Local D.I.Y. songwriter Marcos Rocha [A.K.A. subcommander] dropped a new single earlier this month via their North Loop apartment studio. The barely-there vocal style attests to their environment, being quarantined in a room with parchment paper walls. Though a lot of musicians are adjusting to working remotely, subcommander’s process hasn’t changed much. “All of my work has been made with really limited resources. It just so happens now that the resource I’m lacking is human contact”. Despite the current state of music in Austin, subcommander brings us a mini-symphony in “Hacksawteeth”.

The track starts with a funeral march style piano/string arrangement, then comfortably transitions into a warm, lounge vibe. The light fingerpicking on the nylon strings sound like Rocha’s sitting in the room with you. “Don't take the beaten path if it beats you to death” they whisper in the last line of the verses. Rocha is open about the feelings that went into creating the track, stating “One of my biggest fears is living a life that isn’t worth living, out of fear that I can’t have what I really want.” They added, “Meanwhile life is grinding away at you like a hacksaw & you’re expected to rise to whatever you’re handed using any tools you’ve got.” Rocha is well known in the Austin music community for their unabashed, guerilla marketing and no-frills approach.

In “Hacksawteeth”, subcommander took inspiration from fear, anxiety, false promises, Disney movie ‘Tangled’ and their cat Michael Caine. Rocha explains, “There is a horse named Maximus that has a whole personality and story arc. When the hero, Flynn, gets taken to jail near the end of the movie, I thought “Oh, obviously Maximus is just gonna go pay his bail” & that idea was really funny to me. That’s how I got the first line of the song ‘spent the night in jail / my cat paid bail.’ In a broader sense I feel like the song is about feeling helpless.” 

The subcommander discography is packed with a healthy dose of lo-fi, trip-pop tunes & more recently, an emotionally charged split album with Lizzie Page entitled ‘The Mud/Goodwill’ via local net-label Digital Hotdogs. Rocha plans on releasing an EP with their power-pop band Luvweb by the end of the year. Until then, you can purchase and stream “Hacksawteeth” on all major music streaming sites. Make sure to follow their Instagram and Facebook accounts to stay tuned in.

The overdriven, jangling nature of “No Light” immediately evokes nostalgia for a cramped performance at Trans Pecos or Babys All Right, yet the breakbeat energy Gawn bring to their performance keeps things forward focused. “Don’t sit around and find out, just get out and go,” sings bandleader and erstwhile touring musician Zach Koenig, an apt sentiment for a period plagued by constant inertia, though the track’s amp-straining guitar and condensed vox a la King Khan and the BBQ show make it difficult to sit still while listening. Sunny dispositions and slight discord make this single just the right amount of rough-hewn, and recommended listening for Friday nights indoors — watch the video below.

Writer, filmmaker, and musician Rohil Aniruth penned his latest single “CITRUS” while “sitting on a fire escape in New York,” a backstory that immediately colors the single’s somber, wandering narrative in terms relatable. In between lyrics sporadically examining the artist’s precarious psyche (“I’m all alone again, this time don’t feel the same”), Rohil’s electric guitar stumbles forwards in a dissociative manner. Paired with a growling, soft-spoken baritone, it becomes easy to imagine Aniruth quietly noodling about on a lurid summer night, recounting details of past love in a bittersweet manner. Such qualities make“CITRUS” is a track for those up far later than they intended, turning over the people who’ve “stained [their] brain,” wishing well to those who’ve moved on while maintaining hope to do the same one day — stream it the next time you're feeling ruminative after midnight.

Eyedress's upcoming LP Let's Skip To The Wedding has been a long time coming, but its release date of August 7th is right around the corner, so you won't have much longer to wait in order to hear the magnum opus. In the meantime, Eyedress has put out another single from the album called "Can I See You Tonight?", a track smacking of Ariel Pink and Wild Nothing vibes that expresses his love for his girlfriend. Her voice appears on the single, as both she and Eyedress recorded the track during one of her visits to LA before moving there. Let's Skip To The Wedding is Eyedress's first LP of original material since moving back to the U.S., and it's tailor-made for a summer that may have us all seeing less of the beach and more of the backyard. Take a listen to "Can I See You Tonight?" below. - Will Sisskind

Lionel Boy is a new signee to LA label Innovative Leisure, coming to Long Beach by way of Hawaii. His first release, the EP Who Is Dovey?, introduces his style which fuses grunge, shoegaze, and early 2010s dream pop together into an original form of darkwave. The first video released from the project is for the track "Lost", which mixes home video footage to the beat as it shifts from laid back and pondering to intense and cathartic. The full EP drops on June 26th, but you can check out the video for "Lost" below. - Will Sisskind