Examining 10 songs that define Monterey County’s freshest musical talent.

Sporting a multi-colored propeller cap, frontman Dashiell Stokes – small in stature, big in personality – bounces up and down with the velocity of a Wham-O Super Ball, belting out lyrics raging along with his cranked-up axe.

His band The Bloody Kerouacs, a trio of shirtless P.G. High and York School high school students, unleash unpolished pop-punk a la Green Day’s Dookie. Behind Stokes, glimpses of Rutger Sperry’s mohawk flash into sight as he pounds on his drumkit.

This is just the second time these kids have performed live. Underneath their poker face of punk apathy, you can see them using all their concentration to hold back big, triumphant smiles.

Next up on the bill: Monterey quintet Slack, who arrive with a bit more live experience, and promptly begin pounding away. Their sound evokes a musical piñata stuffed with Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, funk, synth-pop, video game controllers and Midi-compatible Synthesizers – and a touch of slightly suggestive seventh-grade humor. Lead singer Tyler Dawn, sporting a bright, white, Miami Vice sports jacket, tosses out questions between songs: “Who here likes getting busy? Who here is going to be getting busy tonight?”

The crowd – of mostly under 21-year-olds, a total rarity locally – lets out a flurry of cackles, hoots and hollers in the cavernous King City Room at the Monterey County Fairgrounds.

Finally, through a haze of strobe, body heat, flannel and greasy long hair, Moses Nose cracks the night wide open with 45 minutes of loud guitar-driven retro metal. The outfit’s charismatic bassist Trevor Lucier – part Grizzly Adams, part Billy Gibbons – describes the quartet’s sound as rock that “moves from Pink Floyd to Judas Priest, hitting every dial in between.” He just might be right.

All told, the 16-and-older, three-hour-plus event, promoted as The Second Coming, brought together some of the area’s brightest up-and-coming bands for the first time.

In fact, they orchestrated it entirely. It consciously catered to the large percentage of under-21 musicians sprouting up in the area and addressed the lack of age-appropriate venues available to them and their fans, many of whom are also under 21.

The rock gathering – and its subsequent sequel, The Third Coming – also sparked an unofficial Renaissance within the local music scene.

For years, Monterey County has been defined by limited original music (Red Beans & Rice, Chicano All-Stars and the Dani Paige Band), extensive and quite capable cover bands (The Money Band, Cheeky Spanks) and visiting groups from the Bay Area.

The minimal youth-driven music scene essentially evaporated with the demise of Jose’s Underground Lounge, Alternative Cafe and Monterey Live. The King City Room shows, which started last spring, set a foundation for young artists by showing that it’s possible to put on successful live music events at a variety of venues, and not just bars.

These shows are not about profit, they’re about getting the music out there. The few exceptions that ask for a cover seldom exceed $5. One of the main priorities remains accommodating local under-21 music lovers and music makers, and doing so by searching out spots not usually known for hosting live music and putting together all-ages shows with loaded lineups, like The Pip-Squeeks, Mozzo Kush and Valley Soul at American Burger; or Moses Nose, Valley Soul and The Microclouds at East Village Coffee Lounge; or Burnt Palms, The Pip Squeeks, Everyone is Dirty and The Silouhette Era at the Carmel American Legion Hall.

The growing scene’s DIY mentality goes beyond music: Many of these creative youngsters do all their own concert promotion, produce and record their own albums and design their own logos, flyers and merchandise. And they demonstrate incredible attention to detail, in the form of well-plotted contests, raffles, pre-parties and after-parties.

Wisconsin-born singer-songwriter Lillie Lemon is one of the dynamic forces at the scene’s epicenter. Her brand-new debut album – completely crowdsourced and full of local guest appearances – came with a release party last month that exemplifies the kind of creative thinking going on. Through her bandmate Eric Wobbles’ connections, Lemon secured the new Monterey Church on Alvarado Street. Aside from a few crosses on the walls, the main chapel came with everything a fully-equipped music venue should have: a large stage, automated professional lighting, an ample sound system, acoustics and enough space for a couple hundred listeners. Lemon also hooked up with Alvarado Brewing Company, just across the street, for pre-party fun featuring namesake cocktails and solo acoustic performances from Moses Nose’s Trevor Lucier and Vincent Randazzo.

As Lemon and Wobbles closed out “Stardust,” an intergalactic trip into elegance, KRML DJ Jeff White watched with a satisfied grin.

“We’ve been looking to cultivate a local music scene like this – and events like this, from artists like this – for a long time,” he says. “This is exactly what [Monterey] needs.”

The following 10 songs represent the freshest – and most resourceful – anthems thriving in the local music scene.

1. “Harrow Driver” by Lillie Lemon

Lemon’s deeply personal full-length debut, brak, is an 11-track emotional confessional that represents the strongest local release of the year thus far. Multi-instrumental collaborator Wobbles and a plethora of special guests, including guitar talent Taylor Kropp and Casey Frazier (see No. 6), bring a shot of variety to an album that balances a steady mix of manufactured synth and organic, stripped-down vocals.

Having to chose a favorite among favorites is always a good problem to have. Initially, Lemon didn’t pick “Harrow Driver” as the record’s lead single, but it has a gripping hook that latches onto the frontal lobe. Lemon’s prose – “We both feel the fear of falling” – is strong and engaging enough to attach itself to anyone.

From start to finish, there’s not a single dud on brak. The opener, “Ode to the Best Ones,” disguises heartache in a cloak of uptempo, mid-’80s pop. “Give Up the Ghost” is driven by Wobbles’ pulverizing accented beat and a carton of ethereal effects that could have fallen off Tom Waits’ Mule Variations. And “Still My Heart” showcases Lemon’s voice as is. No manipulation, just piano accompanied by Lemon’s sweet Wisconsin-bred pipes.

2. “The Burning Bush” by Moses Nose

The sweltering title track off the quartet’s full-length debut is a flying hellcat that roars with the classic riffs that heavy metal was founded on. The fancy upper-fret finger-tapping guitar solos – on both guitar and bass – sprinkle the tune with irresistible campy seasoning. The song “The Burning Bush” sets the album The Burning Bush on fire.

Lucier describes the record as both conceptual and musically diverse, with “a lot of sex, drugs and rock and roll, but in a smart way,” he explains. “It’s not just raunchy for the sake of being raunchy.” Opitz adds, “There’s more of a rock feel than our first EP, and it shows how much we’ve grown musically.”

3. “In My Mind” by The Pip Squeeks

Slightly stained with engine oil, in a good way, “In My Mind” delivers a first-class trip back to the original psychedelic era, when The Electric Prunes and Sir Douglas Quintet were on AM radio’s regular rotation. The Pip Squeeks simply bypass the acid and go directly to the flying high part. The Pacific Grove garage/grunge trio’s self-titled 10-track debut would fit nicely on the soundtrack of any of the mid-’60s biker gang movies like The Wild Angels.

Other songs, like “My Baby’s Cruel,” provide slick go-go dance rock. With that number, each note from Jacob Ellzey’s guitar and Miranda Zipse’s bass resonates crisply under a sexy wall of fuzz tone and distortion. The Pip Squeeks’ live track, “Have Love Will Travel,” proves that this outfit can deliver greatness in one take.

4. “The Weight of All Our Decisions” by The Modern Life

Like the soft-spoken genius sitting in the back of the classroom, The Modern Life and the existential conundrum that is “The Weight of All Our Decisions” is a beautiful clash of compound arrangements, marking the best moments of ’70s prog rock, and those wonderfully mesmerizing shoegazer cacophonies behind My Bloody Valentine and Ride.

“We all come from different musical backgrounds, so the music just keeps evolving,” frontman Earl Salindo says.

The equally cosmic “Mind Complex” is a nonlinear typhoon of rhythmic dissonance, harmony and jazz song structure that evokes Chick Corea’s group Return to Forever.

The other four songs on the outfit’s six-track EP are all worth checking out. This group of technical geeks create the illusion of heavy synth action without touching a keyboard. Everything comes from their guitars, which are connected to effects pedals programmed to get weird.

Another key ingredient that adds to the band’s originality: With the exception of Jonathan Esteban (guitar and vocals), all the members of the band know their way around the guitar, bass and drums, and rotate depending on the tune. They take turns on lead vocals as well.

5. “Collecting Tyme” by The Tomb Weavers

“Collecting Tyme” marks one of two Tomb Weavers’ tracks that Burger Records released on a 45, and it hums with the sludgy tube amplifier blues that gave early Captain Beefheart records their warm, fuzzy feeling. And Tom B. Weaver’s voice falls somewhere between bass and tenor, adding a whole androgynous element to the mix.

In addition to metalhead Weaver on guitar/vocals, Monterey’s own rock and roll relic/Vinyl Revolution owner Bob Gamber heads up drums, and longtime local rocker/former promoter Keigan Skydecker takes care of all the bass duties.

Gamber says younger-gen garage rockers like The Pip Squeeks and Mystery Lights (formerly of Salinas) initially inspired the rock supergroup.

“We’re all just having a whole lot of fun playing old, fucked-up ’60s West Coast psychedelic rock,” he says.

Skydecker adds, “We are a band that shouldn’t feel comfortable in the modern age. The musical influences of the last 40 years tear at us from all sides, but our goal is to convey the particular time and headspace of the mid – to late-’60s psychedelic garage scene.”

6. “Evil Man” by Casey Frazier

“Evil Man” is a Tex-Mex-appaloosa ballad about a dude framed for murder in the ’20s. Frazier’s vocals storm alongside the instrumentation like horses galloping through an Ennio Morricone film score. The infinite sky, Lone Star soul and striking orchestration each feel exhilarating.

“There’s something about that lonesome-cowboy, wide-open feeling that draws people in,” Frazier says. “I think it’s a good dynamic.”

The Carmel Valley singer-songwriter seems to be performing somewhere around town at least a few nights per week. (He has a longstanding weekly residency at Jack Londons in Carmel on Friday nights.)

Frazier was born in Kansas City, grew up in Colorado and has lived in Seattle and Nashville. He uses traces of every one of those spots in his songs, from a Tennessee sunset to the smell of asphalt on a humid Kansas day.

“Every one of those places has a different feel,” Frazier says. “There are a lot of memories. Nostalgia is my muse.”

He recently tied the knot, which means that he’s Carmel Valley from here on out. Very good news for the local music scene.

7. “Timeline” by El Camino Sutra

Keith Damron pulls an amazing illusion out of the garage rock netherworld with “Timeline;” it’s Grade-A noise rock that simultaneously spins melody-driven gold. If there’s anyone who knows the value of a good hook, it’s Damron.

He’s been involved in the local music scene in some capacity – formerly a member of Bogie & the Turtles and at least a half-a-dozen very short-lived ventures – since his formative years, but El Camino Sutra finally buckles him into the frontman driver’s seat.

Raw and armed with an ideal amount of abrasiveness, Sutra’s 2014 debut EP Bloom keep you on your toes without ever pushing you to shut it off, then write it off – think King Tuff meets Dio-era Sabbath.

On April 25, Damron’s releasing a split 7-inch vinyl with Strange Ideas. (There will be a release show at East Village.)

8. “That One Song” by Mozzo Kush

The grandfathers of Monterey’s next-gen music scene have spent the past few years focusing on other endeavors, like producing, promoting and doing solo projects. (Frontman Kyler Mello’s Tetra Bomb is an intricate venture into electronic soundscapes.)

But Mozzo Kush is not disbanding. In 2014, they released an EP, Tourists, which brings some of what Mello does with Tetra Bomb into the mix. While ambitious, it doesn’t quite match the quality of their previous EP, Spirit Bear. Each tone and every note on the mostly-instrumental “That One Song” – featuring only one verse of vocals – fit together snugly. The bass line rings with an ’80s New Wave vibe that satisfyingly intertwines with the vice-tight rhythm of the drums. Then comes some lead guitar that eases, like David Gilmore’s “Comfortably Numb” solo.

Currently, Mozzo Kush may not be as active as some of the others on this list, but this group of P.G. High grads still have a lot of music to make together.

9. “Love You with the Lights On (baby)” by Slack

The funky Hi-Hat-ridden “Love You with the Lights On (baby)” flies high with blue-eyed R&B, MGMT synth-pop-o-rama and lyrics that could be straight out of an early ’90s Jodeci song: “Every day I pinch myself it’s hard to believe/ The angel I am talking to is the same from my dreams.”

Slack haven’t released any records yet, but they do have a mixtape available for purchase on their website. There are also about a dozen original Slack tunes available for streaming.

Guitarist Nigel Hardy says they’re not in a hurry to release a debut record; they’ve been laying down studio-quality recordings at their leisure, while focusing on their live show, which is entertaining.

Along with their high level of musical ability, Slack’s most appealing attribute is their sense of humor. In the vein of Ween, this fivesome balances silliness – their logo is a lioness dramatically staring off into the distance – and serious musicianship, which proves itself in the song arrangement.

10. “Animal” by Valley Soul

“Animal” usually gets any of the remaining audience members who are still sitting out of their seats. This solid rock-and-roll formula takes plain old accessible feel-good melodies, loaded with the outfit’s staple harmonies, and closes it out with an all-encompassing jam.

Disguised as indie folk-rockers, but really a jam band (at heart), the group delivers layered instrumental parts, four-part harmonies and an overall expansive live sound.

However, after seeing the outfit open at Lillie Lemon’s album-release show, it became clear that a full-fledged jam band lies dormant inside these guys. Singer Kristen Gradwohl – dressed like a human dreamcatcher – pranced around barefoot as if she was deeply immersed in a Huichol Peyote ritual. Another convincing factor: Her voice resembles Donna Jean Godchaux. And suddenly Monterey County music resembles a real live scene.