These bands made two of the Triangle's most intriguing records this year: T0W3RS' first year of band existence culminated in the wonderful Wyatt, a brazen set of six rock songs that delight in undeniable melodies and kaleidoscopic flourishes. On their winning second LP, Subtle for Flames, Waumiss offers the sound of pop music as witnessed in hypnopompic and hypnagogic states. Textures surface and retreat like mirages, and structures expand and disappear like psychedelic stairwells. —Grayson Currin