1. Mini Dresses - Mini DressesYou’ll be hard pressed to find more infectious and beautifully performed vocal melodies then the stripped down, lo-fi dream pop of Mini Dresses. Their much anticipated self-titled debut album only continues to prove it. Stacked with hit after hit of breezy, pensive ballads, the trio craft their sound from lightly detuned guitar flourishes and perfect soft-timbre vocal slides that bloom into unforgettable melodies. They are literally the soundtrack for vintage polaroids of an amazing, life-altering summer vacation.2. Gusher - GusherThe buzzing lo-fi electro dream pop of Gusher’s self-titled 7” is like a drug-addled romantic’s dream through the aesthetics of a 70s horror movie. The warm, sawing detune of the synths bleed across drizzled drum machine, while a duet of ghostly choral vocals float around and through it all. Though it’s a brief taste of subconscious, ethereal electro-psychedelia, it’s enough to dig it’s claws in and never dare release you.3. Summer’s June - Drag AlongThe perfect compliment to any session of late-night-sitting-up-in-bed sadness, Summer’s June bring on those bedroom dream pop vibes nice and slow. Their Drag Along EP wraps itself in a comforting, empathetic soft depression that makes you feel like you’re not totally alone. The lightly buzzing synth and wavy guitar lashes swirl around a pattering, thin drum machine cements these lo-fi midnight vibes as essential listening.4. Cruel Summer - IVYIVY delivers on the promise of Cruel Summer’s EP offerings from several years ago, bringing their liquid, ramshackle dream pop (as well as plenty of shoegaze fuzz) into higher quality production while retaining the satisfying washed out sweep of their lo-fi days. With dizzying guitars and unique, half-spoken/half-sung lead vocals, IVY is a delightful, paisley blast of surf punk heart and chiming dream pop sinew.5. Forest Dweller - Deer’s Antlers and River FlowThe debut album from Forest Dweller, Deer’s Antlers and River Flow, strolls around like a lost 70s soundtrack to a nature documentary, filled with warm, golden-brown vibrations and a sleepy disposition. It’s distinctive bit of lo-fi dream pop that blankets your ears in a humid, mystifying haze - bent and woolen guitar chords, barely-there vocals, slow-motion somersault bass lines all work their magic to cover into the best lazy daydream.6. Being Awone (Wilt) - Hand MirrorBeing Awone (Wilt)’s debut album, Hand Mirror, flits through the brain like a scrapbook of memories and artifacts, some connected, some random, but all sounding great. The album is strangely cohesive in it’s jigsaw approach, hitting several different levels of low fidelities across it’s playtime and shifting between chunky bedroom pop and foggy ambient vignettes. It doesn’t linger on any one idea for too long, but that makes the engagement of Hand Mirror all the more intriguing. You have to catch your favorite ideas fast before they’re discarded for something else entirely.7. Loners - intimacyAn album that deftly straddles the lines between dream pop, synth pop, post-punk and ambient, Loners’ Intimacy is an introspection that slides through your ears as smooth as butter. Exactly as it’s title suggests, Intimacy takes glassy synths, occasional chiming guitars and misty drum beats set to half-monotone vocal meditations and conjures up a twilight stroll by the beach with a special someone. Or, perhaps more accurately, the memory of that.8. Local Pavlov - Sui GenerisSounding like they’re jamming from a shipping container in the middle of an empty warehouse, you might expect Local Pavlov’s Sui Generis to disappear into the distance, however, the killer songwriting and lo-fi, washed out longing of it all keep you glued, ear-to-the-wall, wondering what mysterious emotions lay inside. At times the band push the limit of detuned guitars and howling vocals, coming right to that golden edge of dissonance, but never crossing over completely, giving it a psych-tinged dark-and-light one-two punch.9. You’ll Never Get to Heaven - ImagesYNGTH’s latest album, Images, plays out like photo-negative electro dream pop, there’s a sparse expanse amidst the surprisingly funky bass, sparkling bell synths and soft-mist vocals. It all rolls through in luminous black and white waves, even hitting near-orchestral levels at times. Luckily, the skittering electronic ethereality of Images doesn’t fold totally into darkness, instead embracing the transition between light on the horizon and fields of inky midnight.10. Winetasting - ReverieA solid wash of dream pop jams to chow down on, Winetasting’s Reverie delivers on the goods from beginning to end. The dream pop trademarks are here: constant, slide n’ chug bass snaking around gleam-jangled guitar licks, murmured vocals - but the album stands tall thanks to tasteful songwriting and deft mitigation of aesthetics. It’s a refinement of style that is rare to find in the genre and deserves a nice spot on any dream pop fans rotation.