In late-2015, Sweden-based indie pop outfit Mos Isley made their American debut on Whatship? who noted their music video’s “emotionally-liberating, intimate road trip visuals are the perfect compliment to the bands jangly brand of indie pop.”

The band’s music has an alternative and profound arena-pop feel with heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies. They were voted for Sweden’s Best Unsigned Band in 2015 with their debut single “Mirrors.” You may purchase the single via bandcamp.

“Mirrors” by Mos Isley

North Carolina indie-roots-rock outfit Jack the Radio meld their native blues and pop influences with electronic flourishes, spaghetti western vibes and hard edged rock n’ roll.

Their newest release, Badlands, was recorded over a three year period starting in 2012 and is now being released in a limited vinyl pressing. The bands work ethic and aesthetic is indicative of the now blossoming Raleigh scene which is exploding with new and colorful culinary and micro-brewery startups. In fact you can grab a pint of Jack the Radio Badland Black Rye IPA at the local Mystery Brewing.

Jack the Radio is A.C. Hill (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), George Hage (lead guitar, lead vocals), Danny Johnson (lap Steel, baritone guitar, keys, vocals), Chris Sayles (bass, vocals), and Brent Francese (drums).

Jack the Radio premiered their video for “Moonlight” on BLURT who tweeted “it might be one of the best NC songs of 2015.”

“Moonlight” by Jack the Radio

Matt Lande grew up in a small Florida town. He found his first ticket out slinging a guitar for the band StorySide: B. Lande co-wrote the title track to the band’s first album, Everything and More, which was a hit on the Christian charts.

Searching for a more expansive direction for his music, Lande followed his dream to Los Angeles where he signed an indie deal and released his Stories From Yesterday LP in 2010, under the band name Heaven Is Where. Quickly realizing this was the wrong name for a non-Christian rock band, Lande began performing his material under his own name; releasing the Welcome Home Child LP in 2012 and the acoustic EP DarkStar, later that year.

At the end of 2014 two of Lande’s close friends passed away from cancer within a couple months of each other. Overwhelmed by the avalanche of emotional trauma, Lande turned to his music as an outlet for his turmoil. The cathartic songs that followed would become his newest album Glow; a collection of emotive alt-pop.

Lande premiered his single “Spin” on PopWrapped who noted the “track is emotive and melodic, perfect for fans of chart-friendly music”. The track can also be shared via Soundcloud.

“Spin” by Matt Lande

LA-based dream-pop outfit Alnilam offers a pristine blend of compelling ambience and ethereal songwriting. Putting the themes of love, loss, transformation, mortality and memory to tape comes naturally to Alnilam’s core duo who have traveled the world several times over. Singer-songwriter Elena Pinto is of wild Costa Rican ancestry and multi-instrumentalist Serhat Arslan is from a coastal city in northern Turkey.

Pinto moved to Santa Monica in 2011 and felt powerfully drawn to songwriting. She soon pulled Arslan into her orbit who just arrived in LA himself two weeks earlier.

Pinto’s vocals conjure up emotive female singers such as Marianne Faithfull and Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries while the music veers between the post-rock richness of Explosions in the Sky and the magical ambient sense of Yann Tiersen and Beach House all the while evoking Europa folkloric traditions.

The track “Lilac” is from the band’s forthcoming LP, Indigo Sky, which was released on November 13. The official video can be viewed on YouTube.

Alnilam also premiered the track “When It Comes To You” on PureVolume.

“Lilac” by Alnilam

In the mood for some soul-stirring songwriting from West Virginia? Gothic americana songstress Cashavelly Morrison shows raw emotion as she traverses through haunting memories of her childhood in the south in her forthcoming LP, The Kingdom Belongs to a Child.

Morrison grew up in a coal-mining town in West Virginia. She began her life in performance at the age of 3 as a ballet dancer, which continued for the next two decades until she broke her spine. Yet it was not until moving to North Carolina that she was introduced to the rich musical traditions of West Virginia and the surrounding region. Her unguarded approach flows in the same southern vein as the work of Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, and Neko Case with significance placed on the lyrics supported by a crafted musical fabric.

Morrison’s relationship with making music is intuitive with no formal training besides what she learned through internalizing the classical music to which she once danced. Her fondness for journal-writing began at age 13 and led to her English and Creative Writing majors. She met her husband while he was earning his bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance and the two bonded over their love of authentic folk songs.

“Pink Dress” by Cashavelly Morrison