After their first album, Water Liars were receiving tons of comparisons to heart-wrenched folk rock acts such as Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes. On Wyoming Water Liars are refreshingly unique in their gritty and rowdy delivery. They don’t fear getting loud, they maintain the mellow touch, and thrive in rebounding between the two. Wyoming is gorgeous most the time and always refreshingly emotive.

RIYL: Grizzly Bear, Dawes, Alpenglow

Play: 2,10,1,6

FCC: 3

For Extended Plays Cheatahs make music that sounds like it was made in the heyday of 90?s alt rock, but with a increasingly common shoegaze influence. The lyrics dwell on some cliches of runaway love and the rhythms are best suited to be blasting over the sound system of a convertible on the Pacific Coast Highway. The songs get pretty monotonous, without any big switches in structure or mix across the album. If I had a tan and a corvette I’d probably dig Extended Plays.

RIYL: Stillwater Giants, Yuck, Bruce Springsteen

Play: 2,6,1

FCC: Clean

Art-pop dance music that is a clever mix of organic and electronic euphoria. Hands is filled with syncopated handclaps, sing-along vocals, and upbeat horns. Refreshingly unique, these guys are at their best when they pick up the tempo and don’t hold off. They get Colin Stetson to do some sax wailing, and the band members themselves are from a impressive array of projects (TV on the Radio, Antibalas, Phenomenal Handclap Band).

RIYL: Rubblebucket

Play: 3,2,5,8

FCC: Clean

Folk-rock anthems all based on the idea that the world needs a whole lot more lovin’. Cloud Cult have been around since 1995 making music in an environmentally friendly way. They have become known for their live shows that include a painter, sculptor or other live creation.  The sound is very lush, a result of having a ton of members, who join into choral refrains, and play a variety of rock and orchestral instruments. The lyrics are meaningful and uplifting, and the instrumentals are solid enough to suport the heavy words.

RIYL: Menomena, Edward Sharpe

Play: 1,2,5,7

FCC: Clean

Dawn of Delight is the second full release from the San Diego group Tropical Popsicle. Fuzzed-out garage and surf rock has become the norm of SoCal music and these guys are caught right in the middle. There’s an edge of New Wave synths on tracks like ‘Ghost Beacons’ and ’The Beach With No Footprints’ as well as some brief drone on ‘Canyons’. Tropical Popsicle show that they can deliver variation and skill, but nothing separates them from the surging surf/garage rock scene.

RIYL: The Growlers, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall

Play: 4,1,5,8

FCC: Clean

More twisten than dark, but still psych. On their 4rd studio album, The Black Angels have left some of the scuzz behind and have added some pep to their baselines. The lyrics are still dark, but the instrumentals seem to have lightened up a bit. ‘Holland’ stands out with bubbling distortion on the vocals and a wailing guitar lead. The first single off of this album, ‘Don’t Play With Guns’ delivers with rumbling drums and outbursts of fuzzed guitar.

RIYL: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks, Tame Impala

Play: 3,4,9,5   (all)

FCC: Clean

Three years ago, Nathan Williams and his band Wavves released their third studio album, the phenomenal King of The Beach. It was heavy, it was sweet, and it was a perfect slice of noise pop pie. Now, on their fourth album Afraid of Heights, Wavves have pushed the envelope even further. Each track is a menace, and is exactly what we've come to expect from the group (and more). They've cleaned up their sound without compromise, and have moved closer towards the grunge end of the rock spectrum. Leading single "Demon to Lean On" is perfect evidence of this, especially with its Nirvana-esque acoustic lead in, followed by a roaring 4 minutes of pure shredding. On other tracks, such as "Dog" and "Everything Is My Fault", Williams channels the godfather of punk Iggy Pop. If you're feeling the ill effects of youth, give this album a chance.

RIYL: FIDLAR, Jay Reatard, Best Coast

Play: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10

FCC: 4, 6, 13