Crochet, Birth Piece

Local quintet Crochet took the music scene by storm with their feverish and emotional 20-minute EP earlier this year. The noise the band makes accomplishes a fusion of genres. The instrumental patterns have the irregularities of math rock while blending with the attention-demanding qualities of skramz [new age screamo].

Vocalists Abigail Villaruz and Airon Gauff are primal in tone, and at every Crochet show we’ve gone to, the crowd has huddled around to scream along with them. The track “Unsex Pledge” is a raw testament to heartbreak and the struggles of moving on. This fan favorite eventually ends on an accepting note: “If I ever got the chance to tell you how I truly feel, nothing would change.” (linktr.ee/crochetband)

Dreaming Maria, The Silence It Left Behind

The whole of Las Vegas’ hardcore scene is flourishing this year, but Dreaming Maria’s breakout EP is an especially exciting project. The band is energized with metalcore and beatdown influences, but their spirit lies within their abrasive vocals. On “Killing The Mailman With Hulk Hands,” the tone switches between heavy-hitting bursts of drumming and melodic guitar riffs. Clocking barely over two minutes, this song sends listeners on an emotional journey.

With just five recorded tracks under their belt, Dreaming Maria is already set to go on tour with Southern California’s Lacerated this October, proving these guys did not come to play. (linktr.ee/dreamingmaria_)

Me And My Kidney, Sparkling Chaos

Me And My Kidney describes its work as ‘computer music,’ and that’s a generalization we can agree with. Their music is Dance Dance Revolution-adjacent, with the potential to go beyond the digital world and fit itself to real-life dance floors.

Sparkling Chaos is the DJ’s sixth release in the past three years and utilizes ambient tones and trance beats to hypnotize listeners. Techno savvy followers can spot the blend of dnb [drum ‘n’ bass] distortion, hardstyle and even glitchcore which takes the mixes to another level. “Swollen Gums” for example, is a hyper kawaii and synth forward tune that feels a world apart from the norm. (meandmykidney.bandcamp.com/album/sparkling-chaos)

Past Self, Die Cry Hate

The darkwave trio returns with a vengeance on Die Cry Hate, expunging any doubt that they’re one of Las Vegas’ bands to watch. Serving up tracks as moody as the nu-goth aesthetic they so perfectly embody, Past Self builds upon the misty momentum of 2021’s Bedrot to create a self-produced EP brimming with atmosphere. Headphones are a must for this EP, as you’ll want to catch every ethereal melody and whisper (guitarist/singer Will Kim has a future in ASMR, if he wants it). (linktr.ee/pastself)

I$$y, I

Amarionette frontman Spencer “Issy” Berry steps into his I$$y era on this vibey R&B EP, seasoned with the same pop sensibilities that made The Weeknd’s Starboy such a blockbuster. It also helps that Berry’s distinctive falsetto is strikingly similar to Abel Tesfaye’s (and Michael Jackson’s, if you trace the influence back). On I, Berry adorns songs in Vegas iconography (“Good Luck”), gives in to moments of temptation (“Diana”) and produces a tracklist worthy of your next night on the dance floor. The singer assures that he’s still “all-in on Amarionette” but expect to hear more from I$$y in the near future. (linktr.ee/issyreigns)

The Psyatics, Cease to Exist

Three years after releasing its fifth LP Devil You Know, the Psyatics are back for another round of teeth-rattling noise rock we still can’t quite fit in a box. On Cease to Exist, vocalist/bassist Rob Bell and his boys are at their best, carving through ear-candy solos, dirty garage riffs and bold arrangements of jazz. The Psyatics never fail to give a good sampling of their influences, and that’s what makes them such an enduring Vegas band. They play to the beat of their own wildly eclectic drum. (thepsyatics.bandcamp.com)

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