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I've listened to Cryogeyser's self-titled album NONSTOP since it came out!! My favorite tracks are Sorry and Livia, but they're alllllll good. I saw them live a while back and despite the malfunctioning stage monitor (screeching into Shawn's ears constantly, causing her visible pain) I had a GREAT time! If there's a difference between just liking a band and being a fan of it, I became a fan after watching their Audiotree session. Goosebumps!!!

Mini Trees and Jay Som kinda go together for me, since I only heard about Mini Trees because of their feature on Jay Som's new record (which I really liked, and it's still growing on me). Anak Ko is one of my favorite albums period, and Belong expands Jay Som's color palette so much while also staying true to her roots. Mini Trees's new record, though, took me totally by surprise; I had no idea what to expect; but suddenly I was playing it on repeat and evangelizing about it to friends. There is so much incredible new music out there, just waiting for a listener...

Hannah Frances really went freak mode on her new record and I LOVE it. The Daniel Rossen collab is such a no-brainer; their sounds work so well together; it feels like just yesterday I first heard You Belong There, and Nested In Tangles feels in some ways like a spiritual successor, or at least a close relative, an album bursting at the seams with creativity and audacity—which is also how I would describe Rilo Kiley's The Execution of All Things, an album that left my jaw firmly on the floor. I had a hard time believing that such an album could have existed in 2002 (!).

We are so blessed with good music these days... the unannounced drop of Snocaps (how on earth does Katie Crutchfield put out so much excellent music so fast? is there anyone else as prolific and consistent as her?), Flock of Dimes's third record (Jenn Wasner is, in a word, an inspiration—her words could move mountains, her sounds could split the heavens—if I could borrow one percent of her artistry I'd be content), yet another banger album from The Beths, whose songs get chimier and brighter and sweeter all the time (but they're not just sugar cubes; Liz Stokes doesn't know how to write a song without substance).

Is this a renaissance or a recession indicator? Hard to say... but everywhere I turn I find new music that refreshes me, amazes me, knocks me hard on my ass, makes me smile, leaves me wondering what I'm even doing with my life, and reminds me, despite all the shit going on, despite the daily horrors of the news, to praise the mutilated world...