Yuno, "No Going Back" (Sub Pop). New Sub Pop artist Yuno—a 27-year-old Jacksonville, Florida resident with English and Jamaican heritage—sounds like a swoony blend of Toro Y Moi and Tame Impala. In other words, Yuno should be tearing up the charts and burning up the streaming services when his debut EP, Moodie, drops on June 15. "No Going Back" embodies a poised, dulcet hybridity, as his androgynous vocals glide over obliquely funky chillwave and restrained psych-rock. It's a youthful love song that doesn't sound tired, but rather bursts with cautious optimism. You can catch Yuno performing at SPF30 on August 10 at the Mural Amphitheatre.

Lotic, “Hunted” (Tri Angle). It wouldn't be a stretch to call Lotic the black, non-binary, American Björk—as inelegant as that phrase may come off in print. But one listen to the Houston-born, Berlin-based producer's Power album (out July 13) and you can't help hearing parallels to the Icelandic icon's mischievous, sensual mutations of electronic music and romantic songcraft. (They did two remixes for her Vulnicura album, so there's that connection, too.) "Hunted" is one of the more accessible cuts from that lush yet spare full-length, which I'm prepared to call one of 2018's best, at this juncture. It seduces with whispers, Liz Fraser-esque coos, trap-submerged-in-molasses beats, and a wonderfully woozy melody that seems coaxed out of a warped Theremin. Proper future-facing music right here.

GEMS, “Oh Yoko!” (Turntable Kitchen). So, Washington DC electro-pop twosome GEMS have covered John Lennon's Imagine in its entirety. They apply a 2010s synth sheen and Lindsay Pitts's hushed vocals to these well-known post-Beatles chestnuts, decontextualizing the familiar music just enough to make this more than merely a gimmick. "Oh Yoko!"—probably nobody's favorite from the original LP; it's no "How Do You Sleep?" or "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier"—is actually ideally suited for GEMS' twee, slackly peppy approach. Sure, there's a bit of saccharine to this lightweight ode, but GEMS slow the tempo to a devotional stasis and add a halo of synth vapor to things, transforming "Oh Yoko!" into a fresh re-imagining (*rimshot*) of a minor Lennon ditty.

Norman Westberg, “Soothe the String” (Room40). Swans guitarist Norman Westberg goes off on his own for Australia's vaunted Room40 label and crafts a gorgeous, glacial slice of ambience that I'll take over any recent Fennesz releases, thank you very much. "Soothe the String" (truth in titling) sounds like Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas soundtrack first frozen in ice and then slowly thawing over the Arctic Ocean. Find this track on Westberg's After Vacation album (out July 13; produced by Room40 boss Lawrence English).

A Story of Rats, "Horn of Silver" (self-released). Seattle/LA trio A Story of Rats (Garek J Druss, Daniel Salo, and Andrew Crawshaw) returned in April from a five-year hiatus with the Randall Dunn-produced The Immeasurable Spiral, an unspeakably beautiful and grave record that has been totally worth the wait. "Horn of Silver" proceeds with stately grandeur, Crawshaw's tom-tom and kick-drum beats nudging the ritualistic composition stoically onward while Druss and Salo summon graceful, oracular synth clouds and glum, solemn chants. This may be the least-corny gothic music you'll ever hear. A Story of Rats play their album-release show June 14 at Lo-Fi.

Noteworthy June 1 album releases: Kanye West, ye (G.O.O.D./Def Jam); Neko Case, Hell-On (Anti-); Father John Misty, God's Favorite Customer (Sub Pop); Oneohtrix Point Never, Age Of (Warp); Mazzy Star, Still EP (Rhymes of an Hour); Joan of Arc, 1984 (Joyful Noise); Brian Jonestown Massacre, Something Else (A); Black Thought x 9th Wonder & the Soul Council, Streams of Thought, Vol. 1; Roger Daltrey, As Long as I Have You (Polydor); LUMP, LUMP (Dead Oceans); Big Freedia, 3rd Ward Bounce (Asylum); Maps & Atlases, Lightlessness Is Nothing New (Barsuk); Sami Baha, Free for All (Planet Mu); Various Artists, African Scream Contest, Vol. 2 (Analog Africa).