Heather Ragnars – “Each Other”: The Icelandic-Canadian songwriter has a sensual and down-to-earth vibe suitable for any lounge. It’s a song that gets suggestive but is old school in its narrative and appreciation of class and swagger too. I’m sitting in a coffee shop as I’m oft to do putting these writeups together, and I’m sipping an iced tea. After the sun goes down, I think I’ll listen to this song again with a glass of wine. Heather draws inspiration from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Portishead, and Lana Del Ray. If you really listen though, you’ll be drawn in.

Bad Bad Hats – “Detroit Basketball”: This auto-biographical bop (or at least it reads that way) has a quirky and whimsical flair. The first verse has a bit of snark, which quickly gives way to a nonchalant, upbeat melody. The song has a nice bounce to it (no pun intended). It is the lead single off the band’s forthcoming Walkman LP, out September 17th via Don Giovanni Records.

Joey Aich – “Paint (P.4.L.)”: As the world sits today they are waiting on yet another perpetually late Kanye album. If they want a short and sweet single from a dude with a lot of talent but a fraction of Yeezy’s overinflated ego, Joey Aich’s “Paint (P.4.L)” is a good bet. True to what I’ve come to expect from Aich, the single is a layered, lush journey that packs a punch of a vibe into a short amount of time. Joey admits via email that this song is “more hip house than hip hop,” a flavor I can get down with for sure. It’s a lane he excels in.

Durry – “Hasta La Vista Baby”: Austin Durry has already proved his mastery of writing a hook-laden tune in his dark cinematic project Coyote Kid, but he steps out of the darkness with his sister Taryn with single numero dos in a sound they call “nostalgic indie pop.” As fun as the song is, there’s a serious undertone with a look at toxic masculinity—a topic that never fails to stir the pot. But stirring the pot is something the Durry clan is good at, whether its a pot of tasty good eats or dirty laundry that needs aired out.

frau – “pipebOmb”: If you’ve followed this site for any length of time, you probably figured out that its founder (me) is a sucker for pop with an otherworldly vibe. frau fulfills this with the breakup song “pipebOmb.” I’m not really sure what the title is stylized like that, but the large “O” kind of looks like an explosion and the style is definitely quirky. I suppose you could call this song an explosion of quirkiness.

Lackhoney – “Flute Section””: Since we visited a smooth hip-hop track from Ohio, we had to go back to our second hometown of sorts: Nashville. Lackhoney made our Nashville Bands to Watch last year, and now he’s back with the memorably named “Flute Section.” The song isn’t as shrill as you might expect. Just like Joey Aich above, it packs a punch in a very easy-going way, which sounds like it shouldn’t make sense—but just listen. From the looks of it he’s been releasing singles all 2021, and we have some homework to do.