop melody, shedding the deep, dystopian tones of the record’s previous tracks, arriving with spring-like newness at a place of buoyant clarity. It seems to remind us: there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

“Quarantined Sax” by QueenEarth*

One of the cures for coronavirus anxiety? We don’t have a medical degree, but we think it’s safe to say: Jazz. And thanks to acoustic singer-songwriter QueenEarth, we now have a whole album of instrumental, jazz-influenced tracks from her new Queer Core: Songs for Isolation. We found this fifth track particularly soothing, fueled by serpentine saxophone and sprightly keys, allowing us to finally unwind in its instrumental interplay. Be sure to check out “Piano Lesson” while you’re at it, too.

“Back the Hale Up” by Landis Expandis*

And just like that, another quarantine track we never knew we needed until now, thanks to musical dynamo Landis Expandis, or rather, LHL—aka Landis-Harry-Larry—with the beloved DJ/singer’s two alter egos also in tow. The music video for this funky, infectious tune is half the fun, with Landis’s doppelgängers performing bubbly synth over a steady drum machine beat in matching outfits in the middle of a grocery store aisle. Meanwhile, the lead singer’s playful lyrics recount a trek to the store and the interactions had there with those folks who just don’t get social distancing. You know who you are.

“Everything” by Mateyo, Al Rogers Jr., and Josh Stokes

This winter track by a trifecta of Baltimore talent is, indeed, everything we need to get us through moments of quarantine doldrums and remind us that summer is still yet to come. A boppy, effervescent beat by local producer Matthew Lampart, aka Mateyo, serves as the undulating backdrop for the honeyed chorus croons of singer-drummer extraordinaire Josh Stokes and the feel-good, free-flowing verses of rapper Al Rogers Jr., both speaking to the simple necessity of love.

“Quite Some Time” by Modern Nomad

Modern Nomad has become one of our go-to bands for the sort of sun-soaked nostalgic dream-pop that transports us to brighter, warmer, carefree days. Possessing a meditative quality, the local quintet’s ’70s-tinged tunes can sound like swimming in the mesmerizing flow of a lava lamp or walking in a smoke-swirled haze down a California beach. Lose yourself in this new track, featuring reverberating guitar, peppy keys, and Tom McLean’s soft, sleepy vocals, bringing his most intimate truth to light.

“Angel from Montgomery” by Outer Spaces*

In the age of home concerts, our favorites might just be those of the incredible mounting collection of old folk and Americana cover songs by singer-songwriter Cara Beth Satalino. This heartbreaking acoustic rendition of John Prine’s 1971 classic arrived at the end of March as news broke that the legendary musician was in critical condition with the coronavirus. He would pass a week later, but his influence remains, as does this ode, with the Outer Space’s frontwoman’s raw, slow-burning vocals making it all her own.

“Glue” by Shinji*

This shimmering new single from indie-pop quartet Shinji is a perfect soundtrack for the continual daydream that is quarantine. With jangling drums, aching guitar strings, and hazy New Wave synth, it evokes the best of the 1980s and the youthful ennui of other lifetimes. “Alone, on my phone, is where I will be,” sings frontman Josh Frazier in distant reverie. Us, too, listening to this tune.

“My Year” by T.Ali

Consider T.Ali a Baltimore artist to watch, with this spring single showing the pure-hearted promise of the rising rapper. A comeback anthem imbued with old-school influence and founded in both hardship and hope, his earnest verses feature smart rhymes and measured flow, with assists from fellow city artists Miss Kam and Chris Cassius. Be sure to also dig into his just released debut album, Since We’re Being Honest.

*Not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist if it comes online.

With postponed or cancelled concerts being announced across the city, we’ve expanded the latest edition of The Big Baltimore Playlist to include 10 songs by local musicians to listen to right now, ranging from punk-infused hip-hop and dance-worthy pop music to meditative soundscapes. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment via our Spotify playlist and continue to support hometown acts by purchasing their music or merchandise.

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“Woke Me” by Chiffon
This beloved experimental R&B duo (now trio with the addition of bassist Will Ryerson, also of Other Colors) is back with their first new single in five years off their upcoming four-track EP. It’s a dreamy, seductive slow jam featuring sparkling layers of digital beats and singer Amy Reid’s ethereal vocals speaking to long-distance romance. All the more fitting a listen in an era of social distancing.

“Become A Mountain” by Dan Deacon
This might be the most inspiring song of 2020, with electronic maestro Dan Deacon guiding us toward a triumphant awakening on his new album, Mystic Familiar. Amidst swirling synth, building piano, and orchestral peaks, it’s chock full of advice about opening up your imagination and finding your inner strength, making it one we’ll likely turn to for a long time to come.

“Our Pathetic Age” by DJ Shadow ft. Samuel T. Herring
Somehow we missed this song when it was released last fall, but earlier this week, thanks to WTMD’s Baltimore Hit Parade, we discovered what instantly became one of our new favorite tracks of spring. The Cali-based DJ Shadow enlisted Future Islands frontman Sam Herring for this nostalgic dance track, with a steady funk-infused disco beat grooving beneath his distinctive vocal croons. All we can say is, thank you.

“Raspberry Gun” by Dyyo
We told you last fall that this up-and-coming experimental rapper was one to watch, and his new exploratory album, featuring a full live band, drives that very point home. It’s a powder keg of kinetic tracks that fuse hip-hop with genres like grunge, punk rock, and jazz in an improvisational way. We particularly like this sixth track for its old-school flavor, free-flowing vocal play, crashing drums, and the occasional flutter of brass.

“Sweet June Nectar” by Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon
Listening to Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon’s original “Almost Heaven,” which garnered him national attention via American Idol, you knew the Catonsville singer-songwriter had staying power, and this second single off his upcoming debut album, Namesake, proves exactly that. With raw piano, reverberating strings, and soaring vocals, the feel-good anthem captures the essence of youth, young love, and warm weather—all things we’ll gladly repeat in our minds like a mantra for weeks to come.

“Black-Eyed Susie” by Ken and Brad Kolodner
This weekend, father-son acoustic duo Ken and Brad Kolodner released their new album, Stony Run, named for the Baltimore waterway that runs between their respective homes. It’s full of energetic originals and inventive takes on Americana classics, like this seventh bluegrass-inspired track. As Brad’s warm vocals move to the forefront, an unlikely combination of instruments, the hammered mbira and gourd banjo, craft a hard-driving tune that gives a glimpse into what could be the genre’s future.

“Day2Day” by Micah E. Wood ft. Bobbi Rush
Baltimore’s resident troubadour Micah E. Wood returns with a new single and love song we’ve been waiting for all along. With an infectious pop melody and airy R&B backup vocals from singer-songwriter Bobbi Rush, two of the local scene’s up-and-coming artists tackle the overwhelming uncertainty of new romance, rejecting the doubt induced by former heartbreak, embracing the healing powers of love. Through groovy guitar chords and an uptempo dance beat, its final lyrics leave you with an unwavering sense of hope.

“Cry Like A Baby” by Movakween
Singer-songwriter MovaKween makes music for spiritual guidance, and this new slow jam feels especially timely for its message: giving everyone the space to handle hardship in their own way and time. Speaking to love, specifically, she humanizes the pain that comes with its loss, as her honeyed powerhouse vocals reach new peaks over a smooth, sultry R&B melody that gives homage to the genre’s greatest hits. If you don’t already, consider Movakween an artist to know now.

“Mother” by Outcalls
This new track by Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish contemplates a dynamic topic: motherhood, with distant, dream-like vocals asking a big, ambiguous question—“Better now, but better when?”—ultimately leaving the answer, too, up to listeners. Made in collaboration with singer-songwriter/producer Jennifer Pague of L.A.’s. Vita and the Woolf, it’s a spacious, surreal melody that builds with a staccato beat, lush synth, and the ladies’ always-impressive operatic pipes.

“We” by The Soft Pink Truth
Looking for a song to get lost in? Consider this new track from The Soft Pink Truth, the solo project of Drew Daniel from celebrated local experimental duo Matmos, a meditative gift in these strange times. Off the upcoming album, Shall We Go On Sinning so That Grace May Increase?, it’s a soft, sparse, sparkling soundscape, dancing between sublime minimalism and a trance-music rave, inspiring listeners to find moments of self-care and healing. It couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs to listen to right now, ranging from psychedelic folk-rock and Grammy-nominated hip-hop to avant-garde instrumental music. Check back each month for new top tracks, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“A Prism In Reverse” by Arbouretum

Over the course of the last nearly two decades, Arbouretum has garnered a local and national cult following for its experimental folk-rock, and this first single off the band’s new album, Let It All In, due out late March, is a perfect example of that magnetic, mystical sound. Harking back to classic song structures in a fusion of English folk and 1970s psychedelia, it’s a slow, steady march, always trudging forward, leading the listener through a vivid dream world from times gone by. A delicate but persistent melody,frontman Dave Heumann’s prosaic lyrics ride on undulating waves of reverberating guitar and resolute drums with the occasional windswept woodwind. In the end, he follows a mysterious maiden into the woods, perhaps a metaphor for finding solace in the natural world.

“Fanfare for Effective Freedom” by Horse Lords

It’s been four years since the last full-length release from Horse Lords, and with The Common Task, also due out in March, the avant-garde quartet returns with a potent first single that bottles all the unbridled energy that inspired their loyal fanbase over the last decade. Not shy about their self-described radical politics, the record points to a “utopian, modernist ideal,” with this first single tipping its hat to an early 20th-century progressive philosophy on individual freedom. Across seven minutes, both singular sounds and stratified polyrhythms oscillate between tight, insistent melodies and wide, unwieldly soundscapes. Whatever your leanings, it’s an intricate groove filled with inertia and possibility, continuing the band’s quest of making music for “the liberation of mind and body.”

“Sway Me, Sway Me Into the Arms of the Lord” by Infinity Knives

Infinity Knives is a project that welcomes us into the mind and myriad inspirations of Tariq Ravelomanana. Each of the artist’s eclectic tracks are a singular sound collage, mingling moods, from light and airy to murky and otherworldly, as well as musical genres like hip-hop, electronic, and classical. On his second album, Dear, Sudan—a full-length part-two to his spring 2019 debut—his production excels at both minimalist and complex. In the midst arrives this gorgeous seventh song. A raw, sparse, poignant piano melody builds up and fans out with digital flourishes and the layered vibrato vocals of local musician and Mind On Fire member Allison Clendaniel. Together, they float, then soar, like a bird in flight.

“You Can’t Put My Fire Out” by Letitia VanSant

Make this second single off Letitia VanSant’s new album an anthem for 2020. Circadian, out late next month, reflects on our natural rhythms, and this holy roller single is a waking moment, and one of reckoning. Known for fusing personal and political, the singer embraces both on this fiery, fearless new track, penned during the Supreme Court hearings of Brett Kavanaugh. “This song came out of reclaiming my narrative and sense of self-worth,” wrote VanSant, a survivor of sexual abuse herself, and the aftermath is the songwriter at her strongest yet. Building on the growth of her 2018 debut, Gut It to the Studs, her robust melody-making is on full display, and her rich vocal command roars to new heights. Letitia arrives ready to take on the world, and show it what she’s made of.

“Bad Idea” by YBN Cordae

One big takeaway from this year’s Grammy Awards? YBN Cordae. Nominated for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song, the 22-year-old rapper and Prince George’s County native has emerged as a rising star for his playful yet reflective approach to hip-hop. On his debut, The Lost Boy, the former Towson University student has recorded with such big names as Anderson .Paak, Pusha T, Meek Mill, and Chance the Rapper, as on this nominated single. Combining nimble verses with a bright, bouncy sample of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s “Be Real Black For Me,” Cordae tells his come-up story, speaking on humble beginnings, big dreams, and found success. Be on the lookout for more to come from this promising artist.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs to listen to now, ranging from eclectic art rock and anthemic rap to a catchy surf-infused tune. Check back each month for new top tracks of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“Goddess of The Baltimore in Your Mind” by Boister*

In the history of Baltimore music, there have been many leading ladies, and one, undeniably, over the last two decades, has been that of Anne Watts. Frontwoman of art rock collective Boister, the singer-songwriter, alongside her seven bandmates, to make eclectic, transcendent music—yes, boisterous, imaginative music—all for music’s sake. Across eight album, she has ruminated on heady themes like life, death, war, peace, and love, while the band’s new ninth, Goddess of The Baltimore in Your Mind, is a timely collection of songs for and about women. With backing vocals by War On Women’s Shawna Potter, this title track is like a Second Line rallying cry for women everywhere to fearlessly come together, find their inner strength, and rise up. Even Baltimore itself is personified as a goddess. We couldn’t agree more.

“Pull Up” by DDm

Beautiful Gowns was definitely one of the most fun records out of Baltimore this year, and local rap star DDm is keeping the party going with a just-launched video for this big, bold song, featuring captivating dance moves by local R&B artist Rovo Monty (see for yourself in the link above). The bouncing, club-ready beat and confident, commanding rhymes are pure swagger, speaking to swatting away haters, playboys, and punks, and never backing down. It’s an infectious anthem that makes one thing clear: in the streets or on the stage, don’t mess with DDm. Oh, and that, as his star continues to rise, the Baltimore-born artist won’t be shying away from his local roots.

“For The Go Go” by Lafayette Gilchrist

Speaking of important figures in Baltimore music history, Lafayette Gilchrist is high up on that list. The piano master is well-known for his iconic compositions as heard as the score of David Simon’s HBO series The Wire, Treme, and The Deuce, but those in the know are also keenly aware that his music runs far deeper in a lively fusion of jazz, blues, and funk with a touch of go-go acting. Earlier this year, the 2018 Baker Artist Award winner released his second solo album, Dark Matter, recorded live and rooted in sense of place for his main cities, his home of Baltimore and his native Washington, D.C. This buoyant track might be about the latter, where the genre was invented, but in the midst of ballads, it is a clear star for its jubilant energy and virtuosic keys.

“Oh No” by The Dune Flowers

New band alert! And just as we discover the catchy tunes of The Dune Flowers, they’ve already up and left us for Nashville, Tennessee. But the Westminster-bred duo makes music that is noteworthy, and also well beyond the twenty-something years of songwriters Tyler Drager and Oscar Schoenfelder. It’s a 1960s-inspired, early-rock-and-roll sound, founded in fuzzed-out surf guitar, steady drums, and vocal play. A perfect example: this mellow melody that evolves into a rollicking, retro first track off their self-titled, second album. Speaking of young love, night drives, and city lights, it’s an addictive song, at any age.

“Fortune” by Wye Oak

And just like that, Wye Oak comes crashing back into our lives with this turbulent standalone single. It’s a moment of reunion after a period of focused energy on the bandmates’ own respective side projects, with drummer Andy Stack releasing his first solo LP as Joyero this summer and frontwoman Jenn Wasner becoming a part of Bon Iver’s live band. After years apart, they also have come together again in the same city—sadly not Baltimore—but Durham, North Carolina. The moody melody builds, churns, and burns out in a fiery blaze, while, as on their last record, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs, Wasner’s labyrinthine lyrics address change, considering both the joy and the struggle that come with it.

*Not yet on Spotify. We will add when it becomes available.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs to listen to now, ranging from breakneck bluegrass and comeback indie rock to masterful electronic music. Check back each month for new top tracks of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“Crystal Geyser” by Al Rogers Jr.

Leave it to Al Rogers Jr. to drop the most infectious song of autumn so far. This first single off his new album, SwoozyBaby, titled for his trademark mantra for spreading good vibes, is giving us summer energy with its almost tropical, rat-a-tat beat, chiming bells, and smooth, swift vocals. Play it on repeat (trust us), then dig into the rest of the West Baltimore rapper’s record for even more one-of-a-kind inspiration.

“Sat By A Tree” by Dan Deacon

This morning, electronic wizard Dan Deacon announced his upcoming 2020 album, Mystic Familiar, with this first single and its accompanying creepy, crawly music video. Looking into the topics of life and death, this bright, buoyant melody is full circle in its familiar touches and techniques from both his most recent and earliest work. It’s peak Deacon—a beautiful opus—and it leaves us eager to listen to the rest of the record.

“Reverie” by The High & Wides*

This song came to singer Marc Dykeman almost entirely in a dream—hence the name. But it’s a perfect example of the natural talent of this rising bluegrass quartet, whose debut Lifted made the Billboard top-ten charts last year for its genre. With their sophomore Seven True Stories due out this December, this track is a sneak peek of the ways in which their abilities—fast-flying fingers, vocal and instrumental harmonies, creative storytelling—only continue to grow.

“Dogs” by Joyero

Wye Oak’s Andy Stack has struck out on his own under a new debut solo project, Joyero. For the first time, the drummer’s voice moves to the forefront, and it’s a cool, calming sound. Now based in Marfa, Texas, the sparse yet saturated melody captures the transition between his different cities, relationships, and lifetimes—a dreamy, electronic reel-to-reel. Trappings of his old bands are there, but it’s wholly all his own. Plus, it might have the best music video, of all time.

“Local Honey” by Mary Prankster*

If you’re of a certain age, you might not know the name Mary Prankster. But for those Baltimore music scene veterans, and musicians in the know, the genre-jumping singer-songwriter was an alt-rock cult icon here in the 1990s. Now back after taking more than a decade off from recording and touring, her new album, Thickly Settled, drops this weekend, which she calls a “rollicking cross-country road trip.” Consider it a comeback with this first single—’60s and surf-inflected, backed by some of the city’s best musicians, into pure, don’t-make-it-like-this-anymore indie-rock.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs to listen to now, ranging from rising experimental rap and rollicking garage rock to operatic R&B. Check back each month for new top tracks of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“Aria of Resilience” by :3ION*
It’s been three long years since we’ve had new music from this electronic R&B artist, pronounced elon. But if this futuristic take on an ancient musical form is any indication, it’s all been worth the wait. It transcends historical time and employs fantasy, with the lyrics’ protagonist being a character from a medieval realm, while the lilting harp sample, studded with digital beats, is inspired by the classic 15th-century painting Garden of Earthly Delights. Whatever the era, :3ION reemerges with newfound power to his already otherworldly voice—his falsetto flitting and fluttering to new depths and peaks. Keep your ears perked for his upcoming sophomore record and follow-up to 2016’s debut, Ronin.

“Free The Frail” by JPEGMAFIA
It’s been a big year for JPEGMAFIA, the experimental California-by-way-of-Baltimore rapper whose merry-prankster approach and punk-fueled, no-holds-barred, oftentimes NSFW music has turned him into a Pitchfork favorite and whose raw performances have put him on the lineups of the likes of Coachella (where his set was considered one of this year’s best by Rolling Stone). But keeping critics and fans on their toes in the name of his unofficial slogan—“you think you know me”—this new song, off his just-released All My Heroes Are Cornballs, might be the most outright pretty and poignant he’s made yet. The 13th track on a record that on quick listen plays like an iPod shuffle acid trip, it’s also the most intimate we’ve seen JPEG, using this dreamy beat and both strong verses and supple chorus vocals to speak candidly to the wavering uncertainty that comes with success.

“Rides Through The Morning” by Michael Nau
There’s something about this summer track by prolific Cumberland singer-songwriter Michael Nau that makes our hearts just want to burst. Perhaps it’s the pure nostalgic soul of the thing—from the frontman’s from-the-belly, growling vocals, to the golden, end-of-day harmonies, to the ratatat drums that cut through the ache of the organ’s swirl. Then again, maybe it’s just the simple sentiment of the chorus that we should all take home with us: “Put down your sorrows and dance with me.” Whatever it might be, one thing’s for certain: Nau is the master of bittersweet, capturing both the shadow and the sunshine, the happiness and sadness of both the past and the future. In the present, put this song on repeat.

“Landmine” by Spooled Up
The 1990s are alive and well in Baltimore thanks to the wily garage rock of this two-year-old indie quartet. They possess a raw, explosive sound that’s bottled in this aptly named lead track off their sophomore EP, Strange World. On it, the cool, calm vocals of Naomi Davidoff command the mic, which she shares with bandmate Luke Spicknall on other tracks, while a thick tangle of fuzzed-out guitar fills the air and a rollicking surf sound spins out in every direction. Full of inertia, consider this young band one to watch.

“Exquisite Pain” by Vosh
It’s easy to be enchanted by the haunting vocals of Josephine Olivia. We found ourselves hooked back when she was half of electro-R&B duo Blacksage, where her limber coos wove like a snake around the band’s talented trap-forward beats. Now, years later, after moving back to Baltimore and going solo, her new project, Vosh, carries many of the same qualities that lured in local listeners in the first place, but this time, she digs even deeper, and goes darker, both in shadowy themes and the serpentine sound of her self-proclaimed “death pop.” Off her forthcoming EP, produced by former Baltimore producer Owen Ross, this first single is propelled by a heavy bouncing bass, monastic hums, and her still ethereal vox, touching on pain, pleasure, and desire. We’ll be eagerly awaiting more.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from old-school R&B and girl-power country to dance-inducing, pop-infused rock-and-roll. 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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“Trigger” by Butch Dawson
Over the past several years, blurring the lines between hardcore hip-hop and head-banging punk rock, Butch Dawson has created his own lane, crafting tracks with underground spirit and unbridled confidence in a murky musical no-man’s-land of his own creation. Enter Ollieworld, his latest record and the follow-up to last year’s fawned-over Swamp Boy, where elements of his past work permeate—eerie melodies, gallows humor, lackadaisical swagger. This first song, riddled with NSFW lines, shows off Dawson’s mastery of catchy chorus rhymes and addictively heavy beats before devolving into an outright mosh pit. We wouldn’t be surprised if, any time now, he makes a national hit.

“Checks in the Mail!” by Dyyo
Music fans are always looking for the next great act that they can then tell all their friends they discovered first, and if you haven’t yet caught Dyyo performing around the city, consider the artist found. There’s no one in Baltimore, or beyond, for that matter, quite like this up-and-coming alternative rapper. Each of his songs has a singular, shapeshifting sound from the next one, like this wavy, jazz-infused hip-hop track with clever wordplay, crashing live drums, and a smoke-swirled storyline (as well as all of November’s People Are Scared). Appearing on many a diverse local lineup, his explosive energy fits any bill while always remaining uniquely his own.

“Ten Year Town” by Emma White
For the last decade, Baltimore native Emma White has been hard at work on her music career, attending Berklee College of Music, cutting her teeth in Nashville, and now, this bare-it-all ballad, which might just be the song that steers her into the spotlight, garnering buzz by the likes of Billboard and Rolling Stone. With honeyed vocals, hearty strums, and smart songwriting, this first single off her upcoming EP speaks openly about the many roadblocks and heartbreaks that aspiring musicians—especially women—run into in this industry. In a moment when fearless females are gaining traction for bucking the genre’s old-fashioned ways, White introduces herself as an artist to watch.

“Back and Forth” by Joy Postell
Last fall, Joy Postell’s debut Diaspora EP was met with critical claim for its socially minded singles, seeming to cement the 26-year-old singer-songwriter as a voice for political change. But Postal is not one to be pigeonholed, and now she shows us that her truth-to-power approach to music is equally impressive when applied to more intimate topics, such as the dealings of the heart. With some of last year’s most popular tracks lying in her love songs, this new EP is confidently rooted in the throwback sounds of 1990s and early 2000s R&B. With knocking bass, self-assured rhymes, and a message of personal empowerment, this title track only has us on our toes for what’s to come.

“High” by Super City
With searing guitars, soaring vocals, and a can’t-help-but-sing-along chorus, it’s official: the boys are back. Not that they ever went anywhere, with Super City continuing to be one of the most infectious and just plain fun live acts in the city, with more new music on the way. But riding off the good vibrations of their 2018 Sanctuary, this summer track is a rocking roller coaster with a breakneck melody made for dancing with abandon—just follow the chorus and “don’t care, don’t care, don’t care” what others think. Come for the big, brilliant vocal harmonies. Stay for the two-minute-mark crescendo that would make The Beatles proud. While you’re at it, give a listen their other recent single, the sunny, jangly, toe-tapping tune, “Too Right.”

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from joyous hip-hop to nostalgic synthpop to otherworldly 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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“Raiments” by Ami Dang

In a city of idiosyncratic artists, few Baltimore musicians make more of an original mark than Ami Dang. Using sitar, voice, and electronics, she creates a transporting sound experience that weaves together the North Indian classical music of her heritage and the ambient DIY sounds of her home, Baltimore City. Get lost in this dreamy east-meets-west fusion in this early single off her upcoming album, Parted Plains, which draws inspiration from the epic folktales of South Asia and the Middle East, such as One Thousand and One Nights, letting your imagination tell a mythical tale of its own.

“Hooray” by DDm

This bright, bouncy sparkle of a first song off of DDm’s new album, Beautiful Gowns, very well might be our favorite song of the year. It’s the song we need in the world right now—a positive proclamation for finding some joy in these strange, turbulent times. It captures the affirmative approach that this Baltimore born rapper has decided to take in his music making, forging his own path and finding his own infectious beat, haters be damned, along the way. Give it a listen, add it to all of your playlists, and follow the chorus mantra: “Don’t stop, keep on dancing.”

“Be Great” by Eze Jackson

It’s hard to envision the Baltimore music scene without prolific rap artist Eze Jackson. From fronting alt-hip-hop collective Soul Cannon to emceeing the Bmore Beat Club rap showcase to collaborating with myriad artists, Jackson has been a potent and vital creative force for this city, a legacy that’s bottled in his latest solo record, Fool. Debuted last weekend during Artscape, it’s a dynamic mix of feel-good beats, hard-hitting verses, club bangers, smooth love songs, and poignant ballads, like this first track. Sparse and soaring, it’s an inspirational piece of poetry, on survival, on success, on self, and always, Baltimore. Call it an unofficial anthem, only solidifying that Jackson will go down as one of our city’s own greats.

“Not A Riddle” by Hunter Hooligan

Last month, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, Baltimore singer-songwriter Hunter Hooligan released this celebratory piece of house music to mark the historic anniversary of Pride. Its message is one to consider any day of the year, that love is love is love, with its funky, buoyant melody and Hooligan’s mellifluous vocals tipping a hat to 1969 as much as they are looking ahead to the future. “What divides us? Inside us, we’re one and the same,” he sings. Whoever you happen to love, this feel-good dance number is an instant summer jam.

“I Drive” by Lower Dens

This veteran indie-pop band has written and released some of the city’s most acclaimed and accomplished albums over the course of its nearly 10-year run in Baltimore. But their upcoming album and first in four years, The Competition, is shaping up to be their most powerful yet. This second single reveals an intimate look at family through the LGBTQ lens. “Like a lot of queer and trans people, I’ve learned that real family is made, and it isn’t necessarily blood,” wrote singer Jana Hunter, who identifies as he/him, on Facebook. “This song is about leaving behind obligations to people who don’t love or care about you, being with and about people who do.” That is the driving force behind the title, and its urgency is heard in this gorgeous, nostalgically 1980s synthpop song, backed by the ethereal vocals of Baltimore R&B singer :3ION.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from flavorful hip-hop to punkish slow jams to psychedelic indie-pop. 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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“He Say She Say” by DDm
The first track off DDm’s much-anticipated solo debut is finally here, and unsurprisingly, it’s a truly addictive bop that bottles the rap artist’s bounty of bravado, wit, and humor into one tight package. We’ve come to know and love this Baltimore-born rapper as an all-time hometown favorite, but this track serves as an introduction for the rest of the world to Emmanuel Williams—his creative vision, his flavor, his fashion sense, his downright fun. It’s a taste of what’s to come with the rest of his upcoming Beautiful Gowns, due out later this summer. The title chorus says it all: DDm is ignoring the industry hubbub and any and all haters to forge this path on his own. This swaggering single is just the first step.

“World in Blue” by Hexgirlfriends
We love when Hexgirlfriends get loud, as they do in many moments on the electro-femme, pop-punk duo’s early spring record, Call Your Mom. In fact, on a few songs, they get downright pissed, calling out the patriarchy—shitty boyfriends, bad dads, creepy dudes. But maybe the band’s most powerful moments lie in the quiet ones, like this dreamy tune originally released in late 2017. With single pangs of guitar and flutters of synth, it’s a song about the end of love, capturing that feeling of the all-consuming, ocean-like depths that follow. But even in the wake of loss, it’s not a sad song. This swimming melody leaves room for renewal and hope.

“One Night” by Modern Nomad ft. Not Charles
This song is a taste of dry California summertime amidst the spring thunderstorms and rising humidity of the East. It makes sense as frontman Tom McLean has spent some time making music on the West Coast, but back in Baltimore, he and his bandmates have carried over the good vibes, imbuing this unhurried groove with hushed vocals, golden harmonies, and rich, aching guitar. With hints of inspiration from ’60s psychedelia and ’70s funk, it’s a jangly slow jam worth adding to your warm-weather playlists, while the band itself is one to keep on your radar for releases to come.

“Moon” by Post Pink*
Three years since their last record, post-punk quartet Post Pink has returned with a bang on their new No Problem, Probably EP. On first listen, this steady song might seem like the release’s sleeper hit among the other more rough-and-tumble tracks. But we hear it as pure rolling thunder—an undulating, almost-meditative melody of low-lying bass, live-wire guitar, and persistent drums that gain momentum with each gravely coo or howling cry by frontwoman Angela Swiecicki. “I am howling at the moon,” she repeats like a mantra with vigor and varying volume, almost inspiring you to do the same.

“Diamonds” by TT The Artist
We find it fitting that the Club Queen herself has finally released a song about these sparkling jewels. But TT The Artist’s latest track, released earlier this year, isn’t a braggadocious rap about riches or fame like some of her best past work. Instead, it speaks to finding one’s inner-worth and letting it shine, just as she has left Baltimore to further pursue her career on the West Coast. Fitting with the Sunshine State, it’s an unfalteringly feel-good tune for all ages and listeners, full of positive affirmations and approachable rhymes with effusive production by local beatmaker Mighty Mark.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from avant garde rap and heartfelt electronic pop to outright funk. 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’m Here Now (Fiyah!!!)” by Abdu Ali

This title track is the last song on Abdu Ali’s transcendent new album, FIYAH!!!, released last week, and yet, in a way, it’s a beginning. The experimental artist has spent the last several years defying all musical boundaries in honing their homegrown hometown craft, and with each new release, the Baltimore native has found new ways to fuse the genres that shaped them—Bmore club, hip-hop, jazz, soul. And now, with this fifth record, they emerge anew, presenting a truly unique amalgam of sound that only Abdu and their journey as a queer black artist born and bred in this city could create. This vivacious song, in particular, captures their intensity, ingenuity, and free-spirited live shows, now featuring the sonic elevation of a full band. The lyrical mantra—“I’m here now, I woke up today, fire in my soul, I’m here to stay”—tells you all you need to know. This is just the beginning. See for yourself when they play live tonight at the Ottobar.

“Gnat Booty” by Black Root Underground*

In Baltimore, funk is alive and well thanks to the six-piece hip-hop collective of Black Root Underground. Fusing both sounds with blues, soul, reggae, and spoken-word poetry, these multi-instrumentalists create an all-around feel-good sound, fueled by drums, didgeridoos, trombones, bass, and keys. Together, they create high-octane rhythms that propel forward Blackroot’s own energetic verses, playing on positivity, humor, and fun. Take this new single off the new album Root Canal. It’s as much an old-school James Brown show as it is a trip to Preservation Hall in New Orleans, where the lead singer refers to himself as “a large child with a really nice beard.” Be sure to check out one of their live performances, which include audience participation, encouraging the crowd, like the Godfather of Funk himself, to get on up out of their chairs.

“Grammy Speech” by Kotic Couture

There are few artists in Baltimore these days with better lyrical finesse than Kotic Couture. With a deliberate delivery and warm, husky, heartfelt vocals, the rising rap artist has become a force to be reckoned with on the local scene, drawing on their own story to honestly speak to dreams, doubts, and staying steadfastly true to yourself. “I’m at peace with my past, it can no longer haunt me,” they declare over lilting strings in this new track, featuring singer Lavon, off their upcoming album, Diary of a Dreamer, laying out a mission statement of sorts. It introduces new listeners to their lyrical prowess and storytelling swagger, and cements their ambitions and intentions for longtime fans and their future self. Fans have flocked for braggadocious party starters such as “Drippin’” and “Go Awff,” but this more reserved moment of vulnerability showcases how versatile Kotic can truly be.

“Stay Right Here” by Micah E. Wood

Leave it to electronic troubadour Micah E. Wood to turn heartache into a club-ready bop. On this track, as in much of his forthcoming self-titled third album, due out May 17, Wood’s trademark talk-sing sentimentality returns, but with a bigger, bolder, newly-baring-it-all sound. Heart on his sleeve, he embraces new emotions, reassesses old ones, and doesn’t hold back with fresh vocal highs. As the title suggests, this love song for long-distance relationships is about not wanting to say goodbye, but owning your own desires and needs, and, ultimately, letting go. As the infectious rhythm swells, amorphous local musician Josh Stokes joins in for a soulful verse and smooth backup vocals alongside his sister, R&B singer-songwriter Bobbi Rush, adding an extra dose of urgency to this fiery, fervent track.

“I See Her Face” By Outer Spaces

This first single off Outer Spaces’ upcoming Gazing Globe gives us all the warm-weather feels. It burns like early summer. It rambles like a sunset drive. It aches like the early days of a fleeting crush.
Maybe it’s the jangly strums of guitar, the steady subtle drum beats, or frontwoman Cara Beth Stalino’s low, listless vocals, but it’s all reminiscent of humid Maryland heat. A follow-up to the band’s 2016 debut, this new bittersweet indie-pop record follows the singer’s recent breakup and forges a path for finding herself again. Though you never quite know whose face she sees hiding in the sun, by the end of the searing crescendo, you think it might be her own.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs, ranging from roots-fueled funk and electronic instrumentals to country western ballads, for you to listen to right now. 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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“Painted Roads” by Cris Jacobs

The King of Baltimore rock-and-roll is back and he’s bringing the funk. Where 2016’s Dust To Gold was full of Southern trimmings—roadhouse blues, twangy ballads, thunderous stomps—this new tune off of Jacobs’ upcoming Color Where You Are is a downright groove, fueled by a flurry of piano, undulating bass, and spunky drums, speaking to the strange chase of stardom, and finding success on your own terms, wherever you are. The soulful sound is tried-and-true Jacobs to the core, but it’s also fresh territory for the veteran musician. It adds an instant pep to your step, and leaves you hungry, in these heavy times, for the lightness that the rest of the record could bring.

“Dis Ting” by Funsho

By now, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen or heard of Funsho. Be it on your television set—where the Nigeria-born, Maryland-raised musician first garnered national attention last year on NBC’s The Voice—or around the Baltimore region, where he’s been performing seemingly nonstop ever since. As the second single of his upcoming NUMB3RZ EP, this track is an early song of summer, featuring a swaggering Afrobeat melody, Funsho’s silky smooth vocals, and guest flows by fellow DMV artist King Kanja. Combining pop, soul, hip-hop, and R&B, he creates instant feel-good vibes. See for yourself when he performs before Harbor East’s FashionEASTa fashion show in late April.

“Ecola” by The Honey Dewdrops

The first day of spring is officially upon us and few songs feel more fitting than those off of the new album, Anyone Can See, by local folk duo The Honey Dewdrops. This light-as-air instrumental features hearty acoustic strings and a lilting melody. But don’t let its simplicity fool you; it’s a deeply intimate tune propelled forward by the authentic chemistry of bandmates Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish. With each plink of banjo and strum of guitar, it builds and beams outward, rising like the sun at dawn.

“Requiem for Yaya” by Infinity Knives

It’s hard to pick a favorite track off the new full-length debut from DIY artist and Station North stalwart Infinity Knives. On In the Mouth of Sadness (Ugly Nigga from Heaven), each experimental number is a short snippet into another world—one you’ll want to explore for hours, be it a twinkling cosmos, a chaotic underworld, or a glitchy technicolor other dimension. Wavering between minimalistic melodies and complex compositions, this collection is a masterful collage of sound, some six years in the making, featuring special guests such as local rappers DYYO, Josh Stokes, and Giddeon Gallows. We found this heart-tugging fourth track especially transformative.

“Long Gone” by Jesse Hanlon

Out of obscurity, we stumbled upon this new two-song EP from Towson High grad, fledgling musician, and apparent old soul Jesse Hanlon. He makes the sort of hypnotic outlaw country music that’s making a comeback on the national stage, thanks in part to other young backwoods musicians like Tyler Childers and Colter Wall. If these two debut tracks are any indication, Hanlon should keep it up; they’re tall tales of hard luck and heart break—the sort of jangly, guitar-busting blues of a dusty spaghetti western (or the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)—and they’re persuasive. This title track, featuring a hint of psychedelic and surf inspiration, sounds as if it was written from another lifetime.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from mesmerizing pop and melancholy indie to avant-garde neo-soul. 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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“Chastity” by Abdu Ali

The first single off the much-anticipated upcoming album from Abdu Ali is a journey through space and time. This fiery, neo-soul melody zigs and zags, pushing and pulling with “the struggle of feeling free,” as the artist puts it. “Do you love me? Do you hate me?” they pose, moving between doubt, affirmation, and discovery in this candid quest for self. An energetic beat unravels into a sparse, jazzy soundscape fueled by the artist’s signature scat and disparate streaks of saxophone. In the end, they find their own place, free of questions and limitations. Watch for yourself in the dance sequences of its futuristic video.

“C.Y.K.U.?” by Hunter Hooligan

If you were in search of an anthem for 2019, look no further than this new single off Hunter Hooligan’s new Child of Venus. The title acronym—“Can you keep up?”—is mantra-worthy and the beat should be blared out of a boombox held on our shoulders at all times this year. In typical fashion from this electronic artist, it’s a club-ready and contagious pop song, full of sparkling energy, thumping bass, Hooligan’s honeyed vocals, and all-around feel-good vibes. The rest of the EP (act one of a forthcoming two-part project featuring production by James Nasty and guest appearances by the likes of TT The Artist) is equally enticing.

“Speechless (Hurts So Bad)” by Lor Choc

Love Is Love, the second full-length record from Lor Choc, has arrived with a lead single with the fixings of an instant hit. (The track was first released last year and has now quickly surpassed her 2017 breakthrough “Fast Life” in online listens.) Where the West Baltimore rapper’s past successes were more an outward display of swagger, this new song, like the rest of the record, grapples with the complexities of the heart, using her candor and earnest verses to help fill the void of queer love songs in the realms of rap and R&B. The production is velvety and effusive, and Choc’s vocals might be her tightest and most soulful yet.

“Stay” by Outcalls

The girls are back. Pop-opera duo Outcalls has released their first new single since last spring. What starts as a heartbreak ballad builds into a funky song of empowerment—slowly taking off the rose-colored glasses of a past relationship as they move through the emotions of breaking up. Come for the trademark ethereal harmonies of singers Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish, stay for the fast-flying playful verses in the middle of the song, building to a synth-studded vocal crescendo at the end.

“Evergreen” by Wye Oak

While many of these songs have us jonesing for warm weather, we can’t help but admit that we’re still stuck in the winter rut. So it’s a fitting time for this first new track from indie duo Wye Oak since the release of their stunning The Louder You Call, The Faster It Runs last spring. A sonic ode to seasonal depression, it’s a jangly reckoning with self-doubt. “Tell me what’s missing in my mind,” sings frontwoman Jenn Wasner as drums crash and reverberating guitar ambles out into space. “I’m taking everything back.” There’s no clear resolution, which is highly relatable, especially with snow now looming as we speak.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from dance-ready folk-pop and punkish hip-hop to an adrenaline-pumping electronic score. 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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“The Breakway” by Dan Deacon

Maybe you caught the premiere of Time Trial during last year’s Maryland Film Festival. If you did, and you’re anything like us, you found yourself undeniably drawn not just to the documentary film’s visceral story of resurrection and redemption for Tour de France cyclist David Millar, but also its captivating score, released late last year. Baltimore electronic artist Dan Deacon has been flexing his composer skills over the last few years, with this being his second via Domino Records. (See also 2016’s Rat Film.) This pump of adrenaline is Deacon’s digital mastery at its finest, building in small, pulsing tones before bursting into a sparkling dreamscape. It draws the listener inward while creating a vast, vivid portrait of the physical endurance required by this limit-pushing ride. We’re equally and anxiously awaiting both Deacon’s upcoming electro-pop record and his next score.

“Hustle” by F City

A great under-the-radar record from last year was the dual personality of Agenda/World of Good by local supergroup F City. Founded by singer Lala Anderson, drummer Landis Expandis, and drummer Paul Joyce, the genre-busting trio puts 12 tracks divided between a punkish A-side and an electronic B-side. Whichever side you land on, you’ll appreciate the songs’ raw energy and no holds-barred funk. This particular track, situated in the latter, is a throwback to early hip-hop rhythms and rhymes that’s all about hard work, featuring one of the city’s most dogged rappers, Eze Jackson. Follow him and the trio as they wander the city streets of Baltimore in the song’s old-school video, released last month.

“Bear The Burden” by Haint Blue

There’s folk music, and then there’s Haint Blue. The local sextet’s bold take on the Americana genre lands somewhere in the eye of the storm—between calm and chaos—a lilting chamber orchestra meets a holy roller gospel choir. This first single off the upcoming Overgrownembodies that ethos. It’s a tight tour de force with valleys and peaks as frontman Mike Cohn bares his soul. Each song on this new record is a reckoning with the singer’s flight from a fundamentalist upbringing and his fight through serious drug addiction, and that sort of internal digging gives these melodies a deep and hearty authenticity. In the three years since the band’s debut EP, their chemistry has coalesced into a crescendo of emotion and talent. You feel their rich harmonies, of voice and instrument, in your bones.

“Past Life” by Maggie Rogers

Maggie Rogers might not be from Baltimore, but we’ll continue to root for this Eastern Shore singer-songwriter as our own. Her debut record, Heard It In A Past Life, out now via Capitol Records, is an emotional catharsis, reckoning with the earth-shaking transformation she’s experienced over the last two years while becoming a bona fide folk-pop star. It’s an outright fun, fiery, dance-ready feat—listen to “Retrograde” and “Burning” to see what we mean—but we personally love the quiet moments that remind us of the Maggie we fell for before her face was sprawled across billboards and bright-light marquees. This title track was reason enough for an entire record. She bares it all and stands stronger than ever before.

“Money Don’t Grow On Trees” by Sneaks

Keep this MICA alum and now D.C.-based singer-songwriter on your radar. Eva Moolchan’s (aka Sneaks’) third album, Highway Hypnosis, now streaming via NPR First Listen and out soon via Merge Recrds, is garnering a bunch of hype for its singular sound—a feminist fusion of hip-hop and post-punk that’s as much M.I.A. as it is Priests, though completely all her own. It’s easy to get hooked on her hushed vocals and repetitive spoken-word lyrics that create a sort of mantra for each track, such as this song’s title chorus. With bare-bones instrumentation and a staccato, bass-forward beat, she creates a soundscape that immerses you and, in its mere two minutes, leaves you wanting more. See also “Beliefs” and “Hong Kong to Amsterdam.”

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from barebones indie-rock and supergroup dream-pop to explosive, experimental hip-hop. 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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“Mirror Mirror” by Chaunter

Introducing Chaunter, the new Baltimore band you need to know now and the brainchild of art scene denizens Brooks Kossover and Jenghis Pettit. In the new year, the duo, with Kossover on vocals and flute and Pettit on guitar, will be releasing their debut album Dream Dynamics with an aspirational league of Baltimore heavyweights, from Dan Deacon to Sam Herring of Future Islands to Lower Dens’ Jana Hunter, as featured here on the record’s first single. Through this song and the rest of its idiosyncratic record, you drift through a mythical dream world. It unfurls in reverie—swirling in gauzy synth, smoldering with reverberating guitar, brimming with both Hunter’s haunting vocals and grand group harmonies—landing somewhere between the glory-days of Labyrinth-era David Bowie and the golden age of Baltimore DIY dream-pop.

“North Star” by Joy Postell

Okay, so by now you might be tired of us gushing over the new music of local neo-soul singer-songwriter Joy Postell, but too bad. We found the first singles, “Consciousness” and “Water,” off her full-length Diaspora debut to be moving portraits with true vision, which imbues the rest of the record. “North Star,” for example, could be seen as the album’s sleeper hit for its quiet disposition, sparse composition, and only minute-long length, but this breathtaking spiritual sets the stage for the entire record, transporting listeners to a midnight field beneath the big dark sky, perhaps in another era, perhaps right now, all the while preparing you to embark on a transformative journey. Postell’s vocals—exposed, ethereal, yet full of power—call for freedom and convey the strength within her music to find it.

“Pretn’d (Drew Scott Remix)” by RoVo Monty

In the 21st century, we can’t get enough songs about the misgivings of modern love, where lyrics help us make our way through the maze of dating in 2018. Take this slow-jam by R&B singer-songwriter RoVo Monty, in which the protagonist asserts his desires and demands in the face of the fair-weather relationship. Turning a common trope of unrequited love on its head, this track is about self-empowerment, through and through, with candid lyrics (“tired of knocking boots, how about you show me ’round town?”) calling it like it is. And calling out for a simple bit of chivalry. Founded in electronic melodies inspired by fashion, dance, and disco, Monty’s confident verses float over a lush, funky melody crafted by local beat master Drew Scott, featuring a fiery guest flow by no-holds-barred Baltimore rap favorite DDm.

“The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl in the World” by Snail Mail*

These days, no one does young heartache quite like Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan, the Ellicott City singer-songwriter who skyrocketed to indie stardom over the last year for her coming-of-age rock-and-roll. And with this cover of a 1990 song by the little-known Washington duo Courtney Love (no relation to the Hole frontwoman), Jordan might just have outdone herself. Compared to the original’s spunky post-punk beat, this stripped-down version features nothing more than a few reverberating strums of guitar and Jordan’s vulnerable vox, stretched out to its most elastic, emotive state, pushing and pulling at certain words like the tugs of memory at a broken heart. In the end, and especially on the live stage as we saw at the Parkway Theatre this summer, she reinvents the song as all her own.

“Play Hard” by Soul Cannon

We knew the long-awaited release of Soul Cannon’s self-titled album was going to bring the fire, and the experimental hip-hop quartet have more than delivered—on their new record, and especially in this potent time bomb of a track. As in all of the band’s music, “Play Hard”makes, breaks, and recreates its own rules from start to finish. The song is an urgent, unruly sprint, with frontman Eze Jackson speaking breakneck truth—a sort of poet-prophet—while the jazz-influenced instrumentation of his talented bandmates both keeps pace and inspires further pursuit. Rapping on the fleeting flicker of life, Jackson’s verses zig and zag, running uphill. At the song’s peak, with ascending runs of bass and an outright avalanche of drums, it’s as if they outrun death itself.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we round up five local songs we can’t get enough of right now, ranging from funky R&B to fiery Southern blues to two very different tunes called “Shadow.” Check back each month for new songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“14 Daze” by Josh Stokes*

Josh Stokes is not new to the Baltimore music scene, having been around for years now, producing music for the likes of Eze Jackson, DJing at The Crown and Motor House, and, perhaps in our favorite iteration, drumming alongside the inimitable Abdu Ali. But it’s Stokes’ solo albums that truly set him apart, and are continuing to make him an artist to watch in Baltimore. In short, they’re unlike anything else coming out of this city, traversing the decades and fusing old-school styles into his own spin on ’60s soul, freaky ’70s funk, ’80s pop and hip-hop, and ’90s R&B. His eclectic new record, Funktion, refuses to stay inside any lines, and for that it’s hard to pick a favorite song. But put on this not-quite-slow-jam with an effusive, dreamy melody and addictive clap-beat, and you’ll see what we mean.

“Shadow” by Andy Bopp

If you listen to WTMD, you’ve likely heard this hit single riding the airwaves of the local station. Since it was released last year, the power-pop track has been in constant rotation, shining a much-deserved spotlight on this Baltimore music veteran of the past four decades. Bopp is a man of many bands, but his solo rock act is a standout, and this Beatlesian melody might be his new album’s very best. With ruminative lyrics, anthemic guitar, and a hint of psychedelia, it transports you to a time when a melody just made you feel good, even if it’s recognizing all that could go wrong. Find the silver lining in the rest of this new album, Wherewithal.

“Last Call” by Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols

There have been few better feelings than stumbling into Cat’s Eye Pub on an oddball Friday night and finding Sean K. Preston at the mic, belting out some heartbroken ballad or burning down the house with a fiery set of honkytonk blues. This rock-and-roll raconteur has long been one of Baltimore’s best-kept secrets, bringing some serious skills to the Fells Point dive bars while keeping the neighborhood’s old rough edges alive and well. He’s always had chops, and we wouldn’t be surprised if his new album, Forgive, out next month, puts him and his Loaded Pistols on the map. This first single is a raw, rabblerousing ultimatum that showcases his talents and shakes you to the core.

“Sticky Clix” by Sweepstakes

We can’t get this lovely melody out of our heads. It carries the listener like a rolling tide, moving through the experimental indie band’s signature valleys and peaks, propelled forward by Allyson Little’s haunting vox, Justin Custer’s undulating bass, and Dan Todd’s punchy drums. Old trappings of romance lost appear in the lyrics, but it definitely doesn’t feel like their self-ascribed “sedated pop.” Rather, this is a fiercely confident love song—even if only about trying to find it, after the fact, within yourself—with swift, soaring vocals running in step with tight swells of both instrumentation and emotion. The trio has found fresh power and precision in this first track off their new album, Warmbloods.

“Shadow” by Wume

It’s been three years since Wume’s last album and now, with a brand-new record out via Northern Spy, we find ourselves even more mesmerized the experiment duo than when we first laid ears on their cosmic sound. Across eight songs, the band’s intricate polyrhythms remain, but they dig even deeper, with electronic master Albert Schatz crafting even more expansive soundscapes that you’re guided through by the newly present (and exceedingly spellbinding) vocals of drummer April Camlin, who still slays on the kit. This is just a taste of Towards the Shadow’s many wonders. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—follow these two, wherever they go. And if this new album is any indication, it’ll be far.

*This song is not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist if or when it comes online.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from homegrown hip-hop and hearty folk music to disco-infused pop. 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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“Division St. Blues” by Butch Dawson

It’s hard to pick the best song off DIY rapper Butch Dawson’s new EP, Swamp Boy. Each song is a mini-masterpiece, like “Feel Nobody”—an instant hit with fans now drowning out the artist himself during the chorus at local concerts—and “Distances,” a simply gorgeous dream on which Dawson flexes his singing abilities. But this slow-motion melody paints a poignant portrait. Over a run of piano keys and a knocking bass beat, the 25-year-old unleashes sharp, slow-burning rhymes, speaking to his native West Baltimore, and the steadfast community and confidence needed to survive the city streets. He gives local shout-outs to arts collective Llamadon, hometown favorite New Balance 993s, and of course, the song’s titular stretch between Madison Park and Upton. Weary yet unwavering, the song is a beautiful, honest ode, and Dawson has become an important city spokesperson, as seen in his recent feature in The New York Times. Check out the album’s full review in our upcoming October issue.

“Pink” by Hunter Hooligan

Summer might be winding down, but this airy piece of pop (yes, more pop!) from local singer-songwriter Hunter Hooligan is like a dewy, star-bright July night. With an updated disco beat, this modern love song exudes a lush, shimmering, 1970s vibe, with breathy backup vocals, hushed verses, and seductive sentiment imbuing every inch of its melody. Roses? Check. Champagne? Check. Produced by Will Lederer of Row Homes, the song was crafted for the fall collection of fashion designer Stevie Boi, premiering on the runway during New York Fashion Week, and its buoyant melody is full of flirtation and promise. Hooligan is an artist on the rise in Baltimore, having collaborated with Bmore Club legends TT The Artist and Rye Rye, and this new track is one of his most fun songs yet. We’re looking forward to what he does next.

“Drippin” by Kotic Couture*

Consider Kotic Couture an artist you need to know yesterday. The local rapper is a force to be reckoned with and a fiery live performer, popping up on lineups across Station North, playing MC with DJ Trillnatured during the Version dance parties at The Crown, and becoming an integral part of the DIY scene along the way. We dig his high-energy hits “Go Awff” and “Get Ya Life” but this sparse new beat, produced by Baltimore’s legendary Mighty Mark, lays the perfect foundation for Kotic’s strengths to shine: swift rhymes, infectious hooks, and swaggering style. It’s a take-no-prisoners track, filled with fearless spirit and the trappings of staying power.

“An Eagle” by Marian McLaughlin*

Marian McLaughlin is an old soul, and her songwriting is akin to the folk verses of the 1960s as much as it is the Medieval ballads of the 15th century. The local singer is a true poet, and her labyrinthine lyrics wrap perfectly into her intricate, guitar-forward Americana-chamber music. This song off her upcoming tome of an album, Lake Accotink, named after a reservoir in northern Virginia, represents natural cycles of the environment—leaves falling, trees blooming, life, death, climate change. In a stream of consciousness with the sparse jangle of chimes and bells, her story unfolds as an intimate ode—a vivid country scene with a friend or lover, building into an earthy rumination on love and loss. It’s a wild eulogy of sorts, and it showcases McLaughlin’s greatest strength: through music, wholeheartedly baring her soul.

“Payroll” by TT The Artist

It seems like everything that TT The Artist touches turns to gold. Who else could create a “hip hop sci-fi musical thriller,” set in 2040 featuring strippers, aliens, and androids, and turn it into one of the hottest late-summer jams? As the first release off of TT’s new Club Queen Records, it uses a Bmore Club beat, slowly transforming into a dark circus melody equipped with bouncy rhymes by Baltimore native Starrz and heavy beats and production by prolific producer Mighty Mark. Of course, there are swaggering verses and a catchy chorus, infusing the track with fiery female empowerment, which ties into the music video, where women hold the power, neon reigns supreme, and TT transforms into a no-nonsense cyborg boss. While you’re at it, dig into her label’s debut album, featuring fellow club queen UNIIQU3 and a cameo by Baltimore rapper Tate KoBang.

*This song is not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist if or when it comes online.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from soulful hip-hop and smoky blues music to dreamy indie-pop and galactic R&B. 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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“Water” by Joy Postell*

We’ve been anxiously awaiting new music off the upcoming Diaspora EP by local singer-songwriter Joy Postell. We’ve said it before that Postell is one of the most soulful voices in Baltimore, but she is also one of the city’s most sophisticated poets and visual storytellers. Exhibit A? Her fierce “Consciousness” from 2016. Exhibit B? This stunning new single and its equally inspired music video. The song and its accompanying art paint a poignant and powerful portrait of being black in America in 2018. The murky jazzy melody floats slow and steady—a pitter patter of hand drums; the echo of snapping fingertips; a searing line of saxophone—and on it, like a wave, rides Postell’s husky, honey-coated vocals, speaking truth to power and standing resolute in history’s wake. With a sampling of words by one of her idols, Angela Davis, she connects past and present racial injustices—gun violence, police brutality, outright oppression—and presents young people, like those notable Baltimoreans featured in the video (rapper Al Rogers Jr., singer :3ion, artist Malaika Aminata Clements, culinary entrepreneur Krystal Mack, to name a few), as the future seeds of change.

“All To Come” by June Pastel

Pick any song off the new debut album of this young band led by Salt Lake City native artist Anthony Peña, and you’re bound to get lost in its dreamy indie-pop. Crafted by a quartet of Peabody students that call themselves June Pastel, Collages is a lush, hazy feat, fit with tender, seeking vocals and lustrous surf guitar. Next to “Into a Spell” and “En La Vida,” this track stands out for its subtle motions. With a rush of synth and ripple of saxophone, it rhythmically zigs and zags before building into a bright and textured ballad. All the while, the lyrics seek for certainty in the future, and toward the end of the song, Peña and his bandmates reach a sonic clearing. To us it feels like finding faith in the unknown.

“Saturn Returns” by Pangelica*

Move over, Grimes. There’s a new cosmic pop princess in town. Meet Pangelica, Baltimore producer, cofounder of the GRL PWR arts collective, and creator of otherworldly beats. With a singular sound founded in futuristic melodies, she brings a powerful presence to the local music scene, landing somewhere between electro-punk and experimental R&B, and her new debut album might just be worthy of the national scene. On its title track, she speaks to modern romance, using her lush electronic brew to move through the heart’s complexities—lust, heartbreak, healing—and along the way lay bare the ways in which we are pushed and pulled by power and desire. With heart-on-her-sleeve awareness and addictively glittery production, Pangelica is a local artist to closely follow.

“Let’s Ride” by Quinton Randall*

In Baltimore, we often talk about the DIY scene and the indie, hip-hop, and electronic genres that go along with it. But outside of Station North, often down in Fells Point, another form of music flourishes—blues—thanks in part to Quinton Randall. This young guitar virtuoso has been gigging around the city for years now, performing at Artscape, the Creative Alliance, and the Ottobar, as well as releasing two EPs. He’s become a Charm City staple, and yet this soulful new song seems like the starting point for what’s to come. On it, Randall’s trademark axe is in tow, undulating in propulsive waves, waiting in turn for its occasional electric guitar solo, but it’s his raw, reverberating vocals—stronger and more soulful than ever before—that rock you to the core. We always knew he was a rising star, just waiting to be discovered, and if this song is any indication, his upcoming Halfway To Midnight record might do the trick.

“Sanctuary” by Super City

When a song goes viral, it’s always a little unnerving for a band. What will come next? How will they follow up? But this first new single—the title track of Super City’s forthcoming sophomore album—takes the energy still simmering from last summer’s infectious “Artificial Sin” and uses it to skyrocket toward the Bowie-filled stars. We’ve had the luck of listening to the new record from the high-fashion, fierce-dancing indie-pop quintet, and we’ll just say that this soaring power ballad sets the stage for the entire collection. Just like this melody, it is playful, sprightly, confident, and outright fun. Its golden harmonies, crashing drums, and fuzzy grunge guitar will keep you hooked from the first to very last note. Give this one a listen (and check out its just-released video) and try not to nod, bop, or outright rock along.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we round up five local songs we can’t get enough of right now, ranging from idiosyncratic R&B to finger-picking Americana to summery indie-rock. Check back each month for new songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“Jaybird” by Charm City Junction

The high heat of summer calls for a back-porch hootenanny with friends and family, and Charm City Junction’s new album, Duckpin, makes for the perfect soundtrack. The Baltimore acoustic roots quartet has become an integral part of the city’s flourishing bluegrass and folk scene, honing their skills at local jam sessions, intimate house shows, and toe-tapping dance parties, as well as big-stage festivals like the Charm City Bluegrass Festival. After years of gigging together, the band’s kinship and chemistry is stronger than ever, as shown as in this first tight, timeless tune. It’s a beautiful, backwoods instrumental, with expert fingerpicking of old-time strings—heavy plugs of upright bass, plucky picks of banjo, plus a few breathy pulls of accordion—rooted in tradition yet driven into the 21st century with creative flair.

“Score” by Lor Choc*

Last summer, Lor Choc made local and national waves with the release of her summer jam, “Fast Life.” With some 77,000 YouTube views, the infectious track would be a tough act to follow, but the 20-year-old rapper is now back with another new warm-weather hit. On it, she returns with her bright, buoyant melodies, elevated with the ring of sharp piano keys and rooted in a beat of snappy snare drum and heavy bass. Wavering between singing and rapping, her warm vocals and measured flows showcase her growth as an artist, as well as the inevitable changes that come with success and even fame. Specifically, she speaks to the struggle of severing ties with toxic relationships in order to truly succeed. Simple and sparkling, this song is all good energy, so we can’t wait to see what comes next.

“Whisper” by serpentwithfeet

We don’t know how to prepare you for this song, let alone its boundary-defying artist, now based out of Brooklyn but born and raised in Baltimore, so we won’t—just go ahead and listen. It would be easy to call Josiah Wise, aka serpentwithfeet, experimental or avant-garde, but this boundary-defying artist, born and raised in Baltimore and now based out of Brooklyn, refuses to stay inside those lines. Combining the gospel roots of his choir-boy childhood and a collection of goth, atmospheric soundscapes, he creates his own hauntingly beautiful amalgam of R&B. It’s theatrical, it’s spiritual—devotional, even divine—and yet it’s tempestuous and wayward, all at once. With a singular display of the human voice, his tenor flitters and flutters—low, tender, ethereal, building in texture then soaring up, mountain by mountain, to new zeniths, to other worlds—always speaking to the multitudes of love. Get lost like we have in the vivid scenes of his just-released debut record, soil, as well as the video for “Cherubim.”

“Heat Wave” by Snail Mail

We couldn’t think of a more fitting song for the dog days of July. Hey, Rolling Stone named it the song of summer, after all, and if you saw Snail Mail perform at The Parkway last week, it’s already at the top of your “recently played” list. It’s a universal song about heartbreak, the self-destruction that can come with it, and the moment of glory when you finally, triumphantly, decide to move on. It unfolds in the same slow and steady way a summer-break morning might do, bedraggled by young romance, stifled with ennui, before Lindsey Jordan and her prodigious indie-rock band decide to kick her heartache’s ass. They do so with a rocking dose of guitar, a shimmering crash of drums, and her howling vocals that stare down “sometimes” and “maybe” and make their own destiny instead. It’s a song that has the power to help mend a million teenage hearts.

“Go Ahead” by Thunder Club

As we get older, this season seems to hold less and less of that romantic sentiment that it did when we were young. Whatever your age, let this new song from these pop-infused indie-rockers take you back to the sweet, nostalgic salad days of summer—sticky afternoons that seemed to go on forever, moonlit nights that felt like they would never end. In this bright groove, the quintet proves to be the king of infectious guitar riffs. The melody releases like a sundrenched wave, rolling forward with undulating bass, punchy drums, and golden harmonies, crashing through old memories and conjuring up forgotten emotions with its all-around youthful buzz. Nominated as a best new artist in WTMD’s Alternative Music Awards this spring, the band has just released this song on Summer Vice, their sophomore EP.

*This song is not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist if or when it comes online.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from feminist rap and rollicking post-punk to twinkling pop and shimmering summer-ready indie folk-rock. 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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“Unfaithful Cherry” by Black Assets

First, your attention piques for the squealing car wheels that peel off into a raw, jangly melody. The twangy acoustic chords and scratchy rap on the body of a guitar. Then in comes the powerhouse vocals of spoken word artist Ashley Yates, aka Black Assets, and you’re officially hooked. “Who is this?” you find yourself thinking as you groove along to the soulful tune. Born in Mississippi before traveling the country and ultimately settling in Baltimore, this under-the-radar indie-rock-and-soul singer have been performing at open mics across the city for over a year now, fusing her rock, blues, funk, and R&B roots into an earthy, authentic sound all her own. Be on the lookout for her upcoming Soul Language EP.

“Diana Ross” by Bosley

We’ve come to count on local soul sensation Thomas Mayer for his James Browny-worthy croons, high-energy performances, and envy-inducing outfits. The songs on his first new album in four years, Unreal Fire, don’t disappoint but they’re also a fresh new version of Bosley from the one we’ve come to know and love. On this disco-ready dance number, he fuses the old and new versions of himself, amplifying his vintage soul revival with a fresh dose of modern-day pop. His powerful pipes remain, and continue to soar, as do the velvety vibes of his funky, feel-good melodies. Recorded live in analog and backed by his elaborate 9-piece band, it’s a playful, sparkling tune that would make its title diva proud.

“Boss Moves” by Martina Lynch ft. TT The Artist*

If you’ve been searching for a summer jam, look no further than the dream-team duo of spoken-word poet/rapper Martina Lynch and Bmore Club queen TT The Artist. On this bass-heavy banger, two of Baltimore’s most badass women unite and use their fiery verses, fearless delivery, and stylish swagger to show up the boys’ club, solidifying themselves as strong and showstopping as any male rapper in town. “Speaking for all of the women, the game is against us,” raps Martina in her female empowerment-focused lines, but both women have the chops to change that. In just over a week in early June, the song made it onto 92Q’s Roundway of the Day, and we expect to hear it on repeat from now through Labor Day.

“Less Than Positive” by Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread

Cumberland singer-songwriter Michael Nau has been a man of many bands. Page France. Cotton Jones. A solo artist. And now his 9-piece Mighty Thread. This might be our favorite iteration yet, with a full-bodied sound layered onto his scrappy indie folk-rock, featuring a hint of psychedelia and a twangy touch of old-school country. This new number off the band’s self-titled album, out August 3, is a lush, luminous ballad—as big as a rock anthem, as small and sweet as a little ditty. It’s the kind of song that inspires movement, adventure, and change. It’s the kind of song you want to play loud on a wide, open backroad with the windows down and the wind in your hair and the gas pedal beneath your barefoot toes. It’s as if it were tailor-made for the hot, humid days of Maryland summer.

“You Real” by Post Pink*

While we’ve been sitting around eagerly awaiting Post Pink’s upcoming No Problem, Probably EP, the beloved post-punk quartet quietly released this single as they wrapped a West Coast tour with ’90s alt-rock gods The Breeders. At first it seems slightly more tempered in volume and tempo than the tracks off 2016’s I Believe You, OK, but the tight, rollicking rock song builds into a smashing surf melody, fit for the tumbling cliffs along the California coast. Amidst cascading golden harmonies, Angela Swiecicki’s gravely vocals ride low and steady in a distant haze while driving drums and grungy guitar riffs roll forward and gain new speed. In the end, we find ourselves even more amped up for the forthcoming full release.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we round up five local songs we can’t get enough of right now, ranging from boundary-breaking bluegrass to vital hip-hop and thought-provoking spoken-word poetry. Check back each month for new songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“White Horse” by Bumper Jacksons 

At the exact moment of the Women’s March on Washington in 2017, Bumper Jacksons frontwoman Jess Eliot Myhre was in labor with her first child. The lead singer emerged from that life-changing experience and found herself moved to write this spirited anthem, reflecting on motherhood, feminine power, and the #MeToo movement. With hearty acoustic strums and the wavering twang of steel guitar, Myrhe and her master-of-their-craft bandmates create a call to collective action for women the world over. “We don’t need a man on a white horse, we don’t need anyone to save us,” she sings with gusto. “We can move mountains, when we harness our own power.” In this country-tinged tune, the Americana septet does exactly that, mobilizing through melody, using their feel-good sound to speak truth to power.

“Feel Nobody” by Butch Dawson

This West Baltimore artist approaches his tracks with a punkish edge, carving out his own corner in the local rap canon as he imbues his smoke-swirled melodies with nonchalant murky beats and, lately, a horror film’s flare. See last fall’s video for “Dead Man Draggin’,” in which Dawson transforms into a woods-wandering zombie a la The Walking Dead. But where that slow-burned with chill wave vibes and jazzy drums, this new number is an edge-of-your-seat thriller. “Feel Nobody” hooks you with its incessant whir, deep bass, and occasional scream-like sample, then Dawson’s delivery brings the suspense—his rhymes gaining new intensity and volume with every hard-hitting verse. At its core, the song is about survival in “the swamps,” as he calls Baltimore’s toughest neighborhoods, and staying unapologetically true to yourself. Keep an eye out for his forthcoming full-length Swamp Boy.

“Caroline” by The High and Wides

Since forming on the Eastern Shore in 2015, the High & Wides have crossed the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, combining the backwoods roots of their hometown with the gumption of their new city to create a modern “hillbilly music” revival. From fiery barn burners to heartbroken ballads, this talented string quartet is celebrating the region’s rich bluegrass history, carrying the torch for the Old-Line legends who came before. The band’s boot-stomping first single puts their expert instrumentation and finger-picking finesse on full display. Full of hearty harmonies, lightning banjo, tight fiddle, and driving bass, it’s a simple reminder of how goddamn gorgeous the naked voice and unadulterated instrument can be. We’ll follow their breathless tempos down whatever dusty road—or up whatever chart, as the album just debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard bluegrass chart—they go.

“Invocation: Dear Baltimore” by Judah Adashi and Erricka Bridgeford*

One of the most beautiful things to be born out of the Baltimore Uprising is that of Rise Bmore, a free evening of music, speech, and community that takes place every April 19, on the anniversary of Freddie Gray’s death. Now in its third year, this spring’s event began with the premiere of this breathtaking ballad and love letter to Baltimore. The song combines “Rise,” a Civil Rights-inspired composition by Judah Adashi—Rise Bmore’s founder, plus Peabody professor and organizer of the Evolution Contemporary Music Series—with words by Erricka Bridgeford, the creator of Baltimore Ceasefire, which just celebrated another successful weekend without murder. With ascending piano and aching breaths of flugelhorn, the song evolves from poignant storytelling to courageous poetry. Bridgeford’s husky lines captures the city’s essence in a few simple notes. Listen. Meditate on these words. Feel your heart fill with hope for our hometown of Baltimore.

“4 3 2 4 1” by Smoke Bellow

We first caught wind of this song by way of the long, strange trip of its music video. The short film was so perfectly oddball that it could only have been made in Baltimore. After a three-year hiatus in their Australia homeland, Christian Best and Meredith McHugh returned to Baltimore in 2017 with their first new record in years. Just released via Ehse Records, Isolation 3000 was inspired by Smoke Bellow’s two distant and disparate locales, and includes this otherworldly song. With a new third bandmate, local artist Jessie Hughes, it takes the minimalist experimentation of the band’s past work and evolves it outward—or, rather, inward—down a sort of psychedelic rabbit hole. Swirling in synth loops and droning guitar, McHugh’s meditative incantations urge listeners to follow. Their labyrinthine dreamscape—from space through the ocean to the Outback—is worth getting lost in.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from game-show gold and unrivalled rap to the-next-big-thing indie rock. 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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“Come On Down” by DDm* 

If we weren’t already excited for the upcoming release of DDm’s Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, this high-spirited single has turned our anticipation up to an 11. Who knew that The Price Is Right theme song could be so much fun? Leave it to Manny Williams, who you might know as one part of hip-hop duo Bond St. District, to transform this iconic game-show jingle into a hater-swatting dare. With the ’60s-tinged tune turned into a sparkling, staccato loop, the boisterous rapper and lover of pop culture takes Bob Barker’s trademark line and declares, “If you want to steal my crown, I told ya’ll hoes to come on down.” We wouldn’t recommend it; Williams is royalty on the local music scene.

“Box” by Deetrenada

With the help of Baltimore arts mag True Laurels, we just caught wind of Deetranada, and when we did, we had to ask ourselves: Under what rock have we been living? This young rapper—a mere 16 years old—has some of the most sharp, sophisticated rhymes we’ve ever heard, on both the local and national scene. Last year, she placed second on season three of Jermaine Dupri’s Lifetime Channel The Rap Game and released her debut mixtape, Adolescent Swim, which included this breathless flow. Watch its new music video and prepare to hold up your jaw.

“Foxglove” by Gideon Gallows

Before Drew Scott joined electronic R&B duo Blacksage, he was a respected solo artist, known for skilled raps and masterful production across both his own and his friends’ beats. With his new Critter, he now returns as Gideon Gallows, and the results are as bewitching as ever before. This deliriously springtime song, fittingly named after the bell-shaped flowers that sprout up this season, stands out among the album’s other murky melodies. Over an off-kilter, almost tango-esque rhythm, Scott’s distorted vocals tangle with the background coos of his fiancée, Pale Spring, for a hazy love song, fit for the warm, tempting days that lie ahead.

“Two Stop Train” by Pocket Bells

We dig the way this song builds like the subject of its title, with the indie-rock seven-piece’s pounding piano, thunderous drums, and urgent guitar gaining momentum before Piper Greenbaum’s mighty, earthy vocals peak at the anthemic chorus. The rolling melody makes you want to follow along, undulating toward some unknown destination, knowing that some sort of consolation awaits at the end of the line. Let its expert instrumentation build—and then expect to hear this number on WTMD’s heavy rotation all summer long.

“Pristine” by Snail Mail

Boy are we rooting for Lindsey Jordan. The 18-year-old Ellicott City native has shredded her way to indie stardom, with her now four-piece rock band’s debut Habit making waves across the national scene. Last year alone she played SXSW, graced The New York Times, and recorded an NPR Tiny Desk concert, and, if this new single off next month’s Lush is any indication, she’s just getting started. With heart-on-her-sleeve vocals and jangly ’90s guitar, Jordan’s lo-fi sound ignores the modern trappings of auto-tune and electronic touches to create something that, in its outright authenticity, feels completely new. Keep your eyes peeled for their full-length record, out June 8 via Matador Records.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from futuristic rap and high-flying post-punk to shimmering, nostalgic New Wave. 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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“DaWon” by Abdu Ali

From his Bmore Club roots to his punk-infused noise-rap, Abdu Ali continues to experiment and evolve, with this new single off his upcoming FIYA!!! mixtape being nothing short of rebirth. Expanding on his energetic work that came before, the young artist brings fiery (and at times NSFW) verses that traverse a transcendent discovery of self through a swirling dystopian soundscape. He proudly rejects sympathy for the struggles he’s overcome, let alone the city from which he was born, with his Baltimore roots imbuing every inch of this frenetic, futuristic sound. If you missed last week’s explosive performance last week with a full band at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., be sure to check it out to see what Abdu is all about.

“Riddles” by Ed Schrader’s Music Beat

So we know we included Ed Schrader and Delvin Rice in January’s BBP, but watch the music video for the title track off the band’s boisterous new record, and you’ll quickly see why we have to give the post-punk duo a little back-to-back love. This song is an exuberant feat, but its infectious film incites some serious FOMO, as, simply put, making it had to be so much fun. With twinkling piano and an urgent, anthemic chorus, hometown heroes like Dan Deacon (who co-wrote and produced the album), Manny Williams (aka DDm of Bond St. District), and Lexie Mountain (of Scroll Downers) play dress-up, dance, and sing along. Keep your eye on the Music Beat—with recent features in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Spin, these local dudes are on the cusp of something big.

“Sheet Stains” by Lauren Ruth Ward

We just caught wind of this Ellicott City native, whose earthy, boot-stomping rock rolls like old wheels down a dusty back road. Fittingly, she’s recently relocated to California, where the sunny Golden State has infused her forthright, vintage-tinged folk sound. With brash lyrics and hearty, husky vocals, Ward is as much an East Coast songstress as she is a West one, with maybe even a hint of Southern belle. Think Janis meets Dolly meets Florence. And this single, off her February Well, Hell will have your toes tapping along. Her fearless sense of style with force you to follow her wherever she goes next (The Los Angeles Times and Nylon are already groupies). In fact, on April 28, you can catch her back in Baltimore at the Ottobar .

“Half A Heart” by Mark Renner

This song, or better yet, this album, is one of the great comeback stories of the past decade. In the ’80s, there was a little-known Baltimore County musician by the name of Mark Renner who was said to have made music with the moody likes of Ultravox and Cocteau Twins—and who himself was as talented as any one of those British indie big-weights. Culled from Renner’s 1986 All Walks of This Life, this jangly track, recorded in Scotland with the guidance of Big Country’s Stuart Adamson and re-released this spring, is being brought back to life for the sole purpose of appreciating this masterful musician whose songs never made it out of the shadows. (Though, as a painter and printmaker, he is well regarded for his prolific art.) With driving drums, shimmering guitar, and buoyant synth, Renner’s soft, distant baritone will leave you haunted, and hungry to hear more.

“Winning” by Peso Da Mafia

Last summer, Baltimore got a viral dance moment, but it wasn’t from Future Islands’ sultry Sam Herring moves. Instead, it was from the young guns of Peso Da Mafia and their shimmy-shaking breakout, with “Money Man” now reaching more than 3 million views on YouTube. A month ago, they released this highly anticipated follow-up, featuring that same confident, come-up attitude and an infectious slow-burn beat, equipped with an even catchier Mike Jones tribute at the chorus. You know the one. With shout-outs in XXL and Complex magazines, and a spot on this year’s lineup at SXSW, the group is one of the next big rap acts to come out of the Baltimore scene.

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.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from electric R&B and honey-coated indie to rabblerousing post-punk rock. 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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“More To Love” by Bobbi Rush

This is such a pretty song. It begins with a lush wave of synth that sweeps in as a violin lilts about and local singer-songwriter Bobbi Rush’s breathy voice seems to appear through some dream-like mist. Hushed and honey-coated, it is imbued with the familiar feelings of being lost in love—or having love lost. Produced by local musician Micah E. Wood, it is a piece of ’80s-infused R&B perfection, even as its brought into the 21st century with fuzzy layers of trap-style beats at the bridge and chorus. The melody, and Rush’s siren-esque vocals, fill your ears and consume your senses, leaving you, too, wanting more.

“Dunce” by Ed Schrader’s Music Beat

It’s been four years since Ed Schrader’s Music Beat released their last full-length album, and boy, is the experimental punk-rock duo coming back with an aggressive bang. This lead single, off their upcoming March album, Riddles, is as raw as a razor’s edge, rolling at a race pace with Devlin Rice’s heavy bass and Ed Schrader’s haunting, visceral vocals akin to a sludgy punk Billy Idol. With in-your-face production by local legend Dan Deacon, this fearless track is a rollicking tour de force, densely packed with power and rever, that culminates in one clarity: Schrader has been doggedly performing in Baltimore for more than a decade now—and we think 2018 is finally going to be his year. 

“Bad Dreams” by Hexgirlfriends*

We weren’t prepared for the impact that this song would have on us. Bewitching and boundless, it is such a gentle beautiful thing for how tough of a topic it tackles. In that sense, it’s hard to listen to, relishing in its beauty before realizing what it’s actually about. But maybe that’s the point. The “electro-femme un-pop” duo’s minimalist melody—a few plugs of bass, a touch of keys, a trill of electronics—is a rumination on the act of cutting and abusive relationships—on the ways in which we cope with emotional damage and their sometimes physical manifestations. What starts as faint lyrics pushed through tapping tonal pulses that fall like drops from a leaky faucet then builds into an echo chamber of rhythmic beats, swelling with emotion before finding a final watershed moment of peace. Keep your ears tuned to Sondra Boyle and Hannah Holt. Creating music as affecting as this—so simple yet complex—is no easy feat.

“Baby I’m Bleeding” by JPEGMAFIA

It’s been almost two years since JPEGMAFIA released his politically ripe Black Ben Carson, and his just-dropped follow-up, Veteran, pushes all boundaries with equal zeal. The Baltimore-based rapper is a force to be reckoned with, and on this first new single, he captures the frustrated, distorted feel of the current social and political climate, filled with frenetic loops that dizzily ricochet between your ears as the artist unleashes a stream of loaded (and explicit) lyrics. JPEGMAFIA approaches everything he does with unbridled intensity, and this apocalyptic noise-rap track is as unnerving as it is infectious. The New York transplant has quickly become a fixture of the local music scene, and his bold music making has our (and the nation’s—see Spin, Paper, Paste, Noisey, etc.) attention.

“Horror Movie” by Wildhoney*

Don’t let the title fool you—this track is anything but ominous. Instead, the indie-pop quintet returns after a two-year hiatus with a sweet, loud, shimmering shoegaze sound that reminds us how gorgeous unadulterated music can be. As a genre, “indie” music has become laden with digital touches—a sampled beat here, a drop of 808 there—but Wildhoney proves that less is more with its energetic guitar riffs, gated drums, and lead singer Lauren Shusterich’s weightless, golden pipes. This sunny DIY melody is a little bit ’60s girl group, a little bit ’80s punk, with a touch of psychedelia. Despite expert craftsmanship, it has an effortless feel. It makes your heart pang. And your toes tap along to the beat. It has us hopeful for a full new album in 2018.

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

In this next iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from star-quality country music and jazzy R&B to experimental instrumentals with a touch of spoken-word poetry. 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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“Not That Into You” by Emma White

It’s not often that a Baltimore singer makes it big in Nashville. For starters, we’re just barely below the Mason-Dixon line, and our music scene is better known for its bluegrass roots, hip-hop heritage, and DIY devotees than its country stars. But Towson native Emma White has changed all that, with her pop leanings and stellar pipes leading her to be dubbed one of the “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know,” according to Rolling Stone magazine. White breaks the mold of heartbroken love songs and odes to Mr. Right with this righteous number about skipping games and not settling for anything less than what she wants. With fresh vocals, original lyrics, and hearty acoustic strums, she has all the trappings of a future—though all her own—T. Swift.

“Stay On It” by Horse Lords

We’re a few months behind on Horse Lords’ latest Mixtape IV, out this past May, but when we finally heard this compelling number, we were completely mesmerized. The experimental quartet takes their instrumental grooves to a new level with this adaptation of “Stay On It,” created by composer Julius Eastman in 1973. With its original political undertones and brazen departure from the mainstream, this homage couldn’t be timelier, and Horse Lords carries on those same themes as it transforms Eastman’s minimalist layering of vibes, strings, and brass into a sax-funked, festive dance number. Moving from syncopated rhythms to a beautifully dissonant chaos, it questions the norms and rethinks the very nature of sound. Best of all is the introduction, as Eastman’s program notes are turned into spoken-word poetry by the one and only Abdu Ali.

“Gut It to the Studs” by Letitia VanSant

It’s been five years since we’ve heard new music by Baltimore’s Americana darling, Letitia VanSant, and boy are we glad she’s back. The folk singer-songwriter returns with a full-length follow-up album (out February) that quietly rivals her already accomplished debut. On this rich single, VanSant announces a sort of rebirth—having quit her job to become a full-time musician, watching the world and her city change along the way. This title track uses her trademark harmonies, heartfelt storytelling, and authentic acoustic sound to start over, to reemerge with fresh eyes, to expose and embrace her truest self. It arrives just in time for the New Year, reminding us to do the same—gut it to the studs—while showcasing how the tumultuous times of 2017 have led to the creation of some pretty great art. 

“FreKweency” by MovaKween

One of the smoothest voices to come out of the woodwork this year is that of MovaKween. The local singer-songwriter has just released her first full-length debut, featuring this infectious single. The slow jam doubles as a freestyle jazz number, with MovaKween’s voice swinging between cooing neo-soulful lows and urgent hip-hop highs. In the vein of Erykah Badu or Jill Scott, she uses her honey-coated vocals and sharp rhymes to tackle larger topics, like the importance of female empowerment, creative freedom, and feel-good vibrations for the hardship-riddled city of Baltimore. Mark her down as an artist to watch. 

“Spiral/Wave Is Not the Water” by Wye Oak

Wye Oak might no longer live here full time, but they’ll always be a Baltimore band to us. The indie duo came home for the Ottobar’s 20th birthday this fall, and lead singer Jenn Wasner’s solo Flock of Dimes show before that. And who could forget their performance at BSO Pulse. (We know we never will.) It’s been a long year since their last album, Tween, but the band now gives us a possible sneak peek of its upcoming record with this new double release. Sure, they’re essentially two separate songs, but they compliment each other like no one might have guessed in the five years between their creations. “Spiral,” circa 2012, is a rolling, chord-running number that stems from the band’s early days—back when they first started adding electronic touches to their rock-forward sound—while “Wave Is Not the Water” is a song of 2017: blossoming, powerful, introspective. If it’s any indication of what’s to come, we can’t wait for 2018. 

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.

In this fifth iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we feature five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from Spanish-infused hip-hop and legendary modern jazz numbers to one rollicking rendition of Britney Spears. 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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“Sayno” by Al Rogers Jr.

Al Rogers Jr. has never been afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, pushing his feel-good, sentimental swooz out into the atmosphere everywhere he goes. That open authenticity has allowed him to make some of the most accomplished hip-hop in the city, which we’ve raved about in the past. And yet as earnest and honest as the local rapper might be, he always manages to surprise us, from his 2015 Outkast-inspired Luvadocious to the new tracks of his just-released BrightHeartedNigga. This track, made with local producer Kariz Marcel, is our favorite surprise of Al’s thus far. It’s unlike anything we’ve heard him do yet—a cantering Spanish melody that tells the story of love lost through hushed lyrics, rhythmic finger-snaps, the quivering heartache of violin, and a final flutter of piano keys. To all of that, we say yes.

“Like Laughter” by Amy Reid

If it were possible to create a musical version of the feeling of bliss, this song would come pretty close. Airy synth swirls around every inch of this lush, lilting melody, as deep-blue-toned tribal drums pulse in and preparie Amy Reid’s lyrics for liftoff. On this debut solo project from the local singer, who also performs as half of experimental R&B duo Chiffon, each track transcends the physical realm, with this euphoric number truly sending our heads into the clouds. It loses us in our imagination. It conjures up dreamscapes and ignites distant memories that were forgotten the moment we awoke from sleep. Give into your senses and let the song do the rest.

“Flak Bait” by Calgrove

We dig the lo-fi, low-key sound of this new indie-rock quintet. The Lutherville group was formed as recently as last year, but their hazy Americana music exhibits a musical companionship that only comes from long-time collaboration, which, in this case, for most of the band, dates back to childhood. Born out of bedroom jam sessions, this warm, sunny melody is as listless as the lazy, nostalgic, humdrum days of youth, but there’s a backwoods depth that comes with the sinuous twang of lap steel guitar. The gentle talk-sing lyrics lend well to this easy-listening ditty—one fit for hot coffee on a cool dewy morning, an evening porch sit, or a sunset drive. Catch them live alongside other local talents at venues like the Ottobar, Joe Squared, and Millstone Cellars.

“Assume the Position” by Lafayette Gilchrist

If you are anything like us, you’ve been spending the last month waiting all week for Sunday night thanks to David Simon’s new HBO masterpiece, The Deuce. But beyond anticipating the next plot twist, we’re waiting for those end credits to roll, when the show fires up that funky, horn-riddled tune by local legend Lafayette Gilchrist. Simon used this 2008 track in The Wire, too, but now the Baltimore jazz pianist’s upbeat single has been infused with new life. No matter how dog-tired and dreadful we are of work the next day, we can’t help but look alive for those last few minutes, and boogie in our PJs to this bodacious instrumental groove.

“Gimme More” by Natural Velvet*

Leave it to Natural Velvet frontwoman Corynne Ostermann to create such a searing cover of the one and only Britney Spears. This chart-topping pop song came on the heels of Spears’ infamous head shaving incident of 2007, which Ostermann once told us was a source of pop culture inspiration for her own band’s rebellious music. Now, this pit-ready rendition is everything that the local post-punk quartet does best: swirling live-wire guitar, breakneck drums, and Ostermann’s playful breakdown of feminine stereotypes—each howl, growl, and guttural “more” at a time. We only hope that Britney gets the chance to hear it.

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