good listener

Kele Okereke, "Walk Tall"

We're super-pysched to have Kele Okereke headline our NYLON Summer Music Tour, which kicks off in July. The Block Party frontman releases his debut album, The Boxer, in two weeks and we can't wait to see him bust out tracks like "Walk Tall"—with its rallying cry lyrics and slamming dubstep beats—at the shows.

Fences, "Girls with Accents"

With his badass neck tattoos (a shark! a spider's web!), Fence's Christopher Mansfield looks more likely to steal your purse than serenade with you an acoustic guitar. But it turns out this Seattle singer-songwriter is a lover—and a fan of Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst. Sara Quin from Tegan and Sara produced his debut album, which will be out in September. You can bide the time until then listening to this tale of young love not working out the way we want it.

Wavves, "Post Acid"

After an embarrassing drug-fueled meltdown in Spain last year, the indie world wrote off Wavves's Nathan Williams as a one-album wonder. Not so. He's back this fall with a stellar new album, King of the Beach, and just this week released his first single via Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound. "Post Acid" is bratty and brash and better than we could have imagined. The best part? Williams's voice isn't hiding behind a cloud of feedback and fuzz. Can you say comeback?

Jarrod Gorbel, "Ten Years Older"

Honorary Title hottie Jarrod Gorbel is stepping out on his own this fall with a debut solo album and we can't get enough of his mellow, acoustic guitar-driven ballads. This track reminds us a little of Beck circa Sea Change, but with a bit more emotion. It's got a beautiful chorus that will be stuck in your head for days.

Punch Brothers, "Rye Whiskey"

These bluegrass boys are taking on Bonnaroo today and though it may be difficult to imagine someone rock out with a mandolin, trust us, it's gonna happen. We saw singer/mandolinist Chris Thile play with his old band, Nickel Creek, and boy can boogie. Punch Brothers' second album, Antifogmatic, is out next week and this drinking song is one of our faves.