Another week, another Mercury music section, which contains some pretty great stuff—even if there's nothing as great as Eric Grandy's excellent piece on what is probably the biggest music story of the year: Against Me!'s singer Tom Gabel coming out as transgender. Not to get too stuffy about it, but this is a landmark in rock 'n' roll history. Tom Gabel/Laura Jane Grace (and Grandy, too) deserve our utmost respect.

With that bit of pomp out of the way, let's check out the Wave Pictures! They're one of the smaller rock stories of the year. Which is a shame, because they're a dynamite band. You deserve to treat yourself to their quality.
LISTEN:

The Wave Pictures - "My Head Gets Screwed on Tighter Every Year"

You might think the Dead Milkmen are well past their sell-by date. Not so! Thanks to their razor sharp wit (and Monsieur Louis Pasteur), these guys aren't going anywhere.
LISTEN:

The Dead Milkmen - "Fauxhemia"

There's no one out there making smoother jams than Cattle Decapitation. Their easy, breezy tones are the very definition of subtlety and refinement.
LISTEN:

Cattle Decapitation - "A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat"

To be a little bit more serious, the Weeknd makes some pretty smooth jams. The lyrics, however, are pretty royally fucked up. That Abel Tesfaye is a man of mystery.
LISTEN:

The Weeknd - "Montreal"

Plus a big bouncing bunch of Up & Coming shows.