In a raw symphony of DIY spirit and heart-on-sleeve authenticity, Avery Friedman's 'New Thing' emerges as a "scarily accomplished" debut exploring trauma and queerness through layered soundscapes, while Arcane Synthetic weaves an ambitious collaborative odyssey across time. The Hypnatwists conjure a hypnotic garage-psych trance, as Palila unleashes raw emotional storms of gritty guitars and fragile melodies. Meanwhile, Z Frequency drops infectious reggae-rock rhythms, while Orchid Bloom traverses electronic and indie territories in their genre-defying debut.