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
Certain Seas — Ordinary Hopes [Durham indie rock]
I love artists/bands/projects that feature multiple songwriters. It’s always a journey to see how different voices come together, or deviate completely.
Take Certain Seas, for example. Their latest LP bounces between Katharine Whalen (vocals, baritone ukulele, percussion) and Austin Riopel (vocals, guitar, percussion), who both bring their own sensibilities to the band’s surfy indie rock sound. The former covers a wide range from garage punk on the opener “Wished It” and bluegrassy folk on “Egret” to the gentle “Big Hands”. Riopel brings more folk numbers on “Ordinary Hopes” and “Horsefly”, but with a tinge of Midwestern emo and Americana, respectively.
It can be hard to balance so many directions in one record. And yet, the band’s sharp performances ensure the 13-track listen is cohesive and exciting. Danny Grewen’s work on horns provides standout moments throughout, which go a long way to solidify the band’s overall sound amid the musical journey.
Top Tracks: “Ordinary Hopes”, “Horsefly”, “Egret”, “Telephone”
susong — matae [Charlotte indie folk pop]
Matt and Michael Susong, the brothers behind susong, aren’t interested in easy answers. Their new EP matae—shoutout to any fans of The Bear in the room—picks up where their first effort of We Are In This Together left off, but trades insular collaboration for communal support. Michael and Matt brought in Pablo Vega from The Workshop to engineer and mix, commissioned Thomas Gleaner for artwork, and assembled a four-song meditation on surrender that somehow feels more hopeful than bleak.
“Maiden Name” takes its time getting started, layering piano and guitars into a hazy atmosphere before any vocals materialize. From there, the duo strikes a delicate balance between the confessional melancholy of Simon & Garfunkel and the ambition of a Bon Iver or Manchester Orchestra. By the time “Tethered” arrives with its seductive guitar hook that transitions into a total synth surge, the EP will have captured your attention.
Top Tracks: Just listen to the whole thing, it’s only 4 songs.
Tab One — I’m Going for a Run [Raleigh boom bap/soul/jazz]
It feels weird to say that a record inspired by running has been a revelation for my morning commute, but here we are. When it feels like hip-hop is falling out of the mainstream, it’s refreshing to have a modern project with a clear identity. Tab One (of Kooley High) brings top-notch mellow beats across every track for him and guest rappers Jamaal Matters, Median, Kueen, and Charlie Smarts to wax poetic.
A massive shoutout to Ryan Cocca at Super Empty. for putting me on this. Don’t miss out on the fantastic work he’s doing for the local hip-hop scene!
Top Tracks: “The Shake Off”, “Heat Back (feat. Jamaal Matters)”, “Boom Baptist (feat. Kueen)”
Monthly Round-up
Rock, alternative, and punk
Adrianne Blanks & The Oracles — Tales of Mystery & Suspense, Unknown Terrors, and Gothic Romance [Asheville spooky jazz rock]
Amelia Riggs — CREATURE [Durham singer-songwriter/experimental]
EarthaEye — Dark Ages [Lenoir post-punk/goth rock]
Nothing Ever Happens — ~home videos~ [Winston Salem indie rock/electronic]
Persistent Itch — Rantosaurus [Raleigh grunge]
Robert Morton — I Would Fall Apart Without You [Chapel Hill pop rock]
Search Party — Trembling Hand [Charlotte experimental rock/ambient]
Shadow Person — Chronic Disappointment [Asheville alternative rock]
Teleportation — Teleportation [Charlotte psych rock/soul]
The Late Shifters — Away We Go [Asheville roots rock]
The Matildas — Dark Corners EP [Durham garage rock]
U.S. Christmas — Cannibals Of Unaka [Marshall psych rock]
VICIOUS TRUTH — YOU’RE IN HELL [Winston Salem crust punk]
Walkhome — Temptations [Asheville rock]
Zephyranthes — Zephyranthes IV [Raleigh psych rock/math rock]
Electronic, ambient, experimental, and more
Annelle Staal — Going Up! [Raleigh jazz pop]
Aquatic Ceremony — Beauty In Your Blood [Winston Salem experimental]
d york — Mirror Dark Matter [Charlotte ambient/drone]
GHOSTsTALKER — finite 2025 EP [Black Mountain synthwave]
Jay Killman & the Constellations — Connections [Wilmington jazz/funk]
jonyit — Untitled [Asheville ambient/downtempo]
Late Night Lowlights — Live at Local 506 [Raleigh jazz fusion]
Tacoma Park — Glosson Circle Sessions [Carrboro experimental]
TEH GU SI GAL PAHN — BELIEF JURKEE [Carrboro experimental/dark wave/industrial]
The Infinite — Into the Night [NC ambient folk]
True Optimist — Parlor Palms [Charlotte alternative rock/pop]
Vintage Astronaut — Sound As Resistance [Winston Salem experimental/jazz fusion]
Metal and hardcore
All Hell — Sunsetter [Asheville black metal]
Antiquity — Unbidden Manifestations [Durham black metal]
Basura — Zone Uncertain [Raleigh death metal/grindcore]
Dillon Reynolds — Radiation Sickness [Cherryville heavy metal]
Halogi — Violence Never Ends [Asheville power metal]
Harvester — Demo [Greensboro grindcore]
Life Before — Chambers of Dolor [Charlotte atmospheric metal]
Ocytic — Remnant [Wilmington death metal]
TOOTH — TOOTH [Durahm progressive metal]
YINJINN — Heka [Raleigh death metal]
Folk, Americana, and country
Alexa Rose — Atmosphere [Asheville folk/singer-songwriter]
ANZA — Break Through [Asheville acoustic folk]
ava rose — confessions, dreams, & unresolved feelings [Charlotte singer-songwriter/folk pop]
Don Arbuckle — Blue Around The Edges [Chapel Hill folk blues]
Fireside Collective — The Seven [Asheville progressive folk]
Lonnie Rott — Nobody’ll Tell Us What To Do [Durham folk/Americana]
Ross Hollow — In The Dimming [Asheville indie folk]
Sage Christie — Little Deaths [Asheville celtic folk/Americana]
Hip-hop/rap, soul, jazz, and funk
Apostle Flow — A Changing World [Durham hip-hop/rap]
Ari Sage — Light/yrs [Asheville experimental hip-hop]
Defacto Thezpian — Chicks & Rhymes Vol. 5 [Durham hip-hop/rap]
Konsume Us — HATE U.S [Greenville experimental hip-hop]
pat junior — Rough Around the Soul (extended) [Raleigh alternative hip-hop]
Rey Calidad — Revenge Of The Carolina Boogeyman [Charlotte underground rap]
Taylor Williams — Dreaming / What About Me? [Greensboro R&B/soul]
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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