Bay Area-based songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Eli Wise presents Ghosts and Logic, a three-song EP shaped by change, self-discovery, and the competing demands of creativity and everyday life. After nearly a decade focused on his career as an educator and raising his children, Wise found his way back to songwriting, resulting in a collection that approaches existential questions with an unusually playful balance of vulnerability and humor.

A relatable, introspective folk charm flows on opening track “Everyone Goes Through Something Like This, But That Doesn’t Help.” “This is where I’d put the words if I hadn’t lost them all,” Wise’s opening delivery resonates amidst steady acoustic pulses and glistening piano, ascending into a brisker, emotive melodic charm in the ensuing sequence: “So here I am now back with pen and paper.” A modern insight combines with more timeless aspects of time, capturing the sting of losing a digital life’s work, while finding dark humor in how sudden data loss triggers spirals about aging, mortality, and domestic distraction.

The rest of the EP continues this knack for memorable songwriting and lyrical wit. “Out In The Cold” struts a twangy guitar appeal amidst playful rhythms, drawing a comparison to the stylish sounds of Vampire Weekend in that alluring guitar work. Thematically, the track traces the hypocrisy of authoritative rule. “They said bodies like mine must be banned / Transformation’s not part of the plan,” the lyrics stir, exposing how gatekept power leaves marginalized people freezing out in the cold. Meanwhile, EP finale “I Had To Choose” melds jangly and twangy guitars, exploring artistic identity in a trade-off between authentic identity and artistic expression: “I had to choose / Between being who I was / Or being able to / Really sing the blues.” Ghosts and Logic is a consuming success of an EP from Eli Wise.

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“I Had to Choose” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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Out today, Mohawk Castle‘s sophomore album Stoners Trail is an ambitious full-length shaped by weighty subject matter, personal reflection, and an eclectic range of influences, from Animal Collective to LCD Soundsystem. The Los Angeles project is the brainchild of Erik David Hidde, who draws on a near-death car accident he survived as a young man in upstate New York as one of the experiences informing the album, alongside explorations of PTSD, spirituality, mortality, and social unrest.

Opening track “Music from a Cloud” showcases Hidde’s excellent songwriting, spanning in atmospheric depth and structural momentum. Spacey synth trickling resonates here to start, complemented by a serene vocal introspection. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and all I dreamed of,” he sings, musing on blissful sounds as an arpeggiated synth sharpness ensues within the “all I dreamed of” refrain. His performance attains a multi-layered ardor in the second half, tonally resembling a cross of David Byrne and LCD Soundsystem; the track sets the album into lovely motion, taking particular inspiration from the aforementioned LCD Soundsystem and Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion era.

Highlights are abundant throughout. “Sunset Diner” enthralls in its narrative-forward songwriting, depicting the story of a waitress who lives downtown with her abusive father. The account of meeting a young man, who inspires her to one day open her own diner and start anew, is stirring in its depiction of personal power. Serene synths and understated, affecting delivery send enjoyable chills, reminiscent of The Blue Nile, with the “they’ll never catch up to you again” weepy refrain capturing the impact of moving past current limitations and living situations.

The ensuing track, “Projects,” then continues the character-driven songwriting, here pinpointing the struggles of veterans with PTSD. An uneasy combination of vocal layers, including both deep tonal bellowing and higher-pitched haunts, creates an aptly unsettling listening experience. Another gem is “My Body Heals Itself,” where lyrical accounts like “both your eyes are gone” capture a sort of personal deterioration, set against a stylish array of simmering electronics. Stoners Trail is a wholly affecting, dynamic full-length from Mohawk Castle.

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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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Humblety‘s third album The Dialogue is a dynamic ambient success. It draws inspiration from travels through the American Midwest and Appalachia, pairing impressions of dark hills and mountainous terrain with an exploration of voices, communication, and the modern overload of information. Across its ambient and drone-focused compositions, the project reflects Josh Humble’s long-running fascination with sound itself, informed by interests ranging from jazz and experimental music to electronic forms.

A gorgeously epic album opener, “The Dialogue” ventures from an initial array of delectably unsettling synthesizer pad murmurs into a dreamy arpeggiated blissfulness. The soundscape unveils with gradual, artful allure. Glimmering keys contribute to the chilly overall feeling, with soft ruminations of rhythms eventually growing to a sturdier presence in the track’s second half, where buzzy synth textures and brassy snippets assemble wonderfully. The ensuing “Smile Down Yonder In The Holler” stirs as well, strutting a more industrial, nocturnal realm in its melding of trickling vibrancy with sporadic pulses of eerie beauty.

Another standout, “Forgotten” exudes a ghostly, breezy aura at first, which is then enhanced by spacey electronic tones that prance with melodic immersion. Elsewhere, “Quietness” embraces a meditative, shimmering ascension in its ambient serenity, in contrast to the riveting finale “Last Pass,” whose infectiously jazzy vibe is propelled by rainy-day and click-clacking percussion. An outstanding ambient album from Humblety, The Dialogue is a treat for the ears.

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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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Timothy Lupia’s songwriting project Lupia has developed through a series of releases shaped by personal experiences, emotional shifts, and the process of finding peace within unfamiliar circumstances. On the four-song /ˈsʌn-ʃaɪn/ (Sunshine) EP, that introspective foundation takes on a heavier character, with Lupia exploring a more expansive and psychedelic side of his sound across its richly textured arrangements.

Opening track “I Have not Been Found” delights in a gorgeous array of warming, psychedelic guitar jangles and soaring, reverbed vocal delivery, which spans from initially wordless harmonizing to a more emotive lyricism. The mixture of spaciously hypnotic tones and heady guitar textures reminds of a more rock-oriented Panda Bear. Additions of glimmering synths in the second half add further to the riveting soundscape. Ensuing track “Space” is aptly titled, initially echoing a bellowing array of spacey synths. The dynamic mix then traverses into elegant piano before launching into climactic, distorted guitars; it’s a thorough display of Lupia’s excellent tonal and structural range.

Next up, “Cosmic Friend” continues that otherworldly vibe, here in the shimmering guitar jangles and multi-layered harmonies, opening with “I travel around a star / I still don’t know who you are.” Effervescent synths meld cohesively with soft guitar strums, expanding thereafter into a second half of expressive ardor and brisker vibrancy. EP finale “Rose Quartz” excels as well, its opening refrain of “I have rose quartz in my belly” supported at first by quaint guitar jangling, and then into a wonderfully hectic burst of energy at the two-minute turn, before falling back into a lusher reprieve. /ˈsʌn-ʃaɪn/ (Sunshine) is a fantastic EP from Lupia.

In addition to this excellent EP, Lupia has two more recent EPs worth checking out: Windowpane and Staircase.

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“I Have not Been Found” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

The post Lupia – ‘/ˈsʌn-ʃaɪn/ (Sunshine)’ EP appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Italian rapper Ari Selva and Swiss producer Vaynex construct a dense, atmospheric hip-hop world on Camera di Pressione, releasing September 11th. Framed around the pressures that accumulate both internally and externally, the collaborative full-length uses introspection, dark humor, and vivid imagery to shape a cohesive journey, with Selva’s commanding flows and Vaynex’s cinematic production driving its immersive pull.

Opening the album, “Siamo In Diretta” quickly showcases the album’s knack for atmospheric savvy and precise hip-hop flows. Percussive pit-patters and a blaring resonance drive into Ari Selva’s memorable lead presence, operating with intensely confident appeal. A title-bearing hook emerges just past the one-minute turn, where his delivery maneuvers from the preceding hip-hop bite into a more refrain-led entrancement. Various sound effects within, including the chiming of a train crossing, add to the track’s compelling soundscape. Next up, “Niente Che Mi Tenga” struts a soulful nostalgia, with stylish brass sounds comprising a fantastic intro. The brass elements return during a delectable central hook, where layered harmonies emit a hypnotic spell before arriving back into the hip-hop delivery.

The moody “La Veglia” then ensues, with the hauntingly recurring “boom bap save me” sampled refrain signaling an entry into a bass-heavy foundation amidst Ari Selva’s precise lyrical work. Vaynex’s production is particularly magnetic here, seen in the seamless infusion of late-night bass crawls, ghostly piano, and infectiously interwoven melodic layers. “Lo Scarafaggio” continues the strong run, the production resembling Earl Sweatshirt in its nocturnal flow and glimmering electronic pulsations.

A particularly striking sound emerges on “Enclave,” which features Dj Crazyfish and M-Skills. A chilly organ assumes prominent force in the backing beat alongside ruminating rhythms, with the cut-up “out of control” midsection being especially contagious; the chopped sample mixing is wonderfully accomplished, bridging classic hip-hop and modern production savvy, and playing as one of the album’s finest moments. The subsequent “Piromani” is riveting in its rapid build-up, with Vaynex’s production excelling as initial minimalist simmering becomes accompanied by sturdy rhythms and twinkling keys for a hip-hop success stylized with dream-pop aesthetic touches.

“Sulla Punta Della Lingua” then unveils with a soulful sample plea to “feel real love,” followed up by Ari Selva’s powerful rhythmic stride. Flourishes of wordless backing harmonies combine with driving rhythms and buzzy bass for an absorbing overall sound. Album finale “La Siberica Scilla” comes next, where head-nodding percussion and a consistent delivery expand to a hooky midpoint, complemented by melodic piano and dual-layered vocal smoothness. Propelled by Vaynex’s immersive production and Ari Selva’s standout performances, Camera di Pressione is a thorough full-length success.

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Naarm/Melbourne-based Ungus Ungus Ungus immerse on their seventh album The Fun House, a stylistic voyage through realms of theatrical folk and psychedelic experimentation into club-ready rhythms and serene electronic passages. A band whose members are spread across three Australian states, Ungus Ungus Ungus thematically trace life’s highs and lows through a constantly shifting musical lens.

A vintage-sounding charm emanates on opening track “Funlerable,” where murky carnival organs evolve quickly into brassy exuberance and bouncy bass allure. A return to delectably eerie carnival-esque intrigue ensues as a solemn delivery asks, “have you ever had fun?” with a multi-layered response replying “I have, I have.” The shifts between happiness and sadness are lyrically confronted, while the production ebbs and flows aptly between subdued, flickering organs and more jubilant brassy expression. A glistening arpeggio follows as the lyrics ponder if one’s life is passing them by, introspective in embracing the joy when it’s here. Listeners enter The Fun House in thrilling form with “Funlerable.”

Ensuing track “Poltergeist” struts a piano-led theatricality, fondly reminiscent of black midi in its stylish cabaret-inspired instrumentation and evolving theatrical charisma. “Now I’m left with just my cries,” the resonant delivery drives into a frolicking hook. “You haunt me like you’re already dead,” harmonious layers envelop there, where trickling keys flow into brisk rhythms and pounding percussion. “Dr Quiet” then shifts into a more contemplative territory, with a lyrical beckoning to “step into the light” followed by an array of spacey synth effects, with dub and prog-rock elements shining into a blissful second half where gorgeous brass tones combine with sporadic melodic emergences for a Madness-resembling appeal.

The epic “Wishes Three” arrives next, serving up nearly 9 minutes of eclectic moods and structural surprises. The funk-friendly production channels a balmy enjoyment initially, with intersecting brass and keys lending a dose of ’70s nostalgia, while a soulful vocal soaring lingers in the background before assuming upfront confidence. “It’s all the same, wishes three,” the performance ascends during a riveting sequence, expanding to a warbly psychedelic tone around the midpoint before moving into a tour-de-force of a finale where spacey synth tones expand into a vigorous rhythm section and free-flowing brass energy. It’s a fantastic overall display of the band’s musicianship and knack for satiating structural evolution.

Another highlight, “Sauna Swing” struts an electro swing entrancement, moving from Supertramp-like keys and serene brass to a vibrant sense of infectiousness, with scat singing, fuzzy synths, and rhythmic colorfulness leading the effervescent path. Meanwhile, “Move” pairs call-to-action chants — “got to do it!” — featuring FemCee. A drum-and-bass production savvy pairs with playful stylistic flair, resembling a cross of Gorillaz, Of Montreal, and The Avalanches. Album finale “Beginnings” then concludes it all with a satisfying, releasing impact, playing as an ambient instrumental track that’s luminous and caressing in its shimmering synth pads and lounge-set keys. The Fun House is an eclectic, consistently melodic success of an album from Ungus Ungus Ungus.

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g hao‘s excellent album Lycoris Radiata channels an admiration for early Freddie Dredd while carving out a broader stylistic identity, spanning phonk and hip-hop alongside melodic, atmospheric flourishes. The Vietnamese artist’s second album also benefits from collaborations with underground rappers including LilHustle, PRETTY NICKY, Scrapper, Lunaughty, and LITTLE 4N, lending additional variety to its adventurous production palette.

The album’s intro compels with sturdy rhythmic momentum, enveloping from initially sparse, vintage-sounding immersion to a heavy bass backdrop. g hao’s engaging production skills are quickly on display here, delighting in a range of slight pauses, warbled rhythmic intrigue, and overall climactic prowess. Next up, “BEAT DA GLOCK” unveils a captivating melodic delivery. “Glock after glock, got a problem I know, and I’m trying to beat the clock,” a debonair lyrical refrain flows, contagious in its initial peppiness and concluding, slowed-down feeling.

“HELLA DANK” continues this fantastic start, here embracing a breezier flourishing of smooth guitars and keys with a bossa-nova flair. Heavy bass and dynamic vocal performances follow, engaging across both dreamy, twinkling-laden singing and hip-hop deepness. The ascent to the final 30-second mark maintains the colorful, lush backing amidst a grittier hip-hop delivery, cementing a standout production. “UNSTOPPABLE / SPLIT APART” maintains the approachably melodic production, here resembling The Avalanches in its fusing of soulful backing harmonies, effervescent keys, and a playfully brisk hip-hop lead. Its “concrete jungles” stylistic switch-up into thick bass pulses is particularly memorable.

A variety of high-quality productions exist within the release, from “MAGIC DA GATHERING,” which pairs celebratory brass appeal with Lunaughty’s understated delivery, to the old-school hip-hop ominousness within “FEEL DA PAIN,” which lyrically declares “welcome to the underworld” with menacing entrancement. Amongst the album’s finest productions is “DEVIL BOY,” which melds a heartfelt string-forward layering with a higher-pitched, faster-paced sample of Freddie Dredd’s “Yellow Love.” Rather than the original’s more measured flow and jazzy instrumentation, “DEVIL BOY” consumes in its more urgent pace and cinematic backing; the luxurious strings and infectious hook pair beautifully.

Another exceptional track is album finale “THRU DIS HELL,” playing as the release’s centerpiece. Caressing synths and serene guitar lines drive quickly into a warming bass presence and twinkling keys, while the opening lines emit a sweetly accessible charm. The lead delivery then appears with melodically impactful insight, admitting “I can’t even think for myself anymore” in a series of introspective reflections on personal artistic process. The production is exceptional in its blend of hip-hop, city-pop, and dream-pop alike. g hao’s Lycoris Radiata is a wholly immersive, eclectic album with an abundance of stirring productions.

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St. Petersburg, Florida-based instrumental band Soft Cuff showcase their dynamic psych-groove sound on debut album Thick Heat, drawing from funk, soul, jazz, and psychedelic rock while emphasizing the collaborative interplay of the band’s five members. Formed from a reunion between longtime friends Brian Schanck and Mikey Bostinto in late 2023, the project has since expanded its palette through the contributions of Shane Schuch, Tina Sanchez, and Kev Ha.

“Pico Suave” opens the album with hypnotic allure, weaving a playful percussive energy alongside balmy guitar tones. The serenely melodic flow unfolds with gentle precision, as a moody bass crawl melds seamlessly with consistent percussion and caressing guitar work. This scene-setting highlight flows into “Me? I’ll Have That,” where a similar percussive pace interacts with more expressive guitar work and funk-tinged bass. Glimmering keys add to the delectable mix, and an especially absorbing two-minute turn unveils a climactic direction, where click-clacking percussion swells with dynamic guitars, shifting between twangy textures, soaring elongation, and a concluding infectious pulse. Thick Heat opens with a very strong one-two punch and never wavers in quality songwriting and performance from there.

Another standout, second single “Rudy,” embraces the psychedelic realm in its colorful organ presence and dynamic guitars, spanning from momentum-driving twangs to momentary flashes of jumpy vigor. The stop-start sensation around the two-minute mark, where sparse doses of guitar appear, develops into a renewed expanse of guitars, keys, and rhythms. The ensuing “Short Moves” then shifts into a lusher introspection, where sleepy keys and serene rhythms become adorned by debonair trickles of guitar. The first half of the album excels at showcasing a band capable of versatile tonal ranges, all while emphasizing melodic power on a regular basis.

The album’s second half continues the impressive level of musicianship. The release’s lengthiest effort at just over five minutes long, “Thick Heat” feels like a cut from a ’70s film, fitting for either a spy thriller or an adult feature. Suave warbles of guitar present with magnetic, sophisticated qualities, while glistening effects and spacey synths contribute to molding a wonderfully exotic soundscape. Subsequent track “What’s A Question Mark Sound Like?” represents the album’s final single, serving as a tour-de-force of the band’s colorful palette, venturing across funky guitar riffs, psychedelic keys, and soulful rock charisma.

The album concludes with its first single, “Scorsese’s Dream,” fully embracing that spy/heist-like feeling in its brisk bass-ready movements and layers of guitar, ranging from trickling moodiness to pulses of ardor. Its bouncy bass line drives with consistent appeal, while the guitars expand from ascending licks to a slowed-down tempo around the midpoint before launching into a harder-rocking anthemic finish. Full of style and impressive musicianship, Thick Heat is a thorough full-length achievement from Soft Cuff.

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On the absorbing new EP Sailing Home, Galway native and Dublin-based songwriter Emma O’Reilly crafts folk-rooted songwriting through acoustic textures, natural imagery, and mystical lyrical sensibilities. Her first EP since 2016’s FRACTURES, the four-song release gathers material written between 2018 and 2021, drawing on folklore, astrology, tarot, and stream-of-consciousness writing while balancing intimate acoustic foundations with more experimental song forms.

Showcasing O’Reilly’s magnetic songwriting right away, EP opener “Only Love” resonates in its steady acoustic strums and emotive delivery. “Walk me to the bottom of the road, I do not want to go alone,” she sings, contextualizing herself as a “creature in a shell”—though proudly declaring, “I’m gonna make this thing my home.” The subsequent asking of “am I a ghost, wandering the fields?” furthers that sense of soul-searching and displacement, evoking a hollow or absent home. Touches of piano add to the spine-tingling mix, aesthetically conjuring a fond likeness to Elliott Smith. These chilly depictions are met by perseverance and a positive, concluding catharsis with stirring harmonies: “only love could thwart you, only love could support you.” It’s a masterful opening track.

The rest of the EP continues to enthrall. “River” is thematically consistent, referencing home with lines like “I will ride the river home,” paired with a drive to “leave my pain behind me” and a conquest to keep riding that river downstream to brighter waters and clearer skies. A lived-in wisdom emanates within the fluttering acoustic work, discarding feelings of anger, shame, and insecurity in favor of connection and self-love. “I’ve got my people, I’ve got people,” the track concludes, artfully moving from individual motivation to an embrace of togetherness and homely solace. Layered backing harmonies and a brassy resonance add power to the impactful production.

Next up, “Aedh” arrives with a dreamy, timeless appeal—consuming in its gorgeously ghostly choral layers, cathedral-like in its spacious presentation. Scribble-like sound effects linger underneath, with the “tread softly because you tread on my dreams” line stirringly akin to Marissa Nadler’s ethereal style. A gentler folk familiarity ushers in thereafter, while responsive melodic echoes beckon to “cover it up with kindness” in response to confusion, fear, and tumult. The title references a recurring figure in the poetry of W.B. Yeats, representing passion, soul, and romance, which is also reflected in the heartfelt lyrical imagery here.

Closing the EP, “Getting in the Way” poetically illustrates a state of personal fatigue, caught in a world “burning all the time” devoid of relief. It’s a poignant rumination in times when bad news seems to outweigh the good by a considerable margin. The art-pop swell into twinkles of piano and haunting backing harmonies makes for another resonant buildup, concluding an EP that absolutely compels through its affecting vocal performances, artful lyrical themes, and rewarding structural developments. Sailing Home is a thorough success of an EP from Emma O’Reilly.

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Tom Garfield‘s Greed EP channels his lifelong community activism into four folk-rock songs confronting inequality, power, and the pressures facing everyday people. Drawing from a broad range of socially conscious influences, Garfield approaches the material with an everyman perspective, pairing direct observations with an emphasis on compassion, justice, and collective resilience.

“Greed” exudes a poignant timeliness in an age where corporate profits reach all-time highs while prices for average people keep rising amidst stagnant wages. “It’s never trickle down, it’s always trickle up,” Garfield delivers insightfully amidst melodic, no-frills guitar tones. “Why would anybody even need a billion bucks?” Its thematic focus resonates strongly, pairing timeless songwriting qualities with a robust rock-minded arsenal to challenge the societal status quo.

Next up, “The Rest Of Us” struts a rockabilly charm in its twangy guitars and bouncy bass line, furthering his social commentary by remarking on a range of current tumult—from climate change to exploitative healthcare and a government tailored to the rich. The concluding catharsis in the “the rest of us, always rise!” refrain is impactful, framing personal power in the context of collective resilience.

“Somebody Special” continues the sharp songwriting, presenting a more relationship-oriented focus within a debonair rock stride, while EP finale “Let’s Go Back” embraces warming brass-tinged nostalgia. The track yearns to “go back to the good ol’ days” while reaching a conclusion that reminds us it is not so easy to do so. Greed is a stirring, thematically impactful success of an EP from Tom Garfield.

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