Julien Baker – Turn Out The Lights

Baker, a Memphis singer-songwriter, has managed to poke her head out from the mass of similar-sounding artists with one thing: honesty. Her sophomore album came out this week to critical success, and the title track quickly reveals why. Some excellent lyrics pull you in (There’s a hole in the drywall still not fixed / I just haven’t gotten around to it / And besides I’m starting to get used to the gaps) and hold you until the guitar strums get louder and Baker starts to wail. The album is a heavy listen, but the tough stuff is what autumn is all about, right?

Rhye – Taste

Los Angeles’ Rhye stunned us four years ago with their album Woman, a quiet, sensual take on R&B that squeezed electronic between the cracks. I can still go back to “Open”, a song now half a decade old, and hear the basis for so much of the soul-retro EDM music on airwaves today.

With their new single “Taste”, Rhye exposes those cracks and builds on them, taking to the dance floor instead of shying away in the twilight. Gleaming tropical synths bounce, strings gorgeously float through, and it all frames those recognizable vocals in something really refreshing.

Bong Wish – My Luv

The freak folk movement of Father John Misty might draw inspirations from 60s weed culture, but Bong Wish truly drops itself into Woodstock-era music and gives it a warm embrace. Their song “My Luv” sounds like an early Fleetwood Mac song recorded with a brass orchestra. The open of strings inspires chills, and the song’s sound puts you somewhere in those muddy fields in 1969. It’s a trippy affair, and one that isn’t afraid to glamorize an awesome era of music. If you’ve ever gone diving for used vinyls, Bong Wish’s new self-titled EP is definitely worth checking out.