Words: Ryan Getz / Photo of The Walters: Kristina Pedersen

The Walters – “Hunk Beach”: “You’ve got me feeling alright” the Chicago surf band croons reassuringly. In a summer where actual summer weather has been elusive in these parts, it is awesome to hear a surf band that sounds fresh amidst the sea (no pun intended) of genre counterparts.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212123520″  /]

MAYVE – “Hearts on Fire”: I’m starting to feel like a broken record with all of these dreamy tracks I keep posting to this blog. Apologies for the genre bias – I’ll try to do better in the future. But “Hearts On Fire” is so happy sounding I guess I’ll keep on being biased for the time being. For fans of Passion Pit, Neon Indian, and the poppy side of MGMT. Dare I say I hear a hint of psychedelia?

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/209369405″  /]

The Danes – “Room Full of Liars”: Sitting in this wine bar sipping an Angry Orchard seems coincidentally fitting for the vibe of this song, considering that’s what I’m doing right now and I wasn’t sure what to exxpect when I pressed “play” on this song. If you like things loud – you might not quite get your wise, but “Room Full of Liars” is chock full of attitude.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/207425338″ /]

Daryl Wafer – “Tonight”: Speaking of attitude, Daryl Wafer’s song “Tonight” has a different type but he is quite the friendly chap. The attitude isn’t as overt, as this song is pure indie pop – but it is there. The feel good tune is heavy on the production and light on seriousness.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205146498″  /]

A Deer A Horse – “Gunpoint”: DIY sounding production. Sounds like it was recorded live. Those are a couple streams of consciousness that occur when jamming “Gunpoint.” We don’t mean to hold you at gunpoint, but we suggest you check out A Deer A Horse pronto. Here, there is no effort to hide the angst and yet the angst flows naturally.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/199729024″ /]

Conner Stark – “Trance”: Conner Stark is part of a movement of vibey singer songwriters that aren’t quite folk yet not quite dream pop. Troy Petty is another recommendation in this vein (review of his Departure EP forthcoming). Sigur Ros like post rock buildups exist toward the latter half of the song, but song is ruled by vocals channeled through heavy reverb and piano.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/209385975″ /]