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!
We also do weekly New Music Monday videos over on Instagram and TikTok!
[Pst! Get included in a future issue!]
Top Selections
Chris Chism – All Our Time [NC alt folk]
With this new EP, Chris Chism has masterfully created a soundtrack that urges you to find a storyline, a place to connect. His music makes you feel small in a world rife with possibilities for good and peace. The lower register of his guitar strings, dripping with deep, dark sound, is amplified by a voice that needs no effect — gorgeous and natural. Backing guitar lines, distorted and distant, pass like a train in the night, unseen but necessary.
“All Our Time” opens with guitar and vocals rising together, one pulling the other along in an absolutely beautiful melody — the kind of sound you want to hear walking a long path in the woods. “Remembrance” is so gentle, so moving, and ends just as you’re lost inside it, leaving you wanting more. A banjo almost seeming to talk starts “Take Shelter,” haunting as a late-night train moving through an emptied city. “Bluebird” brings the banjo back — this time skipping joyfully through a field of flowers.
Needless to say, this collection is about as gorgeous as it gets. If I could, I’d get a fleet of canoes together, invite Chris to come play from the boat, and paddle a party of explorers into the sunset.
Top Tracks: The entire EP
McKinney – Bones [Asheville synth pop]
There’s something rare about a debut album that carries no trace of uncertainty. McKinney manages that and more in Bones, a synth pop gem that arrives complete and assured. It’s the kind of record that could only come from someone who has spent a lifetime absorbing music from the inside out. Growing up in the orbit of her mother, blues artist Melissa McKinney, clearly left its mark in the best possible way.
The album is rooted in bluesy soul and jazz, and McKinney’s background as a bassist shows. Tthere’s a rhythmic intelligence to these songs that keeps even the quietest moments feeling grounded and purposeful. She bends her influences into something distinctly her own, balancing ambition with a refreshing restraint that many debut artists never find.
Where Bones truly cuts deep is in its honesty. “Riverside Drive,” a response to the destruction left behind by Tropical Storm Helene, carries the weight of real experience without leaning on easy emotion. It doesn’t console so much as it bears witness, and that distinction makes all the difference. It’s the album’s defining moment, and a clear signal that McKinney is an artist worth following closely.
Top Tracks: “Guilty”, “Runaway”, “Riverside Drive”, “Casually”
Monthly Round-up
Rock, alternative, and punk
Aboveground – “Truly Be” [Western NC alt rock/indie]
What a unique blend of soulful Southern vocals, delicate guitarwork, and dynamic songwriting — the build up from the first half to the second is just fantastic.
American Death Cult – “Drew Barrymore” / “Emo California” [Greensboro garage punk]
A great pair from the noisy punk rockers; the first rips like a heavier Joyce Manor jam, only for the band to get even chunkier and groovier on the b-side.
Broken Bonds – New Leaves Turn [NC punk]
If you like early Title Fight, you will also find this mysterious debut to be a fantastic, frenetic listen.
Brönz Tyga – L’Originalz [Carrboro 90s/00s garage rock]
A fun batch of distorted throwbacks to the 1990s and 2000s eras of garage and indie rock. Almost feels like I’m in the room, enjoying the performance live.
Burn the Breeze – “Great Escape” [Raleigh rock and roll]
Pure sunsoaked bliss on this chorus. It’s like Sheryl Crow if she was even more of a rocker.
ColorMeKrazy! – “ERROR_” [Raleigh electronic pop-punk]
One of the heaviest songs we’ve gotten from ColorMeKrazy!, with the band bordering on post-hardcore/metalcore territory to deliver a timely anti-AI message.
Dead Rat Disco – Disco Infesto [Hillborough punk]
Another throwback to the more energetic punk era that’s ready to blitz past you.
Deer Watching – treats ep [Charlotte indie rock]
A fun mix of synthy rock experiments, works in progress, and loose ideas to dig into.
Flannelmouth – Blood and Gore [Charlotte rock/dream pop]
Such a satisfying layered sound, from reverb-soaked vocals and fuzzy synths to bass grooves and harmonizing guitars.
Homeostasis – Push [Greenville punk rock]
It’s rare to find a debut record with such variety, both in vibes of different songs and the recurring instrumentation — trumpet and accordion, in this case.
Low Country Jam Machine – Outta Sight [Wilmington classic rock/stoner rock]
This EP is overflowing with funky stoner rock energy from the get-go, made more potent from the band’s musicianship and Garrett Ward’s higher vocal register.
naked house – big death [Asheville slacker rock]
A mellow and brooding batch of rock instrumentals to get lost in.
Neon Ruins – “Never the Same Way Twice” [Chapel Hill indie rock/folk]
I got 30 seconds in and felt such satisfying R.E.M. vibes. Hyped for a full EP or record from these guys.
Electronic, ambient, experimental, and more
Crawldata – Delusions EP [Greensboro electronic pop/jazz fusion]
A debut that is as much synthy electropop as it is jazzy and funky. Perfect for a late night drive.
Fishing In September – Where’s My Moon Landing [Charlotte experimental/lofi/shoegaze]
This record has a little bit of everything: dreamy synth passages, creative sampling, and often hypnotic guitarwork.
Emma Rae – “The Chase” [Apex pop/singer-songwriter]
Enrapturing from the first words, thanks to Emma’s smooth, soulful vocals and melodies a la Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles.
Gliver – Potpourri Cornucopia Menagerie [Raleigh ambient rock]
If the album name wasn’t clear enough, this batch of songs from Poinsettia’s Vincent Whitehurst is an eclectic mix of ambient, experimental, and indie rock — and well worth the time.
Hook of Moon – Absence [Asheville experimental/post-rock]
These guys have such a well-defined dreamy pop-rock sound, heightened by some superb saxophone lines and quality production.
land is – “Consensual Thunder” [Pittsboro ambient/electronic]
Corbie Hill sends you on an electronic journey like few others, and this “EP-in-a-song” is eager to take you on a psychedelic trek through the cosmos.
Lennon KC – “When it hails” [Durham lo-fi indie pop]
Such a delicate emo-adjacent song that teleports me back to playing video games on a rainy day.
Nova Ryn – Project 12. Origin Tales [Charlotte electronic/dance]
No need to sugar coat this one, it’s just a fun collection of EDM tracks to dance to.
Ravine – aquamarine [Durham psych pop/art rock/goth]
Wow, what hypnotic vocals across all these songs. Truly an inspired mix of sounds converging into one.
Rooms Without Doors – private conservation [NC ambient/vaporwave]
In case you need some local ambient vibes to chill and work to, let these ones teleport you to some far woodland realm.
SKYLAN – “Hawt Mess” [Raleigh hyperpop/rave]
I’m no raver, but this glitzy track feels so ready for the club and/or random TV show montages.
Folk, Americana, and country
Ali Forrest – “2035” [Charlotte folk/indie rock]
Confident folk meets hilariously wry lyrics about our impending dystopian future from Ali’s Phoebe Bridgers-esque vocals.
Amelia Riggs – “Vibrating Plastic Cup for Reese McHenry” [Durham indie folk]
A hard-hitting piece of musical poetry in tribute of the indomitable local legend Reese McHenry (The Dirty Little Heaters, The Second Wife) that I could float down a river listening to.
Boygirl Rising – Quarter Life Crisis [Raleigh folk punk]
The queer folk punks of the Triangle return as a trio with a double single/EP that continues their streak of brutally accurate reflections on modern existence.
Brent Underwood – “Wildflower” [Tar Heel country rock]
In need of a refreshing dose of genuine country that feels ready for an arena? This is a single for you.
Emily June – notes for when i lose myself [Charlotte acoustic/folk/indie pop]
Emily is like a brilliant chef, complementing her crooning vocals and acoustic melodies with instrumentation and sonic textures that elevate her songs into the stratosphere.
Max Lane – Backsliding [Hillsborough alt-country]
What a haunting batch of solo tracks. Max’s reflections on religion are amplified by his Bruce Springsteen-esque howls and hushed vocals.
Old Sap – Marble Home [Asheville folk rock/Americana]
As complete of a “banjo record” as you can get, with a hodgepodge of accompanying instrumentation to teleport you to the mountains.
Pressley Laton – “Drop Dead” [Boone alt-country]
This song is made for a rip-roarin’ good time with friends. Pressley’s voice is so crisp and practically exudes confidence, while the band behind her shows they’re up to get rowdy.
Metal and hardcore
INFINXTY – written, but never received [Wilmington metalcore/screamo]
Less than a year from their more hyperpop and emo-influenced debut, this new EP doubles down on a heavier metalcore direction (and is ready to mosh).
Megg Jacobs – “Fault Line” [Durham metalcore]
Yet another impressive single from the do-it-all metalcore queen. It’s a little glitchy, a little djent-y, and a chorus fit for arenas.
Space Attack – Welcome To The Terrorform [Chapel Hill space metal]
Big classic metal energy on this one, with a set of instrumentals that feel ready to take you on an intergalactic quest.
The Lost View – Out Of Frame [Raleigh emoviolence/screamo]
Such a raw and unapologetic debut record, ready to pummel you with noise.
Hip-hop/rap, soul, jazz, and funk
‘Tracei’ – MOOD [Charlotte hip-hop/rap]
This debut album is meticulously crafted to be bass-heavy and ripe with soul. The Charlotte underground scene has gained a gem in this Boca Raton transplant.
Mawpy – DIE EMPTY [NC abstract hip-hop]
Jump into the chaos with these glitchy textures, warped synths, and emphatic raps.
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