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
ColorMeKrazy! — “Last Summer” single [Raleigh electronic pop-punk]
The musical hustlers in ColorMeKrazy! can’t be stopped, y’all. Only several months from their debut EP, they’ve released a fresh single with a fantastic summer-themed music video. Their synth-infused pop punk proves to be at its catchiest when soundtracking the band having fun in the sun, playing on Rock Band instruments, and spraying Super Soakers.
Watchhouse — Rituals [Chapel Hill folk/Americana]
If there was one record that stood out in the past month of interviewing musicians, this is it. And for good reason: it’s a fantastic, relaxing folk record. Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) is at their best, moving outside of the bluegrass realm to present a more folky record that lulls you into pure bliss. Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz bring dreamier instrumentation alongside their beautiful vocal harmonies and lyrical reflections on the beauty of everyday rituals. This record was made for lounging after a fun night with friends.
Monthly Round-up
Rock, alternative, and punk
2:00AM Wake Up Call — Dead City [High Point power pop/indie rock]
applefield — nimbus/nowandthen [Durham shoegaze/slacker rock]
Bitslinger — Bleed [Chapel Hill alt-psych/rock]
Buck Swope — upstairs//downstairs [Raleigh post-punk]
CANNED SNAKES — LIVE AT BUDGETCAN [Raleigh garage rock]
Clothing & Shoes — Doubt the Patterns! [Raleigh pop rock]
David Travis — Born in 1987 [Chapel Hill power pop/punk rock]
Electric Frankenstein — Spittin’ Blood [Raleigh punk rock]
Felix & Bones — Secrets, Lies, and other Deceptions [Raleigh piano rock]
Gavin Conner — Grey Too (2025) [Asheville pop rock]
Gyganta — Gyganta II [Raleigh grunge/alt rock]
Heavy For The Vintage — RESIST. DANCE. [Carrboro synth punk/new wave]
Le Weekend — A Spell in the Darkness [Chapel Hill indie rock/pop rock]
Lower Peaks — Balances [Asheville indie rock]
Psychic Scream — EP1 [Raleigh psych-punk]
Reld Pressley — Im In Your Area [Durham alt rock]
Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING — New Purple Dress [Asheville chill rock]
True Optimist — “Make Money All Day” single [Charlotte alt rock]
Tyler Baum — Postcards From Pangea [Charlotte surf/world/new age/country/electro]
Electronic, ambient, experimental, and more
Doug Sours — Dream World [Raleigh world/ambient/jazz]
FATHERGITA — Slow Collapse [Winston-Salem electronic/pop rock]
Five Foot Failure — black hole superstars [Winston-Salem weirdcore]
Human Pippie Armstrong — The Drogues [Charlotte electronic/punk]
Mombi Yuleman — Light to Shadow: A Psytrance Collection [Raleigh psytrance]
Sunfish — Laugh It Up [NC electronic/neo-psych]
weird gumball — burnt out [Charlotte chillwave]
Hip-hop/rap, soul, jazz, and funk
Defacto Thezpian — Not Impressed II [Durham hip-hop/rap]
EPBZTA — Entheogen [Raleigh jazz]
Eugenius — (DEMO) [Greensboro hip-hop/rap]
Kunai Chrome — Insanity is Natural [Charlotte rap/R&B/dance]
MassaDonKing — Drapetomania [Fayetteville underground hip-hop]
parallelvision — headgazer! [Fayetteville alt hip-hop/rap]
Metal and hardcore
animal kingdom (NC) — Tell Your Friends at the Bottom [Raleigh hardcore/thrash]
Doomsday Profit — “The South Will Sink” single [Durham sludge/stoner metal]
Free Will Agonist — “Thief” single [Raleigh ambient rock]
HolyRoller — Rat King [Winston-Salem stoner metal]
Pawnschlonche — The :3 Agenda [Raleigh deathcore]
The Consistency Paradox — Cosmogenesis [Greensboro deathcore/black metal]
Folk, Americana, and country
Couldn’t Be Happiers — couple(t)s [Winston-Salem folk rock]
Drew Bowen — Moon Over Sun [Durham singer-songwriter/folk/Americana]
Grey Revell — Tear Gas Ghost Story [Charlotte indie folk/alt rock]
Justin Baker & J Seger — Will I Only Harvest Some [Asheville alt-country/Americana]
Kit Bird — Living In The Particular World [Durham queer folk]
Wild Coast — Slowly then all at once [Raleigh folk pop/Americana]
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!
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