This year has given us many things. Confusion, dread, and meditation alike have swirled around the drain of an electoral climax. “Shapes,” the latest single from the Chicago band The Foons, takes listeners on a similar journey, although they intended it to be about being stoned speechless at a rock concert. So it goes.

In her 1988 essay titled “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” Judith Butler argues that gender is a performance of societal conceptions regadring what’s understood as masculine and feminine. Her core idea lies in the notion that gender is an expression of what one does, not what one is. When one considers the definition of ‘to perform’ as being “to carry out an action or pattern of behavior,” it makes sense that Butler’s argument serves as the foundation for which many sociologists consider gender as a practice.

If there’s anyone who knew how to make an entrance, it was Little Richard. On the Dick Cavett Show in December 1970, Little Richard sauntered out, dressed in a majestic brocade ensemble: tunic, cape, matching bell bottoms, and a golden Lurex choker with taupe platform boots peeking out from underneath. His jet-black hair, styled in his distinctive fluffy bouffant, was accessorized with a headband reminiscent of his protégé, Jimi Hendrix, and his ferocious eyes were lined to perfection.

On Friday nights, I walk down the bayou to a concert. There's a global pandemic still going on, so I'm not headed to a club or an arena. Instead, I'm walking, iced coffee in hand, to a porch concert. I sit on Miss Mary's tangerine-colored steps and greet her pet corgi, Mo-mo, as I settle in for the show. Neighbors gather in the street on plastic lawn-chairs, and cars attempt to swerve around them.

What do you do when it’s too cold to go ice-fishing? You stay in bed watching kung fu movies and drinking home made mango smoothies with that special someone. At least that’s what the surf-rock inspired single “Sugar Melting in the Rain” by Chicago musician Andrew Christopoulos of the recording project Soul Honey Records says you should do. And honestly, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.

TTRRUUCES’ self-titled, debut album “TTRRUUCES” feels like what I can only describe as trippy. The songs are filled with glittery chimes and jingles, synthesizers, and other electronic beats, fuzzy chords, and drama that pull the listener into a world of the artists’ creation. From the start, it’s apparent that we are merely spectators watching the coming of age story of Sad Girl and Lost Boy when they start using the mind-altering drug TTRRUUCES.

A bittersweet aspect of love is falling in love with the idea of someone. It’s not just the person that makes one’s heart skip a beat, but the thought of who they are, what being together would mean, and what a future life together could look like. Smitten by these hopes and dreams that could be realized, one may start to truly fantasize.

Three Filipino American rappers have been taking stages and dropping mics worldwide with sick beats and woke rap. Ruby Ibarra, Klassy, and Rocky Rivera have been creating anthems of Filipina empowerment through their music, chronicling the multidimensional and ever-evolving psyche of the modern-day Pinay. Not only do they have the flow and the rhythm, they vocalize the stories of Filipino American women that have long been untold.

There’s a sense of calmness that settles over me in my existential dread about the state of my life as I listen to “Jeopardy,” the newest LP from Chicago-based psych-rock band Dogs At Large. While my personal life is pretty much in shambles and I’m overwrought with the pressure of meeting expectations for everyone, including myself, this album is a sweet soundscape that promises an emotional journey, featuring happiness, contentment, depression, anxiety, excitement, and placidity.

“The Other Side” centers itself in the tale of a young man who longs for a time he missed out on: the Summer of Love. Much like the protagonist, singer-songwriter Julian Daniell yearns for that time and wishes he could have experienced it. Unfortunately, time travel doesn’t exist. So, Daniell manages to skip over this hurdle by writing a song where the premise opens up the other sides to your own life, allowing your experiences to be reimagined.

Manny 10x is back, and he’s been in the studio working to keep his listeners craving more. The last we heard of Manny 10x was in July when his singles “Warp Speed” and “On A Wire” were just hitting platforms. With his fresh and unique sound in your buds at the peak of summer, his new single “Shiva” provides a great shift into fall.

The credit belongs to the woman who is actually in the arena: Crystal Rose, the pop singer-songwriter based in Kansas City, Missouri. Her three-track hip-hop and rap EP is the perfect anthem to empower people’s spirits during these unprecedented times. In a time when our screens are flooded with news about COVID-19, police brutality, and racial injustice, our defenses are up and we go out into the world treating it as an arena.

Sonny Falls’ Ryan “Hoagie Wesley” Ensley embodies that spirit with the songwriting project’s newest single, “Plasma Kids.” Make no mistake, this is a track meant to be listened to sitting down, because it’s musical storytelling at its independent finest.

Be prepared to open up a slot on your vibin’ playlist, because Gabrielle Grace released her third single today, titled “We’ll Be Alright.” The track is a folk pop song with a real Maggie Rogers essence that bleeds in, what with her singer-songwriter, banjo-folk early identity blended with a bit of electronic dance music and mainstream pop. With “We’ll Be Alright,” Grace has achieved her place in the music scene, cementing the fact that she belonged here all along.

Dripped in Nostalgic Black Culture and queer representation, Saki Nosaki delivered all the best parts of the early 2000s: Black culture, amazing styling and Black kinship. It’s hard not to think of the iconic movie, ATL- modern fashion with a southern flare and pro skaters sharing space on the rink. Saki took it a bit further though and added the queer representation that has always been missing.

Immediately, the listener is transported to a different era, somewhere between the 60s and 70s smooth jazz fusion and folk fervor in this track. While the lyrics explore the floating isolation one feels when a love is lost, the song is grounded in a foundation of a consistent but subtle use of percussion and the trill of a saxophone throughout. Wren is actually rather clever and ironic in his articulation of lost love with “The Earth Is Flat.” Instead of describing the loss of love in the quintessential way we recognize it through heart-wrenching ballads of pain and misery, Wren comes at it through a different lens.

“#1 Summer Jam” feels like the kind of song that would best be heard live—a leading lyric of the chorus is “a song to connect you to your fellow man.” The energy of the band and song beg for a live audience. The expressive lyrics are full of—what I can only imagine is—how a band feels when they are starting off their set. The energy is high, and everyone is optimistic about the #1 summer song they will be releasing.

Enter into the soundscape of Sonny Falls—it’s quick. You’re thrust into their garage space as the electric guitar riffs in the background. The anthemic alternative rock with a hint of punk essence is a familiar energy. Listening to Sonny’s latest single, “Roses Rotting In Your Glass,” feels like going to a house party—you know the one where a friend of a friend invites you and you become lost in a sea of strangers who want nothing but to escape into a boundless world.

The album was recorded live at Wholesome Studio B3 in Chicago, and it carries the energy of the band straight to the listener. In full psych-rock tradition, this is a band that deserves to be heard live. But, live shows have had to be put on hold for the moment. Therefore, a live recorded album will have to do.

Hollyy’s upcoming EP, Miss the Feeling, highlights the feelings of heartbreak while simultaneously flipping the narrative around on the listener. Their newest single “Wondering Why” is no different. Instead of being heartbroken, you’re the one who leaves.