15 great new songs by Wilmington-area artists that you need to listen to right now

It's been a banner year for new music in Wilmington, a corncucopia overflowing with good songs, if you're feeling the Thanksgiving vibes.

It helps that we've got two tiny but mighty labels punching above their weight and cranking out new tunes — sonic veterans Fort Lowell Records and indie upstarts Suck Rock Records — but there's been plenty of good self-released stuff, as well as a couple of former Wilmingtonians shining from afar. From rock and pop to folk and hip-hop, it's not just one scene, either.

Take a listen, and keep in mind there's plenty more where this came from. Keeping the list to 15 was a challenge, which is a good problem to have.

Beach Tub

"WALKED AWAY"

From Beach Tub's debut, self-titled EP released Oct. 23 on Wilmington's Suck Rock Records, "Walked Away" blends classic rock with a punk vibe to arrive at something familiar yet emphatically new and undeniably fun (as if you couldn't tell from their name). Killer live act as well.

Cydaddy

"CHEERS (WATER MIX)"

New single from Wilmington-based Fort Lowell Records' "This Water Is Life: Vol. III," a series of albums split between local rappers and indie rockers designed to draw attention to our area's significant water quality issues. Cydaddy's "Cheers (Water Mix)" is a sweet piece of lo-fi indie pop, suffused in melancholy and regret but also tinged with hopefulness.

Doggy Daycare

"ACID WALK"

That intro, man oh man. Doggy Daycare's new single is big and bold and fuzzy and psychedelic, like a slice of the coolest grunge that somehow escaped your notice back in the '90s. According to a social media post by the band, "acid walk" is "an ode to being in love and definitely not (about) doing drugs while hiking."

Gay Meat

"LYCHEE ICE"

He lives in Chicago now, but Wilmington should always claim Karl Kuehn, who performs under the name Gay Meat and who grew up in Southport, first coming to notice with his punk-pop band Museum Mouth. New single "Lychee Ice," released in September, is a typically sweet-and-sour slice of indie pop from Kuehn, with an infectious sing-along chorus and lyrics both sentimental and bracing. Video (and the song?) is a tribute of sorts to Kuehn's Southport hometown.

More Meat: With songs both gritty and glam, Wilmington act Gay Meat aims for pop stratosphere

Justin Lacy & Haley Heath

"KHAKI CAMERAMAN"

Veteran Wilmington musician Lacy is also a filmmaker whose mind-blowing animated short, "Bent Antenna," was a hit of this year's Cucalorus Film Festival. "Khaki Cameraman," Lacy's dark new single for Old Soul Music, a label founded by Port City native and hip-hop producer L'Orange, is a spooky, minor-chord masterpiece of otherworldly indie folk. The backing vocals of Lacy's partner, Haley Heath, add a haunting frisson of sonic bliss.

Old Soul Music: Wilmington native starts new record label with global roster and one local musician

Lawn Enforcement

"ISN'T ENOUGH"

Mower-riding Wilmington rock band isn't scared to enforce a lawn, or to use a pun; their outstanding full-length, released Sept. 19 on Suck Rock Records, is titled "Blood, Sweat and Shears." One of its best tunes is "Isn't Enough," whose mathy intro gives way to an epic, heartfelt chorus and a fist-pumping guitar solo.

Louis.

"LET'S RIDE"

New single from Wilmington icon Louis the Rapper's upcoming album, "Indigo Child," also features the rapper Farrah. Lyrics about life's struggles, both day-to-day and more deep-seated, are accompanied by a deep soul groove and a spine-tingling chorus.

MoeSOS DC

"BRINK"

Wilmington rapper's latest lays rapid-fire vocals against a hazy, hypnotic musical backdrop, with hard-edged lyrics about trying to keep from going crazy inside your own head.

Navigation

"GOLD"

Kevin Rhodes has long been a musical presence in Wilmington, usually as a sideman playing drums or keys and providing backing vocals to a number of area acts over the years. But Rhodes is also a good songwriter, and his latest effort, released under the moniker Navigation, might be his best yet. "Gold," the first single from a new, three-song EP, has a bit of a blue-eyed soul vibe, with Rhodes' smooth-yet-sandpapery vocals giving an edge to the song's pleasant groove and lyrics about the priceless vaguaries of love.

Ridgewood

"WHITE NOISE"

Wilmington band's self-titled EP on Suck Rock Records came out over the summer. "White Noise" is a tunefully brutal anthem of alienation, chugging along while dropping word bombs like, "My friends/ They're on their own way/ And my life/ Scares me every day."

Sheme of Gold

"RAP GAME TAN SANDERS (REMIX)"

New single from Wilmington-based Fort Lowell Records' "This Water Is Life: Vol. III," a series of albums split between local rappers and indie rockers designed to draw attention to our area's significant water quality issues. Sheme's laid-back delivery and raw subject matter about the things we do to get by are set to some soulful samples, with a guest spot from D$5.

Local hip-hop: After stints in jail, Wilmington rapper Sheme of Gold turns to music 'as a way out'

Summer Set

"THE JETTY"

Longtime Wilmington indie rock band wrote this song some years ago, but it's new to us, as it just came out Nov. 3 on their new, self-titled album for Fort Lowell Records. Definitely has the beachy sheen of classic Summer Set, with some boom-bap drums and hazy vocals about not losing your grip on the jetty, or on life for that matter.

Summer Set: Decades in the making, a celebrated Wilmington band to debut its first album

Tracy Shedd

"LET IT RIDE"

Wilmington singer Shedd's latest single, a groovy, moody meditation on patience and trust, came out in August on Fort Lowell. Shedd's vocals are pristine here, sweet and understated.

Fort Lowell, NC: How the couple behind a growing record label is putting Wilmington music on the map

Tercel

"WHO'S BEHIND YOU?"

Raucous Wilmington band's album has been out since May, but it rocks like it was yesterday. On "Who's Behind You?" Savannah Couse's vocals cut like a punk-rock diamond. Must-see live act.

Annie Tracy

"MOVE"

A sublime, empowering kiss-off about knowing when it's time to cut bait from Wilmington/New York/L.A. singer Tracy, "Move" has been out since her EP "Act I" came out in June. It's worth revisiting, though, as we await new tunes from a singer whose vocals are soaring and sublime. Tracy's new Christmas song comes out Nov. 24, and "Act II" drops early next year.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington NC bands and artists: 15 rock, pop, folk, hip-hop songs