It would be easy to lump the music of Ural Thomas and his band, The Pain, in with the soul revival movement of the past decade. What you’re hearing, however, isn’t just a revival; it’s the real thing. Since the 1960s, Thomas has been making some of the finest soul/R&B music you’ll find anywhere today. With his youthful vigor and timeless music, it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down any time soon. CE

Let these heavy psych-rock goddesses take you on a sludgy, mystic ride. Named one of Portland’s Best New Bands in Willamette Week’s annual poll this year, BlackWater HolyLight have steadily been selling out shows and hexing your exes. If you haven’t already had your ears blessed with this noise, think Sabbath meets sirens at the altar of heavy rock. RB

Donte Thomas is a man of many talents: emcee, producer, fashion designer and model. Chief among them, though, is as a lyricist. With messages of positivity and self-actualization, his music is, as he describes it, “The continuation of love of real sound.” See for yourself on his sophomore LP, Colors, due out this summer. CE

Since they formed Lenore. in 2015, Rebecca Marie Miller and Joy Pearson have quickly established the band as one of Portland’s most promising new acts. Evoking comparisons to legends such as Fleetwood Mac or Simon & Garfunkel, Lenore.’s brand of “witch folk” has a sound that is both otherworldly and at once familiar, like hearing the voice of a long-lost lover whispering in the wind on a moonlit night. YD

Dan Dan are a synth-based psych-dance three-piece with two keyboardists and a drummer and what they deliver is nothing short of amazing. The see-sawing energies of the two synthesizers cutting back and forth create a call-and-response interplay that is counterbalanced against the pummeling rhythmic backdrop. Vocals are minimal and heavily distorted, making them feel more like an extension of the electronics. Sometimes heavy, sometimes jazzy, always mind blowing. BS

There’s a special throwback charm at play on Nick Normal’s 2017 record Variety Show Vol. 1! Steeped in a woozy world of absurdist punk rock, Normal (real name Nick Barnaby) conjures the very best of underground weirdos like Axemen while paying obvious homage to icons like Devo. Songs as deliciously catchy as “Donut Jingle” are so sweet they should almost be outlawed. But then we wouldn’t get to hear it, and that would be a tremendous bummer. RJP

Representing Vancouver, Washington, five-piece hip-hop phenoms Dead Phone Dummiez are hell-bent on bridging the old school and the new. Entrenched in spooky yesteryear samples and fluid lyrical hooks, the depths that DPD tracks are willing to go to guarantee a lo-fi banger are bottomless. RJP

Vocalist/guitarist Oak Alger has been an important lynchpin in the PDX Pop Now! family since his wee teen years. He returns this year not as a committee member, but with his excellently jangly pop group Vanity Project. The trio’s debut EP, VP, is a chameleonic lo-fi scorcher, replete with deft songwriting and enough garage-pop juju to lull you into ultimate fandom. RJP

Embodying the progressive, anything-goes punk rock ethos of mid-’80s bands like All, Black Flag and even Living Colour, Portland’s Nasalrod is probably the closest thing you’ll get to a bona fide first-wave art-punk revival. Their vocalist, known as Chairman, is easily the most entertaining frontman in the city, and their drummer Spit Stix was in LA punk legends Fear for cryin’ out loud. RJP

Utilizing a dizzying menagerie of instrumentation, post-punk disco freaks Conditioner Disco Group (née Conditioner) are poised to grab the entire city by its pantaloons and drag them out anywhere there’s room enough to cut a rug. The band’s bizarro-dance cuts are precisely the sort of shot in the arm you’ll need to get your summertime rage on. Keep an eye out for their forthcoming album on Maternal Voice Records. RJP

Heavy dollops of ethereal synth and trippy effects litter Small Skies’ aural output. Equal parts cosmic-pop mindbender and electro masterpiece, the crew’s 2017 record Build twitches and writhes in all the right ways. Be prepared to be ushered right out of your body and into some of the lushest sonic terrain this side of the Milky Way. RJP

The amount of energy dispersed by Portland punks Mr. Wrong can catch you off guard. Armed with only the basic rock building blocks of bass, guitar and drums, this rowdy trio explodes into melodic fits of spazzy, peppy abandon and scratchy new wave explorations, as heard on their excellently lo-fi 2017 LP, Babes in Boyland. Girls to the front! RJP

Recalling the dissonant twist of yesteryear PNW touchstones like Unwound and Melvins, Portland trio Hair Puller up the ante and revel in the pushing and pulling of skuzzy interplay to hone their distinctly sinister take on the heavy. This is a band you will want to hear sooner than later, so you might as well make it now. RJP

Ritual Veil just want you to get down. Their sexbeat meets post-punk sound has a throbbing beat formidable to any other dance genre. Add sensual baritone vocals on top of driving guitar hooks and atmospheric synths and you just can’t help yourself. If you like Depeche Mode and Body of Light, then put on your dancing shoes—this is the band for you. CE

Petite play a UK–influenced brand of street punk that hearkens back to the late ‘70s. Drawing on influences such as pub-rock, punk and glam, the band blends the traditional Oi sounds and then breaks the mold by delivering them with powerful female vocals. These are driving, melodic punk songs that focus on working-class themes like equality and anti-racism that seem more important now, than ever. BS

Upon their genesis in 2016, Gardener has risen quickly in the PDX scene as a five-piece psych rock specialty with live shows sure to make your head bob. With chugging multi-guitar meltdowns, emphatic drumming and fuzzed-out vocals, Gardener delivers an explosive performance that may leave you a touch on the sweaty side. MB

KayelaJ has been rapping since high school, cutting her teeth in the studio at Self Enhancement, Inc. before taking time off to earn a college degree. Now she’s back on the scene with her upcoming mixtape Homage (Thank You), assisted by the Naturally Grown Misfits. Lyrically, KayelaJ doesn’t shy away from anything, from dropping bars about being a proud, gay woman to making strippers’ anthems. She’s also not afraid to tell you how awesome she is. And, yeah…she’s pretty awesome. CE

What do you get when Fever Ray and Robert Smith have a darkwave love child? Enter Psychic Rites, an electronic trio weaving together ominous vocals and thumping synth beats into one shadowy, danceable package. Their debut full-length album Cult_Memo was released last year via Waxploitation. MB

Originally a solo project helmed by songwriter Eric Sabatino (Vexations), Miss Rayon has bloomed into a formidable three-piece post-punk onslaught. Rounded out by bassist Jenny Logan (Summer Cannibals) and Hannah Blilie (the Gossip, Chanti Darling), the trio’s buoyant dance-punk enfolds the best moments of early ‘80s no wave. RJP

Omari Jazz is an electronic artist who creates his own beats and uses an amalgamation of samples to take his listeners on a trip around the universe. He can fit in any scene whether it’s an art gallery or a late night warehouse show. Fairly new to the Portland music scene, this is his first PDX Pop Now! appearance, though I’m sure the City of Roses will be seeing much more of him. RB

Without doubt one of the most versatile musical juggernauts currently residing in Portland, Máscaras is the kind of band that can be anything it wants to be at any given moment. Flourishes of heavy-psych meditations and dalliances with a kind of prog-Latin groove permeate the soundscape on the trio’s hypnotic 2017 album, El Morán—an absolute ripper of an album for fans of all genres. RJP

Sea Moss is here and they are ready to challenge your outdated concept of music. This experimental two-piece create Dada-inspired audio landscapes with their arsenal of homemade electronics, monstrous drums and demented drive-thru speaker vocals. Their DIY approach challenges listeners to accept new models for not only how music can be created, but also how it’s perceived. BS

Singer-songwriter Robin Bacior’s star is shining bright in 2018. Her latest release, Light It Moved Me, is due out this August. Bacior’s previous work exhibits strong jazz, folk and pop influences, while her forthcoming album shows signs of a vibrant, growing sound, even more radiant and orchestrated than her calm yet commanding earlier work. EM

Known for his work as frontman of Fog Father and a member of Reptaliens, Bryson Cone’s solo work blends silky smooth vocals with an arty synth-pop sensibility that will have you swaying and tapping along to the beat. We are crossing our fingers for the full-length debut to arrive soon! EM

Moorea Masa & The Mood released their first full-length album this spring, but Masa is no stranger to Portland’s music scene, having sung with Ruby Pines, The Decemberists and Ural Thomas & the Pain. Backed by her band, Masa deftly weaves soul, R&B and folk influences into a lush and rich vocal tapestry. YD

Self-proclaimed dance punkers Star Club have a simple goal: they want to make you dance! Their mesh of jangly art-pop and gritty new wave is vibrantly displayed on their late 2017 release Sixth Avenue Motel, which showcases a squealing saxophone and danceable grooves throughout. EM

Fountaine-Since he began recording in 2015, North Portland native Fountaine has established himself as both an accomplished producer and prolific artist, deftly mixing witty rhymes with a smooth, mellifluous delivery. Whether he’s rapping about Pokemon in one song or tackling topics like depression or police brutality in the next, Fountaine always offers up a fresh and personal take on life in Portland. YD