New season, new music! These artists are making space for themselves in the alternative genre. If you like Indie EDM and are feeling introspective, each of these artists have new music out and the raw talent is palpable. You’ll be able to say you started listening to them before they were big.
Jeremy Zucker
Jeremy Zucker, 21 from New Jersey, gained popularity for his song “all the kids are depressed”. His recently released EP summer is a collection of new music with two previously released singles and details the rise and fall of a summer fling in 5 songs. His song “comethru” is for when all you need is that one person to come over, cuddle with you, maybe listen to you talk through your day or to not talk about it at all. “desire” plays like a sparse apology for letting a relationship drift. You should listen to this song after you’ve turned your phone off and put on the biggest sweater to sink into. It’s full of thought played over an acoustic track that uses electronics sparingly to add emphasis and cut to showcase the clarity of Zucker’s vocals, a common theme on the EP. If you like Khalid, you’ll like Jeremy Zucker.
Where and When to Listen: at Literati café when all you want is silence and the smell of coffee.
Chelsea Cutler
Chelsea Cutler is a 21 year old from Connecticut making her way up through the young alternative EDM genre. She’s just released a new album titled Sleeping With Roses, a distilled encapsulation of her airy voice over metallic, bouncy melodies. The lyrics are wistfully light, but hum with energy. On “Deathbed”, imagery from the song can be framed in a positive, self-accepting light; if you continue to worry about not being enough for others, you’ll be apologizing forever! “The Reason” is a love song written for anyone who is present in your life, taking your good and your bad each day. Jeremy Zucker features on her song “Lonely Alone”, a discussion between a couple with so much love for each other. This is for anyone who has stayed up playing cute scenarios over and over in their head after leaving someone wishing to see them again. We’ve all done it and Chelsea Cutler’s just saying it. If you like Halsey, you’ll like Chelsea Cutler.
Where and When to Listen: Biking around Ann Arbor when you want to appreciate beauty of the city.
lovelytheband
Only a band for about a year and a half, lovelytheband has already experienced success that other bands wait years for. The three members formed their group in 2017 in California and have already played Lollapalooza! Their first, full album, finding it hard to smile dropped in August and it’s a honest portrait of the human condition in the 21st century, remaining light through expert mixing and cheerful instrumental. “maybe, I’m afraid” acknowledges that relationships are scary, but also definitely worth the risks for happiness. An anthem to careless youth, “coachella” reminisces on the ease of summer. The springy guitar keeps the song moving when the lyrics should slow it down. For a song, we’re transplanted to the open fields, bohemians all around, with our head knocked back in the summer sun. If you like Bastille, you’ll like lovelytheband.
Where and When to Listen: on the walk to Blank Slate for ice cream when you’re missing those summer vibes.
eli.
Eli Lucas, known as eli. On Spotify, is the youngest artist in this list at 19 and the themes he’s chosen to expand on suit his voice and musical talent very well. His self-produced ten-track album possibilities has some gems that demonstrate the raw talent he has for writing and mixing on a sound board. On “excitement” his voice is raspy and he moves through the flow effortlessly set over an alternative pop melody, giving it an edge. “possibilities” has a video game soundtrack, fitting hopeful and resilient lyrics insisting that he’s going places regardless of the restrictions people tend to place on him. This song is for moments when your parents call and ask you what you’re going to do with a Film major. He takes it a bit lower with “kiss me in the rain.” The rhythm changes 3 times in the song, giving variety to a song that would have otherwise felt too cyclical. It’s a song to remind you of your worth, insisting you deserve to have high standards in any relationship. If you like Troye Sivan, you’ll like eli.
Where and When to Listen: in the UGLI when you’re fired up to crush your stats sets.
Images courtesy of: Sara Shoemaker, Benjamin Leigh, New England Sounds, Jonathan Hoeg, genius.com