Twin Peaks

Wild Onion
Out August 5
The young garage quartet’s sophomore album is a thoughtful, fleshed out collection of psych-pop songs recorded in an actual studio (as opposed to hastily in frontman Cadien James’s basement like the band’s 2013 debut, Sunken). Traces of the Nuggets box set, the Stones and West Coast low-fi hero Ty Segall can all be gleaned from the record’s 16 tracks, a solid sonic testament to a maturing band whose buzz is well deserved. 

How To Dress Well

"What Is This Heart?"
Out June 14
Chicago native producer and vocalist Tom Krell released his first album while studying in Germany, and his sophomore LP, Total Loss, released the fall of 2012, swept the blogosphere. Today he sells out venues around the globe on the regular and his third studio effort continues the in devastatingly beautiful, yet oddly catchy, vein of his previous work. His vulnerable falsetto remains front-and-center over catchy, home cooked beats, weaving tales of love and loss you can, at times, dance to.

Verma

Sunrunner
Out May 27
The atmospheric, psychedelic-rock outfit dishes out a cosmic whopper on ace local label Trouble In Mind, drawing from Krautrock acts such as CAN and NEU! for a series of steady slow burners that won’t leave your turntable (or subconscious) this summer.

Jeremih

“Don’t Tell ‘Em”
Single out now, album release date and name TBA this summer
If this first single with Compton rapper YG is any indication of the overall production value and infectious vibe of his forthcoming album for Def Jam (title and released date TBA), the rising R&B talent has certainly come a long way since “Birthday Sex.” Per usual he keeps it super sexy, with lyrics that leave very (very) little to the imagination. So if you’re down with that, you’ll definitely be down with this.

Saba

ComfortZone
Out July 15
Saba is heralded as the next big rap name out of Chicago and with good reason. Tracks “Secondhand Smoke” and “Burnout” from his forthcoming mixtape demonstrate the producer/MC’s intelligent, syllable-filled lyricism, sharp delivery and textural production that’s as good as his buddy (Saba is featured on Acid Rap track “Everybody’s Something”) and high profile predecessor Chance The Rapper.