Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features folktronica by Rabbitology, disco-house by John Beltran, soundtrack grooves by KUZbeats, synth-pop by Same Eyes, and indie by Luna Pier.

Rabbitology, Living Ghosts EP
After a run on social media that had her racking up thousands of listens under the Rabbitology name, U-M student Nat Timmerman signed with the big Canadian label Nettwerk Music Group. But rather than turn to a studio for Living Ghosts, her debut for Nettwerk, Timmerman continued working in the way that brought her so much viral acclaim: by recording the songs in her Ann Arbor dorm room. The six songs here contain everything that made Rabbitology's star pop off: heavily layered vocals that show her range, quirky arrangements, and a mix of acoustic and electronic sounds. Timmerman's version of folktronica is infused with extroverted chanty choruses that stick in your head but there's also an intimacy to her music that sounds great on headphones.

John Beltran, Back to Bahia Vol. 5
Sometimes you want to listen to things that reflect the times we live in—therefore, I've been spinning nothing but Merzbow and and sticking my ear dangerously close to power tools and open flames. Other times you want to listen to nothing but John Beltran's Back to Bahia series because it will take you away from ... everything. "O Pátio" and "Belle Isle" are two disco-house grooves without a care in the world. It sounds like the Ann Arbor DJ and artist created these tunes with mental vacations in mind. Pour a caipirinha, dump out some sand in your living room, and pretend you're on a beach while listening to Back to Bahia Vol. 5.

KUZbeats featuring Matt Borghi, "Emerge"
KUZbeats, "The Grand Vizier's Visit"
I'm never sure where to place the music of Michael Kuzmanovski. The tunes he releases as KUZbeats exist somewhere between modern movie soundtracks and psych rock, synth-funk, and krautrock. He's a drummer so the music always feels like it's built from the ground up, with an emphasis on grooves and riffs.

Same Eyes, "Don't Let Go"
Same Eyes, "In Your Life"
Same Eyes is a relentless synth-popping machine. Every month (mostly) a new song slides out onto streaming services from this Ann Arbor quartet, and every time I conjure my professional critical faculties and say insightful things like "I love it!" and "Good stuff!" Singer Alex Hughes is a tall, thin man but he has the commanding voice of someone with a lot more mass. His Philip Oakey-esque pipes nestle nicely inside these two ultra-catchy synth-pop tunes.

Luna Pier, "Captain Nemo"
Luna Pier, " It Never Rings [NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2025]"
Luna Pier's 2022 single, "On Nails," made it sound like the Ann Arbor-Detroit quartet was coming straight out of a post-emo/pop-punk world. But each single since has stripped back the band's aggression to reveal a sound somewhere between 1990s indie and Weezer with a hint of new wave. "Captain Nemo" is the new studio single and "It Never Rings" was recorded live for an NPR Tiny Desk Concert submission.

Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.