Welcome to another installment of our monthly local music feature, New Music NC!
Each month highlights some of our particular favorites, followed by several categories to sift through. Think of it as your virtual record store, except all the music is new and local!
[Pst! Get included in a future issue!]
Top Selections
blankstate. – RITUAL [Charlotte fifth wave emo]
From the moment I heard blankstate., I was convinced that they were one of the sharpest bands in North Carolina. And with this new EP, I still feel that way.
Their Midwestern emo influence is just as prevalent as ever, from the technical guitarwork to scream-sing vocal harmonies and emotional lyrics at the core of each track. Just like with their 2024 EP, LOTUS, the production work from Jose Gonzalez at SpiceHouse is dialed in to amplify every intricate detail in the band’s songs.
If you’ve managed to miss the boat for blankstate. so far, here’s a great chance to see what the hype is all about.
– Jackson Balling
Top Tracks: “took ya long enough”, “bridge to terabithia”, “vulpix”
Paper Pills – Peer Pressure [Asheville alt rock]
These days, it feels like we’re in an anti-album world, either because of algorithms prioritizing shorter songs and singles over full-length records. And yet, just when hope feels lost, you get something like Peer Pressure that reminds you what makes a cohesive album so great. There’s a clear identity on display, even as the band bounces between genres and vibes across the track listing.
At the core, Paper Pills has a sharp alt rock/emo sound fronted by a vocalist whose voice feels like a hybrid of Hayley Williams and Miley Cyrus. And while there are some strong tracks that lean heavily in a pop-punky direction (“Shampoo”, “Greenroom”, “Pedigree”), the ones I kept coming back to were when the band throws a curveball. Like on “Hairpin” and “B & W”, which are so satisfyingly Nirvana-esque in their grunge heaviness and loud driving choruses. Or the borderline alt-metal of “Red Ryder”, “Angel Numbers”, and “Sweetheart”.
But if there’s any one track that wormed its way into my ear, against all odds, it was “Hunny Bunny”, which goes from rambling spoken verses about a birthday party gone wrong to an absolute banger of a punky anthem chorus.
– Jackson Balling
Top Tracks: “Hunny Bunny”, “Pedigree”, “Angel Numbers”
RIBS – COLD RIBS [Raleigh experimental rock]
This new LP from RIBS hits a bullseye on an ever moving target of sounds, as the band shows that their mandala of sound is everything, everywhere. Some songs tread lightly, others are explosive, all are topped with vocals, poetic and distant as if shouted form another room. The vocals are engaging and genuine in the spirit of Lou Reed or Jim Carroll.
Overall, the album has a sound that is incredibly familiar while being strangely unrecognizable and unique. It grooves, pounds, and sets you free. Even with the spectrum of styles and sound the songs are united by passion and the energy of driving a car off a cliff just to see it explode. Electronic sounds blend with clean guitar, two by four pounding drums and vocals cutting to the truth of a world in trouble.
The more it unfolds before you, the more it feels like listening to songs being written and played for the first time. Simply beautiful and hectic all at once. If space is the final frontier, RIBS has taken me there.
– Stephen Mullaney
Top Tracks: “Crashing Machine”, “Strange Victories”, “Working Shoes”
The Rattletraps – Cuff and Collar [Carrboro southern rock]
If you’re on the hunt for something that feels like a blend of southern rock and outlaw country, may I introduce you to The Rattletraps. The nine-piece (!) band put out their debut LP at the start of the month with a show at Cat’s Cradle Backroom that reinforced everything impressive about the band: sharp songwriting, gruff yet melodic vocals, and a menagerie of honky tonk instrumentation. (Or, the perfect soundtrack for at least two couples engaging in some heavy PDA.)
With such a large roster, every song here brings a little something different to the fold, from vocal performances to the split between rock and country. Do yourself the favor of listening to the stretch from “Feathers & Floorboards” to “Knife in a Dogbed” if you don’t have 40 straight minutes to give to the full record.
– Jackson Balling
Top Tracks: “Feathers & Floorboards”, “Auto Blues”, “Knife in a Dogbed”
Monthly Round-up
Rock, alternative, and punk
Awkward Ghosts – The Food Was Poisoned [Asheville indie pop]
These songs feel like a tremendous blend of The Talking Heads (especially in the vocals) and a riff-heavy pop punk band like Bad Moves. Sometimes they lean a little surf rock, others into new wave, or at the end, more punky.
Beacon – American Iconoclast [Boone funk rock/punk rock]
Y’all, this incredible funky punky rock EP is exactly why I love doing this column and exploring what’s out there. Beacon brings a set of blistering, bass guitar-driven performances here that left me dazzled (and wanting to hear it all live).
Carter Tate – Clear the Weeds [Charlotte alt rock]
Speaking of incredible debuts, which is a bit of a recurring theme here, this Carter Tate EP is rocked my socks off. Her vocals remind me of Momma and Soccer Mommy in their hypnotic quality, but with these heavier, groovy, effects-laden guitar riffs and tight drumwork behind them. Every song here has something that makes me go, “Oh damn, that’s incredible!”
Cave Shine – Memory Serves [Charlotte indie rock/dream pop/shoegaze]
Just a tremendously refined batch of songs here from Cave Shine. At the core, it’s shoegazy rock with some serious groove. But by the end, it’s weaving in some ambient textures and dream pop softness in the vocal delivery. Big recommend for any Slow Teeth fans.
the dead ringers – An Attempt at Healing [Durham pop punk]
If you’re looking out for some top-notch “lyrical confessional” style pop punk, filled with catchy vocals (and their harmonies) and all-around tight performances, this record is for you. the dead ringers have been on my radar for a bit and it’s clear why they’re the latest addition to local punk label powerhouse, Boared to Death Records.
Fake Jr. – Forever Again [Raleigh power pop/garage rock]
Having seen Fake Jr. perform these three new songs during their show with Teens in Trouble, it’s awesome to hear their final studio forms. The band’s typical power pop sound is softened a bit, but the result is a more meditative rock sound with some country twang that you shouldn’t miss.
FM Snow – THE FUTURE WILL FIND ME [Greensboro indie rock]
Sometimes artists hit the nail right on the head with their sound descriptions, and FM Snow’s “synthesizes everything from funk, math rock, folk, and back again” is dead on. Cameron has a soulful tinge to his vocals that goes so well with these funky, mathy, yet often delicate songs.
Hattricks – “Nameless Faces” [Raleigh shoegaze/post-punk]
If you’re looking for a track with a little more “oomph” to it, check this new single from Hattricks. What a rocking jam that has a bit of Queens of the Stone Age to it, with an ending breakdown that you have to hear.
Jack the Songman – Faces, Places, and Warm Embraces [Durham funk rock]
This second LP from sunshine funk rocker and perennial love song writer Jack the Songman brings together his two latest EPs with some connective tissue. It’s a beautifully warm ode to the people and places in his life.
Snowship – It’s Not That Far [Chapel Hill emo/shoegaze/alt rock]
On a similarly lighter note, this five-song EP from Snowship is a relaxing listen. Very vocal-forward with a kinda Ezra Koenig boyish charm, settled on top of a foundation of emo instrumentals capable of shoegazey jams and bedroom pop-esque synth flair.
Tenderqueer – “But You’re Such a Punk” [Durham punk/riot grrrl]
Another Boared to Death records band (#notanad) to shout out is the indomitable Tenderqueer, who dropped this new single about every asshole dude you’ve ever encountered in a music scene. It’s an anthemic punk track that abruptly pivots into a seething “BUT YOU’RE SUCH A PUNK!” breakdown that’s even more satisfying live.
Electronic, ambient, experimental, and more
i give my friends flowers – DOGSTAR 1 [Asheville electronic soul/art pop]
This evolution of last month’s A RIVER RUNS THROUGH ME adds more of those beautiful vocals, but with an extra dash of glitchy autotune flair. It’s really awesome to watch this unfold in real-time.
oddcolours – “Fractals” [Greensboro lo-fi]
Just a really interesting electronic journey here, shifting between lo-fi beats to ambient passages and weird experimental soundscapes in such a short period of time.
Folk, Americana, and country
Featherpocket Stringband – In the Moonlight [Charlotte indie bluegrass]
This pair of songs sounds like the start of something bigger. The short “In the Rain” intro gives to “In the Moonlight”, which feels written to get people moving and stomping along.
Hard Drive – Wasting My Whole Life Away [Durham old time/bluegrass]
A great collection of bluegrass and old time traditionals with some of the best string work you’ll hear this month. They landed on our radar after seeing band member Tatiana Hargreaves perform with Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductee Alice Gerrard at Sleepy Fest 2025.
Jodi Jones – American Dream [Carrboro folk/bluegrass/singer-songwriter]
Another rising voice in that folk/bluegrass space that you cannot miss is Jodi Jones, who truly has never sounded better than this record. In a world where being a Woody Guthrie knockoff seems enough to go viral, Jodi’s lyrics actually feel authentic, as opposed to fashioned to fit the algorithms.
land is – A Tourist in the Land of the Dead [Pittsboro folk/space rock]
If you know Corbie Hill (aka land is), you know a living definition of resilience. And this record is the musical embodiment of it. A project that has taken nearly a decade to hit your ears, with a folk rock sound that is now foreign to the music Corbie has made in recent years. I teared up at “Ruin”, but was oddly soothed by the soft grooves of “No One’s Gonna Love You”. It’s an experience, like all of Corbie’s work.
Mariah van Kleef – Dream of the Lillitu [Charlotte dream folk/art rock]
And if that experience isn’t enough, allow me to recommend of this record. It’s stunning and something I am desperate to spend more time with. Mariah’s vocals are beautiful yet haunting at times (in the best way), while the instrumentals exist in this liminal space between art rock, folk, and psych folk. Add in some next level production, foley textures, and choral vocal harmonies and I’m hooked.
Tin Roof Echo – Melancholy Angel / Hello In There [Asheville folk rock/alt-country]
On a lighter note, there are these two songs from Tin Roof Echo. Very heartland rock a la Bruce Springsteen and The Gaslight Anthem but with twangy lead guitars and warm acoustic rhythms underneath.
Hip-hop/rap, soul, jazz, and funk
Musashi Xero – The Killing Prayer [Asheville electronic hip-hop]
Imagine a cyberpunk dystopian future, where your favorite rapper is an augmented cyborg and they’re spitting rhymes of electronic/borderline EDM beats. That’s what it’s like to listen to Musashi Xero.
pat junior – PREREQUISITE A [Raleigh alternative hip-hop]
Musically, few things hit me as easily as what pat junior showcases in under 8 minutes: smooth soulful raps, instrumentals rooted in funk and R&B, and beautiful production to tie it all together. The first half feels like Anderson .Paak’s Malibu before Pat decides to spit fire on the final track.
Metal and hardcore
The Apotheosis – Omni [Raleigh progressive metal/post-hardcore]
I’ve feeling big djenty Coheed and Cambria vibes on this one, from the lead/rhythm guitarwork to the high-pitched vocals. Great technical performances with plenty of production flair.
DÖLTZ – TOTAL RECHARGE [Greensboro hardcore punk]
No frills hardcore punk that sounds like it was captured from the middle of a circle pit. DÖLTZ fucking rules.
SEAHAGG – Psych Ward [Raleigh hardcore punk]
Like a good hardcore show, I have no idea what is being shouted, but the way it’s being shouted and the heavy ass instrumentals underneath make me want to jump into a mosh pit.
shotwithagun – From A Place You Cannot See… Comes A Sound You Will Not Hear [Asheville melodic metalcore]
What a flashback to 2000s Myspace-era metalcore, right down to the perfect use of a random TV/movie quote (It’s Always Sunny, in this case). But hey, heavy guitars and blasting drums will always rip.
Ready to get featured in our monthly roundup for new music from NC artists? Fill out this short form and we’ll include your latest release in a future issue!
Leave a Reply