Now that we’re done dealing with our extended families, it is time to either unwind or miss them, depending on how it went. Why not relax with a batch of freshly picked new music, or more specifically, some of the finest obscure picks from the past month of Bandcamp releases? This month’s edition of Bandcamping features some gems, so let’s not screw around and dive right in.

5. Timenesia by Galaxy Juice

Genre: indie rock, psychedelic rock
If you like: Animal Collective, Of Montreal

I believe this is the first album from Kuwait to appear in this space, and it’s a keeper, drawing influences from the global music marketplace to create a familiarly psychedelic sound that doesn’t go too far off the early-Pink-Floyd-psychedelia deep end. They try a lot, yes, but it always remains coherent, and therefore, listenable, especially on opening track “Allokation,” which reminds me a little bit of Granddaddy or Beck?

4. Distancia Focal by Chances

Genre: rock, post-hardcore
If you like: Confide, Refused, Pianos Become the Teeth

This album by Chilean group Chances is in Spanish, but the language barrier isn’t an issue with songs this intense, and really, how well can you understand the post-hardcore screaming when it’s in English anyway? Chances knows how to make big-sounding and energetic rock music, something they do consistently though the record’s 11 tracks.

3. Another Life by Tomorrows

Genre: indie rock
If you like: Real Estate, Father John Misty, Arctic Monkeys

Dublin-based Tomorrows doesn’t really plant a foot firmly in one subgenre of indie rock, instead choosing to float between them and tackle everything from dream pop to doo-wop- and bluegrass-influenced rock for a record that congeals better than you’d expect it to. It tries a lot, yes, and it also achieves a lot, bringing disparate influences under one generally dreamy umbrella.

2. Graphism by Pale Hands

Genre: indie rock, synth pop, electronica
If you like: St. Vincent, MGMT, Tegan and Sara

This Massachusetts trio creates an immersive electronic sound on their sophomore album that has the candied pop gloss of Tegan and Sara along with the bold but catchy experimentalism of St. Vincent. Simply, it’s a fascinating record that’s as challenging as it is consumable.

1. What a Joy by Ellie Herring

Genre: electronic
If you like: Todd Terje, Lindstrøm

Everybody and their cousin’s cousin is throwing electronic music up on Bandcamp, but Kentucky-based producer Ellie Herring knows how to craft a propulsive track that honors ’80s electronic traditions without masking the fact that it’s nearly 2017. Electronic music often gets in the bad habit of going on for too long because “it’s setting a mood, man,” but Herring’s tracks can create a moment in just a few minutes without wasting time meandering on a thread with no clear destination.

Honorable Mentions

Bright Lights, Bright Lights! by Broken Factory Windows
Genre: rock, alternative rock, hard rock
If you like: Titus Andronicus, The Men, Dropkick Murphys

SG X NC by Sun Glitters X Nadine Carina
Genre: indie pop, electronica
If you like: Toro y Moi, vaporwave

Forests and the Hunt by Forests and the Hunt
Genre: synthwave, electronica
If you like: Stranger Things, Com Truise

That’s all for November, but until next time, let us know in the comments which of these albums were your favorites, what we missed, and what we should look forward to. If you missed out on the last post, check it out here (and the complete Bandcamping archives are here).