Philadelphia’s Knifeplay makes music that feels like it’s trying to say something, but the world keeps interrupting. Part shoegaze, part slowcore, part emotional exorcism, their sound has always carried a strange weight.

The Allergies aren’t a nostalgia act. They’re not a retro revival. They’re engineers of euphoria. Two obsessive producers who treat feel-good music like a science. The BPMs are surgical. The samples are sacred. And the mission? Make you move, even if it kills them.

In South Jersey’s DIY emo circles, Afloat is doing more than making music. They’re building infrastructure, holding space, and proving that the loudest statement doesn’t have to be shouted.

How two Polish musicians are quietly rewriting the rules of DIY music by asking nothing, giving everything, and still making you feel it all.

There’s no label backing this. No publicist blasting inboxes. No viral TikTok. Just a burned-out side project that clawed its way into becoming a real band: slowly,

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Joanna Connor is a monster. A slide guitar savage. A blues lifer who’s been tearing up stages longer than most viral sensations have been alive.

I lived in New York from 2000 to 2016. I was there when The Strokes were still playing Mercury Lounge and didn’t own more than two shirts between them.