The best bands don't reinvent the wheel so much as they improve it in new, unexpected ways. And though Goner has been around since the '90s—far longer than The White Cascade—both Raleigh bands have this in common. Goner, which celebrates yet another return to live performance, approaches sprawling Springsteen story songs with the taut energy of pop-punk. The White Cascade started innocuously enough, playing straightforward shoegaze in the vein of My Bloody Valentine. But three years in, this Raleigh trio is writing adventurous tunes that put synth-driven avant-garde soundscapes alongside driving disco funk. —Corbie Hill