“Porch Song”
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and that’s true on both axes of the space-time continuum. Songwriter Thomas Howard has often explored the fading chambers of memory within his work as Orchid Mantis, but “Porch Song” draws back the curtains and invites us to soak in the dying light. – LA
“Skressful”
Thankfully, revealing your vulnerabilities and insecurities are no longer taboo within hip-hop, and on “Skressful” Atlanta rapper Phay reveals the duress he feels as life’s walls close in on him. You wouldn’t know it from the track’s ebullient bounce, however, as producers Kasino and Eric Young make sure to counter all that fear and loathing with plenty of high-energy snap. – AS
“Gift of the Gab”
Piss Shy’s modus operandi seems to be fairly simple: attack with lethal aggression and obliterate anything in your path. Despite the apparent Jesus Lizard worship, or at least the convenient parallels, there’s a jagged post-punk skeleton which carries “Gift of the Gab” into a realm beyond noise rock. – RR
“Knee Socks”
Ooof, what a zinger! Athens’ five-man wrecking crew leave you reeling on “Knee Socks,” as if you’re trying to dial down sensory overload on your feet at a house party. The crew already threw off rockets with their last EPs, but You Did It to Yourself pushes Saline to explore both the red and blue sides to their alt-rock inferno; indeed, like on “Knee Socks,” they’re often on both sides at once. – LA
“Red Hot and Holy”
There’s an operatic quality to Sarah and the Safe Word’s songwriting that helps bring transformational depth to their dramatic anthems. Within this song’s reverberating walls you can hear echoes of ‘80s goth and ‘70s glam, but this is no throwback epic. The band keenly understands the power of staying in the moment, and “Red Hot and Holy” pulses with poignant immediacy. – GC
“They Don’t Know”
Shampoo was the first band that I fell in love with when I moved to Atlanta, so obviously this spellbinding track was gonna make the list, even though it’s bittersweet since “They Don’t Know” is a post-mortem release for the beloved dream pop trio. – RR
“Gateway”
The tropical, neon-flecked skyline that graces Shy Layers’ retro paradise “Gateway” is a thing of enigmatic beauty. The track’s prismatic gleam feels familiar at first, but stare for a moment at its sleek surfaces and kaleidoscopic atmosphere and suddenly you’re whisked away into a world both electric and foreign. – GC
“Years Ago”
Within this misty crystal ball, Stemlines floats like a jellyfish toward the surface. Until two years ago, the Nigerian-American producer tended to other artists’ soundscapes; now, on her second single, she conjures a submerged world of beauty and enigma so crystalline that you’d swear the creator was years older. – LA
“One Dot”
How do we disrupt this broken capitalist system? Not alone, as TAYLOR ALXNDR asserts on “One Dot.” Rather than diving deep into rhetoric, this buoyant pop banger dissects the corporate rat race from a breezy distance, and asks us to think about the people we leave behind when we climb all those ladders to the top. – LA
“Betamax Torso”
Another year, another collection of 10th Letter bangers from the year 2150. At times grim and menacing, at others glossy and propulsive, “Betamax Torso” tumbles and glitches its way into the heart of a post-apocalyptic sun, leaving the listener to marvel at the laser-scorched topography as oblivion lurks just over the horizon. – GC