From Chengdu’s dream pop haze to Beijing’s crushing post-metal depths, this latest New China Music roundup captures a scene that refuses to sit still. Across 10 releases, artists stretch genre boundaries and emotional registers—whether it’s Wu Zhuoling gazing into cosmic futures or cassette player romance turning lo-fi fragments into something quietly profound. There’s a sense of restlessness running through it all, a willingness to experiment without losing feeling—perfect sounds for the month of May, of course.
Deep Water 水太深 — “Have A Good Time”
Chengdu indie pop outfit Deep Water lean into the haze and noise of their dream pop world on their latest EP, Have A Good Time. Always adept at conjuring a woozy sense of wanderlust, the three-piece’s track is a moodier endeavor—full of fuzzy guitar workouts (courtesy of Wang Bo) and whispered, delicate vocals (from Xiao Man)—allowing its atmosphere to immerse listeners instead of going for the easy kill. They even manage to twist the sentiment around from their 2020 track “Honey!” It’s a stark contrast to last year’s catchier (and equally sublime) Roving, and proof that no one does melancholic sweetness better than Deep Water.
Wu Zhuoling — Uncharted II
A sequel to Wu Zhuoling’s 2023 EP, Uncharted II finds the renowned producer leaning into her exploratory side, with four atmospheric electronic compositions that indulge the artist’s fascination with space and the cosmos. While these intergalactic elements have always been woven into Zhuoling’s work, they’re very much at the forefront here, as she utilizes audio archives from NASA and Columbia University to reflect on “humanity’s future and destiny.” It’s a lush, radiant addition to the producer’s extensive catalog—one filled with cerebral downtempo beats and unfurling, simmering melodies that might just have you looking to the stars.
WaytheDinoScream — The School Day We Spent With a Brachiosaurus 校园里有长颈龙的日子
With a more full-bodied, rallying-call demeanor to their bleeding-heart emo rock, the ingeniously named WaytheDinoScream—hailing from Changsha and Wuhan—ask the age-old question: Were dinosaurs emo too? The young band’s debut, The School Day We Spent With a Brachiosaurus, finds humor and commonality between our reptile friends and the youth of today—stuck wondering when the world will end, albeit at the corner of the university. There’s conviction to their scathing yet resonant existential musings, and paired with gusto-filled vocals and jangly instrumentation, WaytheDinoScream are one of the more exciting new acts to emerge from this emo resurgence.
Water Grass Project 水草计划 — Wind Erosion
Water Grass Project—the electronic duo composed of bassist DAYA and producer x4m—excel at a kind of psych-laced, full-bodied electronica, complete with ethnic instruments and dank reggae beats—perfect for a campfire dance party. The duo are fresh off their debut LP, Wind Erosion, released with emerging Chengdu imprint Oriental Order Records. It’s humid, it’s dubby, it’s in constant flux—chock-full of golden-hued synthesizers and wandering melodies dense with sweat-inducing flavor. Groovy indeed.
cassette player romance — meaning of home 家的意义
Shuffling across genres and tones with reckless abandon, the solo bedroom project of Hangzhou musician lomo (of The Beneficial Society fame) finds lo-fi pop serenity in the eye of the storm on his debut, meaning of home. The multifaceted artist, who currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, rides a woozy wave of lo-fi pop, slowcore, indietronica, and Midwest emo—creating something of an “audio diary,” as internet-effect sound samples brush up against blown-out vocals and fuzzy melodies that reimagine Brian Wilson as an emo-inflicted TikTok entity. Equal parts irreverent and bittersweet, it evokes everyone from Cindy Lee to Sparklehorse—but truly stands as an amalgamation of the deluge of music, media, and stimuli Generation Z is subjected to. It can be a bit unruly at times, but much like the current state of the world, sometimes you need to wade through the noise to find peace of mind.
夜晚做决定 No Decision at Night — 夜晚做决定 No decision at night
Hangzhou’s No Decision at Night are as delicate as they come—an emo-laced math rock outfit that sings in wispy tones and brings an ethereal tranquility to their sound. Yet it’s amazing how much vivacity the young band is able to inject into their self-titled debut, with every track feeling like a burst of life—running smoothly yet valiantly across a sonic terrain swelling with sentiment. It’s catchy without rubbing it in your face.
Lay Lady Lay — Jaguar/Apple 苹果上的豹
Propulsive rock pop that evokes the days when your iPod was crammed with every hit from the first decade of the 2000s—Lay Lady Lay’s command of an irresistible hook knows no bounds on her bubbly, infectious, and sprightly debut 苹果上的豹. A coming-of-age declaration that’s both vulnerable and fearless, it’s dizzying how many influences and wardrobe changes Zhong Ziyi is able to shuffle through on the album—from Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Metric—confidently wavering from garage rock to synth pop. It’s all held afloat by its euphonious singer, whose pop sensibilities never waver. Effortlessly charming.
Cvalda — Vajra
Chengdu sound sculptor Cvalda reaches deep into her well of techno dexterity for her latest sonic contraption, Vajra, released with Beijing imprint GSXS. Paring down and expanding upon her love of dub and sound system culture, Cvalda uses ambient music, IDM, and minimal techno to explore time and space across six tracks of pulsating energy and deft rhythmic force—gradually loosening listeners’ perception, “allowing thoughts to slowly dissipate in the gaps of light and shadow.” Transfixing.
Xu Cheng 徐程 — Poems Without Words 無辭詩
Long-standing Shanghai experimental musician Xu Cheng—whose work traverses countless mediums and moods—brings together fourteen improvised guitar solos from the past dozen years on Poems Without Words, released with London-based label Dusty Ballz. Born out of Xu Cheng’s attempt to restore a broken instrument he picked up in a vintage store, the release explores the relationship between improvisation and forgetting, with the artist engaging with the instrument’s materiality, its former lives, and how we’ve been conditioned to play and wield it. Recorded on the outskirts of Shanghai in a park, it’s a fascinating artifact of an artist giving himself over to an instrument—discovering its secrets once again.
Sounds of Alienation 遠人之歌 — 天問 Tianwen
Booming blackened post-metal from Beijing, Sounds of Alienation impress on their evocative debut Tianwen, released with Pest Productions. Coated in slabs of sludge and doom, the band looks to reinterpret motifs and queries from China’s past, “retold within a soundscape both romantic and philosophical,” with bone-crushing intensity. Brooding, fierce, and deftly crafted—particularly in the melody department—the emerging band has a firm handle on both atmosphere and technique, turning each track into a hailstorm of rhythmic ferocity and a cold, merciless sense of oppression, while finding novel ways to bridge these worlds.
Cover image via Bandcamp/RADII.
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