This week, Brooklyn’s girlwave trio THICK take their sandpapery brand of surf rock to support two fellow bands’ album releases. On Friday 12/9, they will join Baby Acid at The Footlight in Ridgewood as the latter release their new LP Don’t Blush When I Rip You Open. "Trash jazz" rockers Parlor Walls and female-fronted five-piece Ex-Girlfriends will round up the bill. Then on Wednesday 12/14, THICK will perform with shoegaze group Lazyeyes and punk funk troupe Toyzanne in order to support post-punk quartet Journalism, who will release their brand-new single. THICK themselves have played a number of shows over the last few weeks in support of their new EP It’s Always Something (which you can stream below.) They have major plans going into 2017, but you can still catch them before the year’s up. Don’t miss out. - Will Sisskind

1.21 Gigawatts - a Brooklyn DIY magazine that did a great job of covering the scene's punky, garagey and psych emerging bands - is sadly closing and it will be gracing us one final time with their hosting skills come this weekend at Alphaville. With Deli favorites like Dead Stars, Haybaby, Dances, and 11 more taking the stage we can expect a weekend of great music and spectacular shows. On top of getting 14 amazing bands performing in two days, it’s all just $10. Insane, right? It is always with a heavy heart that we must say goodbye, but Gigawatts really knows how to go out with a bang (and how to give you more bang for your buck). So head on over to Alphaville this Saturday and Sunday for some memorable performances. Check out the playlist below to get a feeling of what you’ll be listening. - Adriana Ballester

Saturday night at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village started with the serene songs of Huntington, Long Island-hailing quintet NY Lights (pictured). Sounding out few kinds of genres - indie, psychedelic rock, and Americana, amongst them -the one-year-old band struck an intriguing balance between warmth and edginess, its drum slaps and sandy vocals riding along the ear with steady drive.

Later, on the Lower East Side, in the oaken cellar of Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3, the standout of this viewer's CMJ experience was seen: Grey McMurray. Enveloped in a low red light and aided by a trio of deft musicians (including a cellist), the Brooklyn-based artist played a kind of freak-soul as he dipped down into often uncomfortable yet sometimes inviting visions of spirituality and love, his drooping guitar and cavernous voice simultaneously chilling and moving the listener. Antony Hegarty and Nick Hakim are probably his musical siblings but McMurray conjured a creepily warm aura in Rockwood's downstairs room that is perhaps his own.

Upstairs on Stage 2, fellow Brooklyn act EMEFE blasted its synth-lined afrobeat, its rubbery horns and perky electronics showing reverence for Fela Kuti and Talking Heads while culminating in its own pop-oriented, bold funk. The six-piece also allowed for some spontaneity, though, bandleader Miles Arntzen during one track recording the audience's handclaps for inclusion on a forthcoming song.

Next door on Stage 1, Brooklyn three-piece Lazyeyes broke into a relentlessly ringing set that, during one song, brought to mind the rough innocence of 'Pablo Honey'-era Radiohead and, during others, the foreboding catchiness that Joy Division displayed on "Disorder." Towards the end of its set, the frontman Jason Abrishami of the young group said that they "have a couple of songs left" while bassist Paul Volpe joked that they "have a couple of years left" but one hopes that they keep up their compellingly raw energy.

Back at Stage 2, New York outfit Nuf Said ended the night with its jazzy R&B, the group's swirling horns proving a pleasant and compelling addition to the gently strong vocals of lead singer Ioana Vintu and the mellow guitar-bass combination in the background. Like other New York outfit Mad Satta, Nuf Said seamlessly melds genres such as jazz, R&B, and funk while showing that they can end a talent-packed festival such as CMJ with festive boldness. - Zach Weg 

Caught between shoegazer and 80s indie pop influences, Brooklyn trio Lazyeyes just released a new EP entitled "New Year" that offers a perfect balance of the two. Opening single "Islip" (streaming) blends vocal melodies reminiscent of The Smiths with a more expansive guitar sound (and use of reverb). References to the most jangly of bands are immediately confirmed with the following track, " New Year," which squarely belongs in the dream pop realm (and quite appropriately so, since new years inspire dreams of an improved life). The punchy tendencies of the earlier singles comes out in the two remaining tracks on the EP. Check out also "Windowsill" a mid tempo that will intrigue fans of the British sound of the late 80s / early 90s (think anything from Stone Roses to Ride). Lazyeyes will be playing at the Acheron tomorrow (02.13) with Haybabies and Warcries.

Drone-Pop Brooklynites Lazyeyes are back with a new single entitled "Islip" that introduces their upcoming EP, to be released later in 2014. The track, named after the Long Island town famous for... an '80s garbage incident, has the melodic flair of Morrisey and the driven darkness of Interpol. The group is scheduled to play Rough Trade on 09.26 with LA's SWIMM and The Henry Millers.