For fans of Old Saw, More Eaze, Weirs, sludge metal, and the anti-institutional spirit at the core of the American psyche, In the Earth Again by Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo breaks the budding niche of ambient americana into a new level of success.

For fans of Matmos, Nicolas Jaar, David Lynch’s dialogue, and David Cronenberg’s aesthetics, The Leopard by Sean McCann tells the grotesque tale of five characters cannibalizing themselves in the style of an experimental, musique concrete opera.

For fans of Caroline, Roxy Radclyffe, Ethel Cain, contemporary post rock, and pure simulacra of an American shopping mall, Daughters by Jennifer Walton exposes the absurdity of our mundane surroundings in the face of distant, gnawing tragedy.

For fans of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Rob Mazurek, Cisnienie, experimental neoclassical music, and the seemingly random harmony of our natural universe, Of the Near and Far by Patricia Brennan builds a new musical language based on the positions of stars in the night sky.

For fans of Boris, Sunn O))), Yoo Doo Right, doom metal, and the overwhelming weight of our darkest accumulated experiences, Cut by Nadja treks with us as our legs buckle under a lifetime of trauma.

For fans of Heccra, Blemishes, Midori, late stage hyperpop, and the overstimulation of consumer capitalism, ぼぼくくととききみみだだけけののせせかかいい by moreru fires off blazing rounds of teenage angst with some of the highest octane internet noise rock available.

For fans of Faust, Current 93, Wojciech Rusin, sound collage, and the reclamation of discarded human expression, Unterhaltungen mit Larven und Überresten by Läuten der Seele lets us eavesdrop on the rich life of a forgotten subterranean world.

For fans of Idles, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, college rock, and the bleak doom of an ancient civilizational collapse, A Dream Unearthly by Vexations tells unsettling stories of an archaic world in decline with the help of a deeply unnerving noise rock sound.

For fans of Cisnienie, The New Eves, Natural Snow Buildings, free jazz, and that eerie feeling that you’re living through the opening shot of a horror movie, Rites & Revelations by Laura Jurd captures all the inherent darkness of traditional European folk music with a style steeped in contemporary jazz.

For fans of Talking Heads, Devo, The Smiths, garage rock revival, and the non-heirarchical organization of information, Rhizome by Cistern crowns the peak of the current post punk trend with their boundary-breaking approach and impactful storytelling.

For fans of Chat Pile, Unwound, Have a Nice Life, the heavier elements of slowcore, and the monumental task of accepting the flaws and limitations of the world you’re inhabiting, Anything Can Be a Hammer by Bloodsports anchors us in our fragile bodies and flawed contexts with a dissonant, dynamic approach to indie rock songwriting.

For fans of Guerilla Toss, Cardiacs, Magma, hyperpop, and extreme anxiety which manifests as a sense of manic whimsy, Making a Rubber Band Ball in the Brain of the Mind by Drive45 redirects our high-strung inner hell into a creative explosion.

For fans of Rage Against the Machine, Fugazi, Gang of Four, youth crew hardcore, and the rude awakening to a world seemingly designed to perpetuate suffering above all else, Hostile Design by Black Eyes gives us cause to dance in spite of and in response to the abundant pain of crumbling institutions.

For fans of Dazzling Killmen, Swans, Shearling, post rock, and emotional explosion that detonates as shock turns to grief, You Left Us in the Spring by Vangas speaks in a breathtakingly subtle, relentlessly tense aesthetic voice to shout tales of deep, dark, empty loss.

For fans of Natural Snow Buildings, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, bands that use homemade instruments, and the impossible aim of translating the animating spirit of nature into man-made sound, In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper by Širom uses bold folk experiments to distance us from a sociopathic society.

For fans of the brave little abacus, The Orchestra (For Now), Soft Machine, the internet diy scene, and the sort of dramatization of everyday life that feels equal parts vibrant and realistic, Deseo, Carne y Voluntad by Candelabro sends us on a narrative roller coaster that only a progressive rock album could provide.

For fans of Shallowater, Slowdive, contemporary post rock, and the molding of kitchy Americana into shapes beautiful and tragic, Motocrossed by Motocrossed marks a peak in the emotional strength of the current wave of shoegaze with their cozy environments and dark undertones.

What does “The South” mean to you? This corner of the United States inspires so much passion for so many people in so many directions, and Diamond Grove by Weirs captures that ambiguity perfectly with its experimental take on old time music.

For fans of Drive like Jehu, Black Midi, Glenn Branca, progressive rock, and the type of deep, dark beauty which rewards diligent, detailed attention, Taking Umbrage by Yowie carefully orchestrates our path through a maximalist funhouse of some of the most extreme possible fringes of rock music.

For fans of Liturgy, Deafheaven, Sigur Ros, post metal, and the persistence of the human spirit in spite of the encroaching artificial intelligence armageddon, The Spiritual Sound by Agriculture implores us to remain present in the world around us, staring the blossoming horrors of the future directly in the eyes and boldly marching on.