Credit: Christian Zajicek
Mighty
Don’t ask me why, but there is a part of me that thinks Mighty unfairly toils in obscurity, even as the Atlanta trio prepares to embark on a three-week-long stretch of dates supporting Saves the Day. Maybe it’s the outcast aura the trio cast both in their song and videos, but what I can say for certain is the group’s raw, vulnerable, hard-charging debut deserved wider attention. My guess is that they’ll spend much of 2019 on the road, but let’s hope they find the time to conjure up some new music along the way. – GC
More Info
Web: mightytheband.com
Bandcamp: mightytheband.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @mightytheband
Instagram: @mightytheband
Twitter: @mightytheband
Moloq
For over three years, the two-man enigma known as Moloq has steadily clawed out a curious niche among Atlanta’s stranger circles. After their baffling, Animal Collective-esque debut odyssey Viscous Pixels, Jake Aron and Paul Stevens have since folded in grooves from krautrock, funk, and R&B, bewitching audiences to rock along to mutated songs that encourage enlightenment and question authority. Now that the Moloq aura glares more eerily than ever, the duo plans to unleash their powers upon the masses with a new album in February. – LA
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Bandcamp: moloq.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @moloqmusic
Instagram: @moloqmusic
SoundCloud: @moloqmusic
Twitter: @moloqmusic
Paradise Montage
Back in Pop Weirdos, Jamison Murphy helped craft a curious vision of paradise, where radioactive palm trees swayed on tropic-themed movie sets. With the bossa nova squad Paradise Montage, however, every scene feels far more spontaneous than scripted. Ever since their rambunctious debut at 529 last year, Murphy and the gang have only sailed as a wild card live unit, with wacky electronic drums and smooth waves to rock to; if nothing steers them off-course, we should see some actual songs surface on the interwebs later this year. – LA
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Facebook: @paradisemontage
Instagram: @paradisemontage
Pike Co.
Pike Co. snuck on the list as a last-minute addition, but that’s only because the band drifted out of the shadows onto Spotify a few weeks ago. The group’s lineup ticks all the boxes of the EAV punk scene, featuring Blake Emerson Chapman (Harmacy), Blake Gamel (Big Jesus), Brandon Reid (Harmacy), Luke Jones (King of Summer, Blis.), and Danny Weathers (Camera Box). The informed listener might expect a mix of indie and noise-rock, but pigeonholes be damned, the few samples of the band so far display a bizarre mix of pysch-pop, Americana, and ‘70s rock studio trickery. It remains to be seen whether the group will drift further away from the city skyline, but for our sake I’m glad they ended up in the wilderness. Despite their minimal internet presence, the band have been writing for a while now, and plan to release an album by September, along with a music video and, apparently, a “hot” remix. – RR
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Instagram: @pikeco.international
Ravel
When the waking world retires for the day, androgynous three-piece Ravel come out to spin their gossamer web. In the frosty dusk of last June’s Otherworld, synths crept across the Zola Jesus-like void while Logan Morrissey crooned about their inner turmoil. Admittedly, we didn’t get much time to peer into this particular abyss, but one glance alone proves that the terrors from an uneasy mind can haunt us far more than the cliché trappings of the macabre. Fortunate, Ravel plan to dig even deeper this year, with a new video on the near horizon, an acoustic album Morrissey, and a second full-band expedition. – LA
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Bandcamp: ravel-unravel.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @ravel2unravel
SoundCloud: @ravel-unravel
Solar Flower
Only a band so completely convinced of the healing power of heavy music could have created the fuzzed-out prism of vintage rock You Are. Solar Flower’s debut LP dropped on the first of the year, and the meditative chants brim with hope and mystery, as visual artist Dorothy Stucki combines talents with Bo Orr (Arbor Labor Union), Sidrah Mahmoud, and Rob Sarabia (Dasher, Mutual Jerk). The promising four-piece demonstrate a connection to the rhythms of the universe while unloading hippie mantras with such conviction that even the most jaded punk will feel tendrils of peace blooming and enshrouding their cynicism. – RR
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Bandcamp: solarflowerband.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @solarflowerband
Credit: Paul Wood
The Threats
Sure, the Threats were virtually guaranteed to make some noise when they released Saboteur, the group’s debut EP, back in October of last year. After all, when former members of metalcore stalwarts the Chariot reunite for a new project, some heads are bound to turn. But Saboteur was more than just an explosive first effort; it was proof positive that the Threats were a band to be reckoned with—a frenetic force of nature capable of scaling thrilling heights. Just how high they’ll climb remains to be seen, but something tells us the band has quite a trek ahead of them. – AS
More Info
Web: thethreatsband.com
Bandcamp: thethreatsband.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @thethreatsband
Instagram: @thethreatsband
Credit: Rob Lambert
True Blossom
True Blossom are unapologetically a pop band, and truth be told, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Released earlier this month, the group’s debut full length Heater arrived chock full of bright, glossy songs with just the right amount of funky verve. Here, neon-flecked synth-pop rubs elbows with breezy yacht rock and ‘80s pop to create lush, dance-ready atmospheres that stretch out far wider and deeper than what may appear on the surface. Expect the band to play plenty of shows in 2019, and word is that a follow-up record may already be in the works. – GC
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Facebook: @trueblossomatlanta
Instagram: @trueblossomband
Wanderwild
On Wanderwild’s debut LP In Due Time, songwriter Matt Martin proved he could craft propulsive rockers and atmospheric ballads with equal aplomb, utilizing his warm vocals as the glue that held those disparate dynamics together. The end result was a sprawling, emotive record with the occasional high-intensity rager thrown in for good measure. What Wanderwild’s plans are for 2019 remain a mystery as the trio has remained tight-lipped about their intentions. Last week, however, the group teased the impending release of something new (a single? an album?) called ‘Platinum,’ so we should have some answers sooner than later. – GC
More Info
Web: wanderwildmusic.com
Bandcamp: wanderwild.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @wanderwildmusic
Instagram: @wanderwildmusic
SoundCloud: @wanderwild
Twitter: @wanderwildmusic
Warm Red
There’s always been a vein of forward-thinking punk in Atlanta, but Warm Red’s upcoming album on State Laughter promises to shake things up even more. Though the quartet have played some shows over the past few months, the upcoming tape, which drops in February, portrays a wider mix of unhinged fury and detached intellectualism, owing a debt both to the Aussie punk scene and the murky frontier of ’80s post-punk. The eager vocals of Toni Negroni (BKGD), are key to Warm Red’s sound, but the supporting cast of Jacob Armando (Death Stuff), Bryan Scherer (Nurse, Arbor Labor Union), and Stephen Lewis are responsible for the band’s blistering energy. – RR