Following the release of “Out Of The” in late 2017, Boston folk collective BAERD have returned with a sonically ambitious new single titled “If All Goes As Planned”. BAERD, fronted by singer/guitarist Isaiah Baerd, have a penchant for composing progressive, and often times challenging neo-folk music, evocative of modern new wave folk bands like Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens. “If All Goes As Planned” plays out as more of a score than a song, jumping between mixed meters and instrumental swells accompanying Baerd’s whimsical growl. Both “Out Of The” and “If All Goes As Planned” are featured singles from BAERD’s forthcoming full length album Crete, due to arrive this Summer. Check out “If All Goes As Planned” below. -Charley Ruddell

The results are in: Jamaica Plain indie rockers Modern Painters have won the Deli Magazine Artist of the Month poll for January 2018! The Painters gained the the Deli’s attention after releasing their lush eponymous debut album in December 2017, warranting a write up and a subsequent nomination for Artist of the Month. From our December write up: “In the case of Jamaica Plains’ folk-indie group Modern Painters, the confidence, sincerity, and precision in their self-titled debut is not unlike a veteran band with several good albums under their belt.”

To celebrate their victory, Modern Painters and Deli Magazine have decided to exclusively premiere their newest music video for “Whaler”, a breezy, jazz guitar laden track from their debut album. “Whaler” falls into the unique category of loungey, New England-intellectual indie music, recalling songs like Jonathan Richman’s “That Summer Feeling”, and Galaxie 500’s “Blue Thunder”.

The summer-y “Whaler” video couldn’t come at a better time, as New Englanders spend the mid-winter lull dreaming of lake-days under the hot summer sun. The video features singers Gabe Goodman and Nike Brannstrom half-dancing and crooning on Goodman’s 13’ 1969 Boston Whaler in his hometown of Scituate in the South Shore. Clad in a black dress and a casual black and white suit, Brannstrom and Goodman emote the delicious warm haze of lazy summer days, capturing the freedom and youthful vigor of harbor towns and mid day boat rides.

Be sure to catch Modern Painters at the Midway Cafe on March 20th. Enjoy the video for “Whaler” below. -Charley Ruddell

One defining piece of reggae music is social criticism, a major theme embedded within “Rise Up”, the newest single from Boston-based rocksteady's Java Jukebox. “Rise Up” is an exercise in classic dub form: a bass and drum driven arrangement, arpeggiated horn lines, tape delayed phrases (Rise Up! up...up...up...up), a dancehall breakdown, and of course, social criticism. Singer Samuel Walukouw, rallying in the cool rasp of a Marley, uses “Rise Up” as a call to action, specifically against police brutality; “Put your fist up high in the air, say you’re going to fight this brutality!” The heartfelt commentary and chops behind it all make the music of Java Jukebox truly authentic and unique in the dub-sparse city of Boston. Stream “Rise Up” below, and check out Java Jukebox at Brighton Music Hall on February 2nd. -Charley Ruddell

Since the initial creation of the garage/psych weirdo collective The Prefab Messiahs in 1981, the band has disbanded and banded again several times, scattering new releases as they came and went. The band’s newest release, the cynical Psychsploitation Today, continues their sonic narrative of the past while highlighting the hysteria of today. The Messiahs are as weird as ever on Psychsploitation, locking into a psych sound of the mid/late 60s when it was hip to be as weird as possible; the whole record is a swirling conglomerate of surf and garage music, chanky tamborine, chorus-drenched harmonies, and a not so subtle nod to the current administration in power (“The Man Who Killed Reality”). Get weird with Psychsploitation Today below. -Charley Ruddell

Kimbra is hitting the road this weekend, beginning the first leg of a US tour in support of her upcoming album Primal Heart. The tour’s first show is the Paradise Rock Club, located in the heart of Boston University’s sprawling campus. The indie rock/pop singer, originally from New Zealand, released three singles in support of the new album: “Everybody Knows”, “Top of the World”, and “Human”. Primal Heart is set to release on April 20 through Warner Bros. Records. Check out the singer’s newest video for “Everybody Knows” below, and you can find tickets for the Kimbra at the Paradise here. -Charley Ruddell