{"id":196351,"date":"2026-04-29T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/?p=196351"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T23:31:18","slug":"local-music-singles-roundup-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/music\/local-music-singles-roundup-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Music Singles Roundup: May 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God, I\u2019m fucking hungry\u2026what should I get? Some iced-out emo rock to numb the heartache? Tempting, tempting\u2026 A good ol\u2019 fashioned indie folk tune to let the good times go? Sounds appetizing. Well if worst comes to worst, I think I have some musical egg rock in here somewhere. Order up on this month\u2019s edition of Local Music Singles Roundup! Still hungry?<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-196526 alignleft\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of &quot;Concerned About&quot; by Drive45\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-drive45.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Drive45<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>\u201cConcerned About\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Street: 10.10.2025<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Drive45 = Danny Elfman + Andrew Lloyd Webber x Lemon Demon<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What in the waggish, chocolate factory bullshit is this! With a Vaudeville player piano being sucked into a black hole and reverberated grunts and screams unnaturally weed-whacked together, the musical trickery of Drive45 egg-dropped \u201cConcerned About.\u201d The upbeat, almost circus-y symphony is sugarly intoxicating (in the most funhouse sort). The track is somewhere between <em>Cabaret<\/em>\u2019s Kit Kat Klub and the zany mouse marching band from <em>Coraline<\/em>, with its drastic melody of sudden turns, drops and stops<em>. <\/em>Every instrument and vocal queue sounds mechanical in a <strong>Rube Goldberg<\/strong> sense, where all its inner workings of found objects fit in the most unorthodox way. Regarding themes, however, \u201cConcerned About\u201d reflects the chaotic hyperfixation that contributes to anxiety attacks with lyrics like \u201cNo, I\u2019m not concerned about the knobs and switches on the oven \/ I\u2019ve got to be concerned about my body \/ Yes, of course I am concerned about my health.\u201d I\u2019m biting my nails just writing this review! <em>\u2014Alton Barnhart<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/3mnAUjjWbCAdsAotcuUHUc?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-196527 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Far-From-Salem-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Far From Salem single cover\" width=\"383\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Far-From-Salem-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Far-From-Salem-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Far-From-Salem-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Far-From-Salem.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Far From Salem<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>(ft. Letters for the Oddities)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>\u201cThe Contortionist\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Street: 12.01.2025<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Far From Salem = \u201cThe Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You\u201d by MCR &#8211; everything but the bridge<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As an emo at heart, I am often disappointed by modern bands who claim to be emo, as their music often just doesn\u2019t hit the right way. So I was delightfully surprised when Far From Salem pulled me back into the dark depths of my youth (it was 2015 in real life, but 2005 on my stereo) with \u201cThe Contortionist.\u201d The angst is established in the first half of the song, with the chorus begging, \u201cBring me down in the dead of night \/ Paint the floors with my blood.\u201d But the automatic headbanging doesn\u2019t kick in until about 2:30 when, after lots of obligatory whoas, the electric guitar takes the stage. These angular, visceral riffs remind me of sirens wailing in the background, which is fitting because I feel like this track would be played at the end of a movie after something bad has happened and the villain is sneaking away.<em> \u2014Braxtyn Birrell<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/26VPvYuMy4aZLimxpJ3Pu2?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-196528 alignleft\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of &quot;it sermonette&quot; by it foot, it ears\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-it-foot-it-ear.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>it foot, it ears<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>\u201cit Sermonette\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Street: 03.18.2026<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>it foot, it ears = Michael Gira x Geordie Greep<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a world of algorithmically optimized melodies and homogenized musical formulas, the people are hungry for microtones and polyrhythms. The sudden virality of bands like <strong>Angine de Poitrine<\/strong> is proof that two-man avant-punk units are the next big thing. But <strong>Jason Rabb<\/strong> and <strong>Nick Foster<\/strong> have been cooking up explosive, irreverent sounds for over 10 years, with only a guitar, drums and four immaculate ears. \u201cit Sermonette,\u201d the single off their forthcoming album, <em>Tip toe loops<\/em>, is an excellent introduction to the duo\u2019s meticulously composed dissonance. The percussion and vocals ping-pong into a staccato dance that delights the senses: \u201cRedeem again, rejoice again, hella televangelical.\u201d Halfway through the two-minute track, everything dissolves into fuzzy doom and anxious whisper shouting. Right before you\u2019re sucked into their apocalypse (\u201cpoca\u201d for short), it foot, it ears catapults back to the same plucky notes from the beginning, ending with a cheeky flourish. If you aren\u2019t tickled by these whip-fast, freaky hijinks, I don\u2019t know what to tell you. <em>\u2014Asha Pruitt<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=3459788012\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/artwork=small\/track=2948180283\/transparent=true\/\" seamless=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/itfootitears.bandcamp.com\/album\/tip-toe-loops\">Tip toe loops by it foot, it ears<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-196529 alignleft\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Jacob-Merrithew-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of 988 by Jacob Merrithew\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Jacob-Merrithew-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Jacob-Merrithew-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Jacob-Merrithew-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Jacob-Merrithew.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Jacob Merrithew<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>\u201c988\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\nStreet: 01.02.2026<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Jacob Merrithew = MGK + Logic + David Archuleta <\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Where was this track during the height of COVID-19, when we were trapped inside and exclusively listening to sad boi rap? Or was that just me? \u201c988\u201d tells a compelling story of fighting the depths of depression and suicidal ideation. The song tells the story of a young man writing a suicide letter to his dad: \u201cAnd I really think I needed to write you \/ \u2018cause at the end of the day I\u2019ll be gone too \/ this bullet in my brain \/ will free me from the pain.\u201d The second verse shifts perspectives to his mother: \u201cI know it\u2019s hard for you now \/ but we\u2019ll change the outcome \/ just come here close \/ I won\u2019t let you go.\u201d It\u2019s a beautiful story of a son and mother battling the challenges of mental health together and eventually coming out on top \u2014 all with a clean blend of stripped-back piano and steady bass that never overpowers the story, letting the emotion sit right where it needs to. \u2014<em>Olivia Watts<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/0UD2wBNkV5ir5LM9sCqLZp?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-196530 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Toni-Sicola-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of &quot;I Wasn't Sure I Could&quot; by Toni Sicola\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Toni-Sicola-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Toni-Sicola-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Toni-Sicola-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-Toni-Sicola.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Toni Sicola<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>\u201cI Wasn\u2019t Sure I Could\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Street: 04.18.25<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Toni Sicola = Janis Joplin + Christine Sweeney<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We\u2019ve all either had or hoped for that moment where we stare in the mirror and decide it\u2019s time to take life by the reins. \u201cI Wasn\u2019t Sure I Could\u201d is a beautiful amalgamation of that feeling, finding your community of lost souls and seizing your independence. \u201cAlways searching for kindreds, the ones to call my own\u201d is a statement that resonates deeply with me. People always seem to come and go, which makes it difficult to truly find your tribe. <strong>Toni and the Enablers <\/strong>blend the emotion of feeling lost and finding strength in yourself and the ones you love. Sicola does an impeccable job at highlighting the heart on your sleeve perspective \u2014 \u201cI get my hopes up when I meet someone new, give them all the power to disappoint me through and through.\u201d Don\u2019t we all\u2026 This song is like a warm hug to the soul, reminding us that we can take our time to figure ourselves out. <em>\u2014Damien Poelman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/7xNU1vtiP210rRkZZdmcUZ?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-196531 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-crimberly-400x400.jpg\" alt=\"Cover of &quot;THIS IS MY SHITPOST ACCOUNT&quot; by crimberly\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-crimberly-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-crimberly-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-crimberly-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/449-ED-crimberly.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>crimberly<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>\u201cTHIS IS MY SHITPOST ACCOUNT\u201d<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Self-Released<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Street: 02.06.2026<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>crimberly = Oneohtrix Point Never + Aphex Twin \/ NXCRE<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If a painting hung in a dark room with just enough light to see holographic TV fuzz etched onto a canvas, you would get the visual experience of \u201cTHIS IS MY SHITPOST ACCOUNT\u201d by crimberly. It is a two-dimensional plane of electro-mechanical bursts that leap at you as you enter their flat domain. When you compress into what you thought was a lower dimension, drowned electronic vocals cry out from the bass drum and other buzzing noises that act as percussion. The song is neatly separated into three segments and runs three minutes 30 seconds long, so listeners can buckle in and be numerically satisfied for the ride on this long abandoned roller coaster from a chrome country. While it doesn\u2019t have the depth of sound and room to breathe as \u201cusb3\u201d from their <em>saltsick mixtape<\/em>, this track\u2019s two-dimensionality is its greatest strength and weakness. <em>\u2014Jacob Kay<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/6EV0CQbtFiICnTBWaWzAo4?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Read more Local Music Singles Roundups:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/music\/local-music-singles-roundup-march-2026-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Local Music Singles Roundup: April 2026<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/music\/local-music-singles-roundup-march-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Local Music Singles Roundup: March 2026<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To help SLUG continue to support local music, consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/donation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">becoming one of our donors!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>God, I\u2019m fucking hungry\u2026what should I get? Some iced-out emo rock to numb the heartache? Tempting \u2026 A good ol\u2019 fashioned indie folk tune? Sounds appetizing. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/music\/local-music-singles-roundup-may-2026\/\" title=\"Local Music Singles Roundup: May 2026\" class=\"read-more\">&hellip;&nbsp;read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":196578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[357,355],"tags":[32463,32453,32460,32452,32466,26153,32451,32456,32465,5666,32459,32462,19909,32454,32457,21231,13227,16207,16326,32455,32458,32467,32461,32464],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}