This week we had a chance to speak with two artists whose new albums have quickly jumped into our favorites for the year.

Lutalo is the Minnesota-raised, Vermont-based artist whose connections to Big Thief and previous releases may have created an expectation for their debut to be more acoustic-based. But The Academy truly jumps genres in a masterful way with Lutalo exhibiting complete command, literally by playing all the instruments, and figuratively by crafting songs that incorporate a wonderful mishmash of styles from shoegaze to confessional folk.

Honeyglaze, the South London trio whose Fat Possum debut Real Deal has already produced two singles you’ve heard on WNXP in “Don’t” and “Pretty Girls” and whose ability to add soaring melody and nuanced vocals to a post-punk foundation helps them jump the line of soundalikes.