Rising Artist: Soccer Mommy

Nashville has become a modern music hotspot in the 21st century while it holds on to its country, bluegrass, and early rock and roll roots. One of the latest products to come from the music city is Sophie Allison aka Soccer Mommy. The singer / songwriter is poised to be an indie rock sensation thanks to her subtle ability to simply not give a damn about what you think, which shines through in her songs. She released her debut, Clean, in March to critical reviews. As her fanbase continues to sprout, the singer describes her music as "chill but kinda sad" and finds herself carving out a new sub category of music known as bedroom pop -- music you want to listen to when you are feeling low and alone. Soccer Mommy has gain comparisons to a modern Liz Phair, EMA, with a touch of Slowdive thrown in the mix. Here is a way to spend the warm weather by emoting to her.

Rising Artist: Goat Girl

London continues to be a breeding ground for influential indie rock and in turbulent times it simply crafts some of our greatest artists. This latest band is no exception and is proof of the continuing tradition of great acts to come from across the pond. Goat Girl are the band that defines our current times. The South London four-piece combine the guitar work of The Smiths as well as the girl power of The Breeders and the playful but quirky folk attitude of The Roches.

This week, they will release their 19-song self-titled debut and made their way to SXSW where they took Austin, Texas, by storm. “Simply put, it’s an album that comes from growing up in London and the first-hand experience of our city’s devolution,” say the band in a press release about the record.

“We wanted to think of it as this place seen not necessarily just through our eyes, but someone who can’t get past the abnormalities and strange happenings that exist in our city. We think this gives the freedom lyrically and musically to explore unspoken truths and emotions that we all as humans feel.”

This is a band that will have all of the taste makers of the years talking and one you want to jump on now.

Rising Artist: KOKOKO!

Music is a melting pot and one African band is proving that they are ready to boil over with their creativity and showcase their talents. Congolese band KOKOKO! combine 1970s raw punk, Arabic, electroclash, and explodes in a musical utopia. Hailing from the city of Kinshasa, KOKOKO! have been turning heads since they formed last year. In their time of coming together, they have flipped the musical landscape of the DRC in such a short period of time and are becoming the catalysts to display that African music is thriving in an alternative space now and not what people may think it is anymore and in fact, it is happening across the continent. They released their acclaimed debut EP last year and are currently booked for a European tour this spring. To learn more about the band, check out their self-made documentary below:

Rising Artist: Godblesscomputers

Italian music is generally full of life, sounds, and jubilation much like Italians themselves. It is very rare that the music is stripped down or subdued. Even ballads, acoustic songs, and "slower" tracks are still filled with emotion and life. Therefore it is rare and quite refreshing to find the opposite but producer and DJ Godblesscomputers aka Lorenzo Nada based out of Bologna is doing just that. Since forming in 2011, Nada has been kicking it in Italy's underground making emotive but minimal music using synths, piano, and sampling the nature around him. It sometimes can be ultra lounge music like Dimitri from Paris or it sometimes can be something you would hear on Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool. However, whatever vibe his is emulating, for Italians it is something revolutionary even on the smallest scale.

Rising Artist: Janice

Sweden is known of giving us the best pop music ever. From ABBA to Robyn to The Sounds, the country is a hot bed for fun on the dance floor. Now, here comes a different type of pop but not only fits into the modern cannon however, this Stockholm artist will knock your socks off. Janice, who has released a handful of singles and an EP since 2016, just released her fantastic new single, "Queen," which is a powerful ballad of love and ecstasy. Janice isn't pure pop, the R&B and soul singer has the chops to be your favorite new artist as well as someone who can take the world by storm. As she says in "Queen" -- "I can do anything," and we are certain she will.

Listen to Our Swedish Playlist on Spotify

Rising Artist: Joyner Lucas

This last week has been a whirlwind for Massachusetts emcee Joyner Lucas thanks to the release of his single and video "I'm Not Racist," which went viral soon after it was put on YouTube. The Worcester rapper released not just the video of the year but the soundtrack to 2017. In the wake of what has gone on in America since Trump's rise, Lucas has the race conversation many are too afraid to have with one another in the single. The six-minute epic is just the tip of the iceberg for what he can do and spit. Going in the underground since 2015, Lucas released his second album earlier this year, (508) 507-2209, and while it was a success with tastemakers, it is now resurrected thanks to he newfound success in the mainstream. While "I'm Not Racist" is a one-off single, his two albums prior show his career has been brewing to this moment and now he is ready to take the world by storm.

Rising Artist: Felicity

Pop can be a dirty word because it immediately indicates commercial, prefabricated packaged bullshit but if and when it is done right it can sound what it is intended to do -- make you feel good and bop around. Welcome Cape Town, South Africa's Felicity who is making smart pop that not only has clever lyrics but also very catchy hooks. The singer began releasing music last year and has had a number of singles climb the charts in her native country. The 18-year-old was born in Australia but raised in Cape Town and has echoes of Marina and the Diamonds and Ellie Goulding, while she doesn't have any plans for a debut album, based on the singles she has out, it will be something to watch out for if and when it does arrive.

Listen to Our South African Mixtape

Rising Artist: Cardi B

"Despacito" may have ruled the summer as the song you could not avoid but there was one artist who rose through the ranks and while it took her years to do so, the summer of 2017 really belonged to Cardi B. The Bronx native scored the first No. 1 with "Bodak Yellow" and became the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to do so in nearly 20 years. Cardi B. has been co-signed by Beyonce, Dave Chappelle, J. Cole, Nas, among others who have fallen for the rapper's rhymes and flow. Using trap beats and mixing Spanglish over what her producers have given her, she not only is a fresh sound but fully represents the city she comes from. You cannot avoid someone like this and what she has got to say. With just a handful of mixtapes and singles out, she doesn't plan to rush release her debut after all of the buzz and accolades. The future is female and Cardi B. is help leading the pack.

Rising Artist: Joey Purp

As Chance the Rapper helps put Chicago emcees back on the map as a new era of rappers like BJ the Chicago Kid, Vic Mensa and the Cool Kids reuniting, another young voice stands out from the pack. Joey Purp has been a rising rapper that has been expanding his musical boarders outside the Windy City and after a series of acclaimed mixtapes, the Chicago emcee is ready for his close-up. Purp has spent 2017 touring around the world including stops at SXSW, Primavera Sound in Spain, Parklife in Manchester, as well as headlining shows in London and Paris. His style is brash and unique as his combines his influences of 70s punk like Sex Pistols and Lou Reed and mixes it with Wu-Tang Clan and Dipset. After working with artists like Chance, Mensa, and Phantogram, Purp is said to be at work on his long awaited debut and as we wait for it to arrive, what he has done so far will no doubt make it one of the most anticipated albums to come out.

Rising Artist: Middle Kids

Hailing from Sydney, Australia, a new three piece is bringing together folk and 90s rock and giving it a modern twist. Middle Kids features Hannah Joy on vocals, Tim Fitz on guitar and Harry Day on drums and the trio have been making waves in their native land for over a year and have slowly captured the attention of UK and US audiences thanks to their fresh and vibrant sound. As they have gotten acclaim from the likes of NPR, NME, and Triple J, the band released their latest EP later last fall and can currently be seen on tour across North America through the end of the summer.

Listen to Our Australian Mixtape! 

Rising Artist: The Amazons

Rock and roll will never die but we will and in England it will live forever. As more and more bands coming from the UK never cease to showcase their love of rock and roll, one band is pushing it to a whole other level with the type of sound we desperately need in 2017 -- The Amazons. The band, who formed in 2014, hail from Reading and they released their self-titled debut in May, to massive acclaim back home from the press. This summer, they are hitting the European festival circuit for the first time after making their Glastonbury debut last month. The four-piece are just a giant ball of fun and are carrying the torch to the cathedrals of rock and roll to make sure they stay lit.

Rising Artist: Caroline Nieto

It is not every day you hear a 12-year-old that composes a song like a pro twice her age and plays nearly every instrument on the track. Yet, New Jersey's Caroline Nieto is that natural talent and prodigy. Mixing her love of classic rock and roll and combining it with teenage pop that would make Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande envious, the tween from the Garden State is ready for her close-up. Recording and mixing her debut EP, Hear Me Now, out later this month, at Achitekt Music, Nieto linked up with Sevendust producers who even got the singer and her sister to appear on the Georgia metal band's last record, Kill The Flaw, in 2015.

Caroline Nieto isn't just a natural songwriter and musician, she is a talent that cuts through in a cacophony of processed music and tunes. She will be hosting her album release later this month at Architekt, details below, and if you are in Jersey, it is something not to miss.

Rising Artist: QTY

At first listen, one might think that QTY was a band that came from New York City in the 1970s and is just getting attention now. That is not the case. The four piece hail from today's NYC and make rock and roll dirty and flawed the way it should be. It is a cross between The Velvet Underground, Television, and The Rolling Stones. It is heavily distorted and something you want more of. The band  took SXSW storm in March and have released a new single called "Rodeo," earlier in the year. While there has been no official announcement for a debut record, we hope it comes very soon.

Rising Artist: Tredici Baci

With a name like Tredici Baci, one would think this band, which translates to "13 Kisses" hails from Italy. However, that is not the case. Formed four years ago by Simon Hanes, the band which hails from the Northeast of America released their debut, Amore Per Tutti, which translates to "Love for Everyone," in December.  The music of Tredici Baci is pop symphonic jazz that takes massive inspiration from the film scores of Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and Armando Trovajoli to bring on their own type of orchestrations to life. With the sound of imaginary film scores around them, Tredici Baci are not just one of the more talented bands around but truly one of the most original and fresh in our current climate. 

Rising Artist: Cigarettes After Sex

As Prince left us last year, erotica in music seems to be making a comeback to fill the void left by the Purple one. One band in particular is Brooklyn via El Paso band Cigarettes After Sex. The band formed in 2008 in Texas and after a handful of EPs and singles, they will release their debut at some point this year. The music is cinematic and epic but also moody and intimate -- think The Chromatics meets Mazzy Star with a bit of Bauhaus thrown in. It is a stunning landscape of sound that causes the four piece to craft baby making music, sounds for a one-night-stand, and the noise you want to hear when making love to someone who has your heart.

Rising Artist: Flasher

Maybe it is because mango Mussolini has been elected president and moved into the White House, or maybe it is because the world is going to shit, whatever the case may be but there seems to be a new flux of bands coming from Washington, D.C. The sound of the fury inside the nation's capitol hasn't been this interesting since Ian MacKaye started Minor Threat and Discord Records or when Bad Brains were banned in D.C.

Now, a new band can add their name to the cannon of music that has come from the town. The band, Flasher, is a post-punk meets early new wave DIY act that combines Joy Division and New Order all in one. Peter Hook would be proud. After spending the fall opening for White Lung and Parquet Courts, they released their debut EP in November. No word if a full length is in the works but as the band continues to tour their EP, they are certainly ones to keep an eye out on.

Rising Artist: Priests

Since forming in 2012, Washington, D.C. no wave and post-punk band Priests have become hometown heroes. The four piece have put out three EPs and this month will release their long awaited debut album, Nothing Feels Natural on Sister Polygon Records. The band incorporates a bit of glam, goth and surf rock for their unique sound -- think Siouxsie Sioux fronting the Pixies. The band discuss politics, sex, and feminine power which are all conversations we need now. Not only are Priests smart and clever, they put the nation's capitol back on the map for a new era in punk rock and it couldn't come at a better time as the unfavorable president-elect will take office just a week before their debut arrives.

Rising Artist: Astronoid

Meteor showers happen all the time and as the giant rocks fall from space, I often times wonder what they sounds like. When I first heard Boston's Astronoid, I fully understood what the sound of something coming from the greatest regions of our universe and into our atmosphere would sound like. The band, who released their debut, Air, in May, take a sound that mixes the black metal of Deafhaven the atmospheric progressiveness of Circa Survive and the intricate rhythm changes of Dillinger Escape Plan and roll it into one collective being that brings an intensity and beauty that only music could offer. The band, who formed in 2012, from the ashes of the prog band Hetfield and Hetfield have been releasing music independently including their debut this year. As the band continue to tour and perform, here is looking out to seeing them in 2017.

Rising Artist: Abra

What if someone took the 80s sound of Whitney Houston and mixed it with the 90s style of TLC you have Atlanta's ABRA. The young artist released her debut EP, Princess, in July and since then she has been capturing the attention of music lovers thanks to her throwback sound and style. However, it isn't just the music she is making, her lyrics are as heavy as the humid Atlanta air in the summertime. As she begins work on her debut, ABRA is certainly someone to keep an eye out for. 

Rising Artist: Roar

A one man army, Arizona native Owen Evans takes his inspiration from 60s pop like The Beatles, Beach Boys and mixes it with a 90s indie flavor of Pixies and Pavement to present Roar. The one-man-band plays with a full ensemble live but on his debut, Impossible Animals, released earlier this year, it was all him. If there was ever a reason to believe that rock and roll from yesteryear is still alive, wait until you hear Roar.