Slow week as many bands are at festivals, only 80 submissions
Scared of My Guitar, single by Olivia Rodrigo. A soft, dreamy song delivered with Rodrigo’s most beautiful, most innocent, most childlike voice. It wraps you around her finger, then crescendos and pulls you back. Close your eyes and enjoy. Stream on major platforms.
Good Luck, Babe!, single by Chappel Roan. Oh, the sarcasm as she bids an ex-lover goodbye., saying things are ok, don’t worry. A light 1-2-3-4 beat that starts cool and then rises into the pain, the anger, the real feelings. Very, very nicely done. If I were the ex I would worry. Stream on major platforms.
Moonride, single by Margo Guryran. Recorded in 1956 but just released, this retro-futuristic song tells a fantastical talking jazz story that could be a dark Night Before Christmas, but there is definitely no Santa Claus. Cool jazz with a strange twist sung by one of the best voices in jazz at the time. Stream on Spotify. And then find her 1968 album Take a Picture.
Jalale, single, Mexican Institute of Sound. You can’t go wrong with MIS and the instrumental Jalale is no exception. A club dance number, but not quite, Camilo Laura has crafted a song that exudes boundless energy but is calming – there is no other way to say it, so stream it on all major platforms and enjoy.
La Batidora, single by Sofia Reyes. A hypnotic cumbia beat combined with rapid-fire and precisely voiced lyrics, La Batidora will make you dance and sing. An earworm single from the album Milamores. Stream on all major platforms. Spanish.
Coloco Los Pies, single by airu. The two women and two men of this Spanish band manage to pull off something unique in this song– a indie-metal backbeat with lovely, melodic vocals and bell-like riffs. The combination is very, very listenable, but very high energy. From the album Con lo Buena Con Pena. Stream on Spotify. Spanish.
Patrick O’Heffernan
